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#no way this one will get as popular as my bloodhound comic but
mithryl-draws · 4 years
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im still playing apex legends.
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war--lords · 4 years
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Congratulations on 1500 followers! For the Trope Request: 12 with Hideyoshi please
Trope 12 is Office Lovers. Reader is gender neutral.
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It’s almost 11am and he can’t find you anywhere in the office.
At this point, Hideyoshi has sneaked multiple discreet glances towards the open office space, hoping to find you sitting there at your desk. No such luck. He has also asked one of your closest colleagues, who only answered with a shrug and a curious look at your table. They also claimed they didn’t hear anything yet from you. That was only a few minutes ago, and he finds himself getting increasingly worried. It’s not like you to be so terribly late.
Adjusting his tie to be more on the looser side out of restlessness, Hideyoshi walks towards the receptionist—she immediately perks up at the sight of a C-suite member. 
“How can I help you?” She asks, putting down the phone she was going to use.
“Hi,” he says, resting an arm on the counter, “could you let me know when ________ comes in?”
“Is it urgent, sir? I could call her for you.”
She certainly could, he ponders, but would that be too suspicious? “It’s alright, it’s not exactly urgent,” he supplies, and with a thankful smile he walks away to his office at the corner of the floor. 
For the next half an hour, Hideyoshi finds himself rereading lines in emails, clearly too anxious about you to do proper work. A quick look at his phone tells him that you also haven’t replied his text. Texts. And a call. Should he call again? He doesn’t want to be the super overbearing boyfriend (though he kind of already is), but his mind is starting to conjure less than favorable “what-if” scenarios.
Just then his phone rings. Before it even finishes, he picks up, pressing a button. 
“Hideyoshi.”
“Yes, sir, about ________.”
“What is it?”
“Sick leave today, sir.”
The feeling in his chest is a weird blend of relief and more worry. At least you’re not kidnapped—no, he definitely didn’t worry about that at all, but now he hopes you’re not down with anything serious. He supposes he could go see for himself. Also, why didn’t you tell him?
“Alright, thank you.”
“Anytime, sir.”
He presses a button to end the call, and, as if on cue, his phone vibrates once. A text. Hideyoshi quickly opens it.
hey i got a fever this morning and have been sleeping since, sorry i forgot to tell u :(
Oh man… Hideyoshi feels himself starting to melt then and there. You really don’t have anything to be sorry about, you’re sick! Probably from tiring yourself out and overworking. He remembers telling you to take a break and rest once in a while. Perhaps there are too many projects on your plate? 
He types out a hurried reply.
Be there in 15
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
“Open your mouth.”
You look at him, somehow still possessing some sass even under the spiel of fever and medication. There’s a mischievous smile on your face.
“You’re gonna spoonfeed me?”
He scoffs, smirking as he gently nudges the spoon against your lips. “You can’t stop me.”
Yielding, you do as you’re told, allowing yourself a taste of store-bought chicken porridge. 
“It’s good.”
“Yeah? Got this on my way here. I can’t believe you haven’t eaten yet.”
“I slept the morning through, remember?” You ask, quietly opening your mouth for more food. Hideyoshi smiles endearingly as he resumes feeding you.
“I was worried sick,” he replies.
“Is that a pun? You’re horrible,” you say, laughing a little. He does a fake eye-roll and it makes you laugh even more.
“I’m being serious. I started asking people where you were.”
“Wow,” you murmur, eyes wide. “Please don’t tell me you did it to the point of stirring suspicion.”
“I don’t think people suspect anything,” he says, turning slightly serious, “not yet, at least.”
“Who did you ask?”
He gives you the names of your colleague and front desk. Your eyes widen even more. 
“They’re more bloodhound than human,” you say as a response to your friend’s name, “they can smell these kinds of things from a mile away. I’d be more careful around them next time.”
A small ping alerts you to your phone.
“’Hideyoshi Toyotomi the COO is looking for you, what’s that about?’” You read, a defeated look on your face. “I was wondering why they haven’t asked.”
Hideyoshi looks like he’s blushing a little—he doesn’t realize the attention his actions bring, but it’s not like he can do anything about it. Scooping up the last of your late breakfast, he says, “You know the office doesn’t technically ban romance, right?”
