Editing Goofy (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Disneyland IMG 3970.jpg|thumb|left|Goofy's house at [[Disneyland]]]]
In the comics and his pre-1992 animated appearances, Goofy was usually single and childless.  Unlike Mickey and Donald, he did not have a steady girlfriend.  The exception was the 1950s cartoons, in which Goofy played a character called George Geef who was married and at one point became the father of a kid named George Junior. In the ''[[Goof Troop]]'' series (1992–1993), however, Goofy was portrayed as a [[single father]] with a son named [[Max Goof|Max]], and the character of Max made further animated appearances until 2004. This marked a division between animation and comics, as the latter kept showing Goofy as a single childless character, excluding comics taking place in the ''Goof Troop'' continuity. After 2004, Max disappeared from animation, thus removing the division between the two media. Goofy's wife was never shown, while George Geef's wife appeared—[[Unseen character|but always with her face unseen]]—in 1950s-produced cartoon shorts depicting the character as a "family man".<ref>Officially, Disney's Guest Services once declared there to be "no definitive answer" as to "who Max's mother is and where "Mrs. Goofy" went", leaving her fate up to unofficial speculation and presumption. {{cite web|url=http://