“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” You shoot back, wiggling your brows playfully at him. It looks comical: this bedridden, unwell person with a red, stuffy nose acting all flirtatious with him, a guy wearing the crispest suit and tie Japanese retail stores have to offer. The most unbelievable part is that even though you’re sick as hell, you’re still turning him on. 
“The fun in that would be,” he begins, “me getting to hold your hand all the time, me kissing you in the pantry all the time, and me getting to call you my babe all the time.”
Your silly smile melts into a more mellow one and you sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he says, putting away the takeout bowl and pulling you into a side hug. He understands that being in a relationship with someone who is technically a superior can be intimidating and that the people around you might get ugly in their response. They might say you’re only in it for the money, that you’re a golddigger—maybe that’s why the largely popular Hideyoshi was single for so long, because of people trying to take advantage of his position and wealth? Other than that, he knows you certainly don’t want people to think he’s coerced you into this, or that the relationship will affect his ability to make decisions inside the company.
You let out a groan-slash-gurgle, a noise of complaint that breaks his train of thought.
“Hurry up and find me a better job,” you say jokingly, “so that I can quit and we can go public!”
He laughs, burying his face into your neck and littering your skin there with quick, playful kisses.
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Jessie, City Of.
(I am vengeance... I am the night... actually, I’m neither of those things. This is Director’s Cut, the segment where we take old fanfictions from way back in the day, descend on them with our parachute capes, and take them out with kung fu and stuff because we’re soooo cool, you guys. And speaking of capes, let’s talk Batman.)
(I have boring tastes in comic book superheroes, in that I gravitate towards the one guy in the super team who has no powers to speak of. And the reason why isn’t really all that complicated: it all sort of boils down to what makes for compelling conflict. When Johnny Nobody finds himself face to face with Captain Burnyourface, and his standard tactic of giving his enemy a quick kick in the nuts fails him, he’s gotta find some other way of coming out on top, possibly by using his big boy superhero brain to solve the problem with problem solving. When Punchguy finds himself face to face with The Iron Septum, who thwarts his usual tack of punching guys in the nose, Punchguy’s usual answer to that problem boils down to “punch him in the nose again, but this time a little more.” Or he’ll use his big boy superhero brain to make it easier, for when he eventually gets around to punching him in the nose again. Either way, if Punchguy goes an issue without punching a guy, the writers go on strike.)
(All this torturous oversimplification of what is surely somebody else’s wheelhouse aside, Batman’s pretty popular. Obviously. Which leads us to tonight’s offering by an author by the name of The Raven Dark Angel. No, I did not just pull four random words off of the Evanescence discography, and I’m insulted you’d think that. Their entry into the venerable Batman series is called Jessie, City Of. I have no idea what that means. Let’s find out together, shall we?)
The usual disclaimer....enjoy this story. (The author disclaims all legal responsibility from you enjoying this story.) Reviews please...
Jessica and her father stood, side by side, on a rooftop, staring down at the glittering city of Gotham, keeping their silent vigil on the city. Father and daughter stood side by side. Vampire and Slayer stood side by side. (Cats and Dogs stood side by side. Tax accountants and Burlesque dancers stood side by side. Never before had Gotham seen such a display of side-standing solidarity.)
Angel cast a sidelong glance at his daughter, the only light of his life since Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer. (What?) His lover. (Wait... what?) Vividly, he could remember the scent of her hair, vanilla tinged with a light raspberry. Buffy had always smelt good. (Fuck. Hold on. I could have sworn this was filed under “Batman.” I wasn’t ready to talk about...) But now, she was gone, and Buffy had left him one reason to live on still. His daughter. Jessica Summers. (No, I checked. This is a Batman fanfic. I don’t...) His baby girl. The wind ruffled her silky blonde hair, tinged with the slightest bit of brown. Her duster flapped at her feet, like his had always done. (At least, like it had always done once he finally bought dusters that could be pushed around by the wind?)
Staring out into the horizon, Angel was pleasantly surprised that the city had changed. Drastically. Human technology had developed fast. Tall, modern buildings stood proud in the place of old ones. Hovercars and the like had taken place of normal cars. (Hover... so is this a Batman Beyond fic? Did Batman Beyond ever crossover with Buffy the Vampire...) Computers had taken place instead of books. But evil still lives on. The evil Jessie had to slay. To fight to the death with. And the battle between good and evil would go on, fighting endlessly for
eternity. (And now there’s awkward line breaks in the middle of sentences... what is happening?!) As the evil vampire Angelus, he had known what the evil ones felt, breaking down
the barrier between the Otherworld and the real world. He had reveled in the exquisite
beauty of chaos, the sweetness of pure, living, breathing, evil. His demonic side had sung
with joy as he had unleashed the vile evil to seep into the world. (Specifically, they sang fifties pop hits, the evilest and most demonic of all music.) And Buffy had killed him.
Shoved a sword to his abdomen and sent him straight to Hell to suffer. And suffer he did. He
had suffered in in fiery pits of Hell for five hundred Earth years, then, by some unseen
force, he had been sent back. (From Hell. Which he was sent to. By Buffy. With a sword. That she wielded. Ostensibly with her fingers...) Sent back to the world to be tormented yet again, this time,
in spirit. To have Buffy, and yet not to have her...for the love of Buffy, he would gladly
go to Hell for eternity. What was an eternity of Hell compared to a single precious moment
in her arms? (So, was Buffy a good girlfriend or what? She apparently killed you, so...)
But she had died, and part of his soul had gone with her to Paradise, to live there with
her forever. But his soul lived on. Buffy wasn't gone from his life. No. Not yet. Part of
her lived on in Angel. Her memories. Buffy's undying love for both him and their daughter. (WHY WAS THIS SUBMITTED AS A BATMAN FANFIC OH MY FUCKING GO-)
His undying love for his daughter. For Jessie, he thought, as he looked on at her almost
angelic face. I would kill. I would kill for her. Being a parent was like that. Being the
father of the Slayer was like that. (Particularly if the Slayer decided to bring home that no good neighborhood boy with the leather jacket and the beat up Camaro. Bad news, that one...) And in fact, Angel had killed for her. He had murdered
those who had tried to take her life. He had tortured those who had a part in taking away
her precious life. Now, he realized. Buffy's memories had stayed with him, but she was gone. (Buffy’s memories of grisly sword murder would forever paint Angel’s opinions on fatherhood, somehow. Despite the fact he was a demon who did evil things? Look, I’m sorry guys. I don’t know shit about Buffy, okay?)
But nothing had hurt more than a horrifying thought. The memories would fade. Slowly, but
surely.
A cold tear ran its way down his cheek. Jessie looked over, and saw it. Slipping her arm
into her father's cold one, she tugged at him gently. "Let's go home, dad."
**************************
Batman had caught sight of two people on a rooftop, not far from where he now stood. (Fuck! There! Good! Batman’s here. For a second, I thought I was going nuts.) One
was a blonde haired girl, and the other was a darkly handsome young man. (In fact, Batman thought, he was actually a bit of a hottie.) His advanced night
vision had told him that they both of them looked no older than twenty. Yet, the male stood
with a quiet confidence, both hands in his duster, gazing out into the city, as if guarding
the city. Although the man looked no older than him, the stance he had stood, the manner in
which he stared out, showed a long time of existence. (As everyone knows, you only learn to stand confidently with your hands in your pockets when you hit the age of thirty five and complete your bachelor’s degree in “Standing Around.”)
The girl, on the other hand, was no older than him, but she was dressed in a tight red
satin tank top and black miniskirt. (Which was unusual. Batman was used to seeing twenty something year old men wearing black miniskirts all the time.) A silver cross hung at her neck in choker style, and she
wore an almost identical black duster to the guy. Maybe they were an item or something, he
thought to himself. 
"Gotta go," he said softly as he caught sight of a mugging near an alley. (The two love birds having a brood in his territory were really not all that important, in hindsight. Batman liked wasting time on patrol.)
********************************
That night, when Terry had finished his "patrol" of the city, (Holy crap, it is a Batman Beyond fanfiction! I guess the “usual disclaimer” includes a clause by default detailing the fact that the fanfic is a crossover Buffy/Batman Beyond situation. That’s the only reason I can think they didn’t bother mentioning that bit.) he entered Wayne Manor, a
house that he had come to know as his second home. Opening the door, he entered, almost
soundlessly. Antiques decorated the place, and yet, the room had seemed, alive or something. (Perhaps it was the spirit of the Necronomicon, Bruce Wayne’s most valuable antique, filling the place with the foreboding air that could only come from the colors out of space. Bruce called it a “conversation piece,” even though he never had guests over for whom conversation pieces would be necessary.)
Shaking his head, he entered the Batcave.
There was no sign of Bruce Wayne anywhere. He wasn't in his usual seat in front of the
Batcomputer. (Ever since Bruce downloaded The Sims on that thing, it’d been hard to get him out of the house.) Even Ace, the bloodhound who had made it perfectly clear that it didn't like
him whatsoever, wasn't there. The place was quiet.
Then, someone stepped out from the shadows. "Looking for Wayne?"
Whirling around, ready to fight, Terry demanded. "Who are you?"
The man had been the one that he had observed in the city earlier that evening, and Terry
was surprised that he had found the man there. At Bruce's place. And Bruce was missing. (Have I labored the point home, enough? I really need to drive the point home that a catastrophic security breach at a superhero’s secret base is serious business.)
"Where is Bruce?" Terry growled, worry and anger flashing in his eyes.
Before the handsome man could say anything, (with his devilishly handsome man lips,) Bruce hobbled down the staircase, flanked by
the girl he had seen. Behind them trailed Ace.
"Let go of my relative, McGinnis." Bruce's tone was sharp. Ace backed up his master's tone with a low growl.
Terry gasped in surprise. "He's your relative?"
The man smiled slightly, his soulful eyes gleaming gently. "Yeah."
The girl had taken off her duster and was now clad in only her top and skirt. Still, she looked fabulous. (Terry tried not to stare at the barefoot woman running around with no underwear.)
The girl shrugged. "And he's my father."
Terry gulped. "Father? But-"
"I'm a vampire." Angel told him. "Meet my daughter. Jessie."
Jessie shot Angel a pointed look, but said nothing.
Terry was stumped. He didn't know what to say. A vampire? A vampire-chick?
"You a vamp too, Jessie?" he asked, careful not to hurt her feelings. (Trust me on this, kids. Calling a young lady a “vamp” is a sure-fire way to not insult women or make unfortunate insinuations in any way whatsoever. Don’t even bother looking it up. Trust your Uncle DC.)
She shook her head. "Nope. Perfect human." She had conveniently left out the part that she was the Slayer. (Primarily because she was certain Terry wouldn’t understand a lick of this Slayer business.)
Bruce waved his hand to the computer and the Batcave. "Angel, I think you'd better stay
down here during the day. And Terry, Jessie's going to your school tomorrow."
Terry shrugged, his eyes locking with Jessie's for a moment. "Okay." A look passed between the Chosen One and the Dark Knight. Girl to boy. Then, she looked away.
"Um, Bruce, dad, I think I'd better go upstairs now. Given with the school and all." Jessie said.
Her father nodded, a faint smile on his lips. "Sweet dreams, honey."
Bruce turned to Terry. "Terry, go show our guest her room."
Terry turned to Jessie. "Come on, let's go."
As they reached the staircase of the Wayne Manor, Jessie caught sight of the large windows. "Hey," she said, stopping suddenly. "Wait."
Going over to the windows, she slowly opened it. The night breeze was refreshing as she
leaned outwards. A happy feeling rose in her, and she thought the better of it. She went up
to the ledge and sat on it.
"Hey, Terry," she said, combing her blonde hair back. "The wind's great here. Wanna join me?"
Amused, he crossed over to the girl's side. "You sure are different." (Now, see, that right there’s a diplomatic way to call a girl crazy, if ever there was one. And he thought calling a girl “vamp” was subtle, the silly little...)
She chuckled, her laugh as gentle as the breeze that caressed him. "Thanks for the compliment. I'm not like any other girl you know," she said, a little wistfully.
He raised an eyebrow as he sat on the ledge opposite her. The shadows played across her
features like a slow, sensual dance as the wind ruffled her hair. (She had to bring up a hand to slap the shadows after they decided to make too bold a move for her rear end.) Her perfect mouth curled
up gently in a dreamy smile as she gazed outside. The surroundings were shrouded in darkness
that had sometimes unnerved him. But with Jessie there, the darkness seemed harmless. Unable
to touch him. (Of course, as the Batman, he worked in shadows, and therefore had no reason to be scared of them in the first place, but...)
"Tonight is peaceful, isn't it?" he asked softly, studying her profile. She suddenly had seemed sad.
She nodded. "Yeah." she paused, tears glimmering in her eyes. "Do you have a mom?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
"How does it feel like to be loved by a mother?" she asked. Terry hesitated. Jessie seemed
so sincere and child-like.
"It's...different." he told her. "You feel safe and secure in your mother's warm arms,
knowing she'd be there for you. Why?"
"I lost my mother when I was just born." Jessie answered bitterly. In fact, her mother was
brutally killed by a demon when she was in labor. And when her mother had finally given
birth to her, the monster had killed her mother with a blow. (Fuck me. They even managed to slip in Mary Sue tendencies, when I wasn’t looking. This isn’t a shell game, they’re playing. This is David Copperfield levels of misdirection.)
"But you have your father." he answered, trying to comfort her.
She smiled faintly. "But a father's different from a mother. So, what does your father do?"
He wrenched his next words out with a pained expression. "My father is dead."
Her smile faded. "Oh. I'm sorry." she said quietly, looking away.
(Bruce’s voice trailed up from the Batcave, loud and annoyed. “Yeah?” he shouted “Well I watched both of my parents get brutally murdered, so the two of you can shove it with your pity pissing contest! Fuck me, young people today got no perspective...”)
Terry looked at Jessie. This girl was very...different from the girls he had known. He
somehow, seemed to feel totally at ease with the girl. Just then, she looked up, into his
ice blue eyes. Something connected between them as aquamarine gazed at ice blue. (The love story between Aquamarine and Ice Blue was a tale of alien love that spanned the cosmos, but sadly theirs was a story only relegated to filler chapters in a limited run of the comics, making it relatively unknown except to the most rabid of fanboys.) Something
in her eyes told him that she understood his pain. The pain he had hidden deep down before.
The pain of losing a loved one. They both understood what each had to go through. Still,
Terry thought. Having a father was better than having none at all. Jessie's mother had died
before Jessie could even see her face, and that was much worse. At least, he could remember
what his father looked like. (And since Terry’s trauma was more serious, he concluded that he had won the angst competition. It was a satisfying victory.)
"Is Bruce your relative or something?" Jessie asked suddenly, breaking the moment.
He blinked. "Nope. He's my employer."
Jessie raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Boss? What do you do for him?"
He shrugged, not wanting to tell her the truth, (especially not after she’d literally been in the Batcave, and all,) but feeling bad that she was being so honest with him, yet he wasn't so honest. "Running errands."
"It's hard work."
He smiled slightly. "Well, it's my responsibility."
She grinned at him. "You sure are big on the responsibility thing."
"Oh? No one had ever said that to me before." he said, half-joking.
She smiled wanly. "I'm the first." It sounded like a question. Then, she leaned forward, and whispered. "You're Batman."
He drew back, shocked. How'd she know that? "What?"
She smiled, a little smugly. "I noticed."
(Terry looked down, sheepishly grinning when he realized he never actually took off the costume.) "Keep it a secret, okay? The more people who know that, the more chance of me being totally annihilated in my sleep."
She grinned. "Sure. If you could keep mine."
He smiled at her, amused. "Okay. It's a deal."
"Deal. Let's shake on it."
They both shook hands, but their hands were joined for a second too long. Jessie looked up, surprised, when he kissed her softly and quickly on the mouth. "Good night, Jessie."
She nodded, dazed and surprised. "Yeah. Good night, Terry. I'll see you tomorrow."
Unknown to them, a creature of the night stood watching in the deep darkness of the surroundings. As it turned to go away, it only whispered one word. "Die."
(It then marched off, dramatically singing “You will curse the day you did not do! All that the Phantom asked of you!” DAAAAAAAH! Duh-duh-duh-duh daaaaaaaaaah ba-dah!)
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stiles-wtf · 5 years
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Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
Is Goofy a Dog? First, the Basics.
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. Photography via Pixabay.
Is Goofy a dog? The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure.
Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow … or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Is Goofy a dog … really? Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention surrounding the question, “Is Goofy a dog?”
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
As we start to answer the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” let’s examine his backstory. The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. Photography by Loren Javier on Flickr.Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” — and to defining Goofy’s species — is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. Photography by Jennie Park on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
In thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” the next question is, “If Goofy is a dog, what kind of dog is Goofy?” Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Another question that pops up when thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” … If Goofy is a dog, what about Pluto? If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. Photography by Ashley on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. So, is Goofy a dog? Who knows! Maybe. Let Goofy be Goofy!
Thumbnail: Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
This piece was originally published in 2017.
Read more dog news on Dogster.com:
Dug Up at Dogster: February 2019 Dog Events
Separation Anxiety Study Shows Petting is Beneficial
Reese’s Law Enacted in Florida
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
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daddyslittlejuliet · 5 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
Is Goofy a Dog? First, the Basics.
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. Photography via Pixabay.
Is Goofy a dog? The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure.
Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow … or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Is Goofy a dog … really? Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention surrounding the question, “Is Goofy a dog?”
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
As we start to answer the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” let’s examine his backstory. The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. Photography by Loren Javier on Flickr.Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” — and to defining Goofy’s species — is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. Photography by Jennie Park on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
In thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” the next question is, “If Goofy is a dog, what kind of dog is Goofy?” Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Another question that pops up when thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” … If Goofy is a dog, what about Pluto? If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. Photography by Ashley on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. So, is Goofy a dog? Who knows! Maybe. Let Goofy be Goofy!
Thumbnail: Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
This piece was originally published in 2017.
Read more dog news on Dogster.com:
Dug Up at Dogster: February 2019 Dog Events
Separation Anxiety Study Shows Petting is Beneficial
Reese’s Law Enacted in Florida
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
0 notes
buynewsoul · 5 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
Is Goofy a Dog? First, the Basics.
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. Photography via Pixabay.
Is Goofy a dog? The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure.
Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow … or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Is Goofy a dog … really? Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention surrounding the question, “Is Goofy a dog?”
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
As we start to answer the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” let’s examine his backstory. The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. Photography by Loren Javier on Flickr.Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” — and to defining Goofy’s species — is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. Photography by Jennie Park on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
In thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” the next question is, “If Goofy is a dog, what kind of dog is Goofy?” Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Another question that pops up when thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” … If Goofy is a dog, what about Pluto? If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. Photography by Ashley on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. So, is Goofy a dog? Who knows! Maybe. Let Goofy be Goofy!
Thumbnail: Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
This piece was originally published in 2017.
Read more dog news on Dogster.com:
Dug Up at Dogster: February 2019 Dog Events
Separation Anxiety Study Shows Petting is Beneficial
Reese’s Law Enacted in Florida
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
0 notes
jeffreyrwelch · 5 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
Is Goofy a Dog? First, the Basics.
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. Photography via Pixabay.
Is Goofy a dog? The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure.
Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow … or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Is Goofy a dog … really? Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention surrounding the question, “Is Goofy a dog?”
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
As we start to answer the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” let’s examine his backstory. The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. Photography by Loren Javier on Flickr.Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” — and to defining Goofy’s species — is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. Photography by Jennie Park on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
In thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” the next question is, “If Goofy is a dog, what kind of dog is Goofy?” Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Another question that pops up when thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” … If Goofy is a dog, what about Pluto? If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. Photography by Ashley on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. So, is Goofy a dog? Who knows! Maybe. Let Goofy be Goofy!
Thumbnail: Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
This piece was originally published in 2017.
Read more dog news on Dogster.com:
Dug Up at Dogster: February 2019 Dog Events
Separation Anxiety Study Shows Petting is Beneficial
Reese’s Law Enacted in Florida
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
0 notes
grublypetcare · 5 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
Is Goofy a Dog? First, the Basics.
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. Photography via Pixabay.
Is Goofy a dog? The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure.
Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow … or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Is Goofy a dog … really? Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention surrounding the question, “Is Goofy a dog?”
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
As we start to answer the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” let’s examine his backstory. The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. Photography by Loren Javier on Flickr.Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to the question, “Is Goofy a dog?” — and to defining Goofy’s species — is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. Photography by Jennie Park on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
In thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” the next question is, “If Goofy is a dog, what kind of dog is Goofy?” Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Another question that pops up when thinking, “Is Goofy a dog?” … If Goofy is a dog, what about Pluto? If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. Photography by Ashley on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. So, is Goofy a dog? Who knows! Maybe. Let Goofy be Goofy!
Thumbnail: Photography by JD Hancock on Flickr. Some modifications may have been made to fit the specifications of this site. Used with Creative Commons License.
This piece was originally published in 2017.
Read more dog news on Dogster.com:
Dug Up at Dogster: February 2019 Dog Events
Separation Anxiety Study Shows Petting is Beneficial
Reese’s Law Enacted in Florida
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? by Melvin Peña appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.
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jeffreyrwelch · 7 years
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Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. (Photo via Pixabay)
The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure. Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow…or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention:
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. (Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr)
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to defining Goofy’s species is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. (Photo by Jennie Park on Flickr)
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size would suggest, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. (Photo by Ashley on Flickr)
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. (Photo by JD Hancock on Flickr)
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. Let Goofy be Goofy!
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? appeared first on Dogster.
0 notes
daddyslittlejuliet · 7 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. (Photo via Pixabay)
The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure. Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow…or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention:
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. (Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr)
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to defining Goofy’s species is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. (Photo by Jennie Park on Flickr)
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size would suggest, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. (Photo by Ashley on Flickr)
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. (Photo by JD Hancock on Flickr)
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. Let Goofy be Goofy!
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? appeared first on Dogster.
0 notes
stiles-wtf · 7 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. (Photo via Pixabay)
The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure. Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow…or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention:
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. (Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr)
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to defining Goofy’s species is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. (Photo by Jennie Park on Flickr)
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size would suggest, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. (Photo by Ashley on Flickr)
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. (Photo by JD Hancock on Flickr)
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. Let Goofy be Goofy!
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? appeared first on Dogster.
0 notes
buynewsoul · 7 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. (Photo via Pixabay)
The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure. Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow…or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention:
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. (Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr)
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to defining Goofy’s species is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. (Photo by Jennie Park on Flickr)
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size would suggest, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. (Photo by Ashley on Flickr)
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. (Photo by JD Hancock on Flickr)
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. Let Goofy be Goofy!
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? appeared first on Dogster.
0 notes
buynewsoul · 7 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. (Photo via Pixabay)
The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure. Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow…or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention:
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. (Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr)
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to defining Goofy’s species is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. (Photo by Jennie Park on Flickr)
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size would suggest, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. (Photo by Ashley on Flickr)
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. (Photo by JD Hancock on Flickr)
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. Let Goofy be Goofy!
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? appeared first on Dogster.
0 notes
stiles-wtf · 7 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. (Photo via Pixabay)
The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure. Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow…or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention:
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. (Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr)
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to defining Goofy’s species is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. (Photo by Jennie Park on Flickr)
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size would suggest, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. (Photo by Ashley on Flickr)
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. (Photo by JD Hancock on Flickr)
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. Let Goofy be Goofy!
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? appeared first on Dogster.
0 notes
daddyslittlejuliet · 7 years
Text
Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog?
Since his creation in 1932, the Disney character Goofy has become a part of our shared cultural heritage. Like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Goofy has long since transcended his appearances in any specific cartoon, series or animated film to become a global icon. Through numerous minor tweaks and adjustments over the decades — variations in costume, voice, personality and even family — Goofy’s laughter and essential charm endures after 85 years. One question about him, though, has lasted just as long: Is Goofy a dog?
The question of Goofy’s species has bothered folks for decades. (Photo via Pixabay)
The question got stuck in my mind when I saw it took second place among Google’s Year in Search as one of the top dog-related queries of 2016. It seems like a strange question, maybe even counterintuitive. In the vast majority of his film appearances, Goofy’s got long, floppy ears and a recognizably canine craniofacial structure. Even if it is clearly exaggerated for the purposes of comedic anthropomorphism, Goofy is clearly a dog, right? Hold on, if you sort of squint your eye, he could be a cow…or a wolf, maybe! The longer I thought about it, the less certain I was. Let’s investigate his history and these perennial points of contention:
The Goofy family and his dating life
What kind of dog is Goofy? 
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
Goofy’s life and times
The brainchild of Walt Disney house animators Art Babbitt and Frank Webb, Goofy’s history began about a minute into 1932’s animated short, Mickey’s Revue. Originally named Dippy Dawg, the character began as an older, bearded bumpkin, whose lack of theatrical etiquette is a source of humor. Within two years of his debut, Goofy developed quickly, shedding first the beard, then his original name. From 1935 to 1940, Goofy began a run of classic cartoons with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that would cement his status.
In the 1940s, Goofy experienced another pair of adjustments. Pinto Colvig, the original voice actor, abandoned the role for several years, during which time, Goofy went mostly silent. He starred in a series of “How to” cartoons featuring an omniscient narrator or recycled dialogue. These films were meant to have a broad, instructional appeal, and his name changed again, to “George Geef,” a kind of “John Smith” among cartoon animals.
The Goofy and Pluto problem complicates matters. (Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr)
By the 1990s, his name had settled in as “Goofy G. Goof,” which is no help at all in determining what sort of creature he is. In hindsight, if the creative team at Disney had kept a species designation as part of his moniker, we might not still be wondering whether he is a dog at all!
Goofy family values
One major source of discord when it comes to defining Goofy’s species is his inconsistent relationship habits. When you start giving funny animals human characteristics, including personal and romantic lives, this kind of confusion is bound to follow. In the 1940s films, for instance, he had a wife and son, who made things more complex by looking almost entirely human themselves.
The 1990s iteration, featured in the “Goof Troop” cartoon and “Goofy Movie” series, had a son, Max Goof, who at least bore a family resemblance. During a run of comic books based on popular Disney figures, things fell into further confusion for the fan community when Goofy began dating a cow. Clarabelle Cow, who predated Goofy in animated films dating back to the late 1920s, was a love interest for Goofy.
Goofy’s inconsistent romantic life raises further questions. (Photo by Jennie Park on Flickr)
She would return as a potential romantic partner in Disney cartoons that aired between 1999 to 2003.  For most of her history, Clarabelle was linked to Horace Horsecollar. However, her on-again, off-again dalliances with Goofy through the years have led many fan conspiracists to speculate whether Goofy’s own heritage might be bovine as well.
What kind of dog is Goofy?
Most of the iconic Disney animated characters avoid this species confusion, either through naming or very distinct physical features. Turn your mind to Mickey Mouse, Scrooge McDuck, or Jiminy Cricket; if the creature that provided the template for each of these wasn’t completely obvious, Disney’s naming practices really ram it home. The official Disney site is no help, referring to Goofy only as “he.”
According to the fan-curated Disney wiki page, Goofy is a “tall, anthropomorphic dog,” so fandom, at least, is settled on its canonical interpretation. Beyond these official and semi-official references, the rest is left to our speculation and theorization. Physically, the length of Goofy’s ears and muzzle would suggest, along with his body size would suggest, the model to be a medium- to large-breed of dog. From a personality standpoint, his curiosity and willingness to try new things, along with his clumsiness, point toward a dog in the hound family.
The Goofy and Pluto quandary
If there’s one thing that sticks in the craw of Goofy conspiracy theorists, it’s the confusion that arises at what we might call the Goofy/Pluto nexus. Most sites that dwell on the ambiguity of Goofy’s breed or species spend a great deal of time on this. At the crux of the issue, people point out inconsistencies in the ways that Goofy and Pluto are treated as characters.
For his own part, Pluto has no opinion. (Photo by Ashley on Flickr)
If Goofy and Pluto are both supposed to be dogs, then why is one an English-speaking biped while the other barks and walks on all fours? Walt Disney himself provided all the clarity we could ask for when it comes to Pluto, having referred explicitly to Pluto as a “bloodhound.” As you might expect from any long-running character, this specific breed designation was later retconned as a “mutt” by Mickey Mouse himself in 1941’s Canine Caddy.
Goofy is a talking animal! Does it matter what kind?
One one level, anthropomorphized cartoon animals are pure wish fulfillment. If a magic fairy appeared before you, say, Merryweather from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959), among the first things you’d ask for is that it grant your dog the ability to talk. Add in a down-home personality and a dash of regional dialect to your dog’s speech patterns, and you’d instantly be the hit of the neighborhood listserv, if not a viral sensation and talk-show staple. Long-lasting cartoon characters become life-long friends; sources of delight that you experience through the years and pass on to your own children.
On the other hand, four score and five years of people trying to pin down Goofy’s species is a little troubling. You’d think a definitive statement would’ve been issued by this point, or that there’d be a global consensus among his adoring fans that would’ve caused the question to have long faded into obscurity. Why is the joy of having Goofy, in all of his incarnations and iterations, not enough? Why is it so important to pin him to a specific binominal nomenclature?
To be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking about cartoons. (Photo by JD Hancock on Flickr)
After all, cartoons offer us worlds of limitless possibility. In animation, animals wear clothes, have nuanced relationships, drive automobiles and hatch all manner of hare-brained schemes. When they’re very lucky, they also get theme songs that stick in our minds forever. In the attempt to be a latter-day Linnaeus, the drive to classify and delineate a character like Goofy is also an effort to restrict and compartmentalize him. Let Goofy be Goofy!
The post Classic Cartoon Debate: Is Goofy a Dog? appeared first on Dogster.
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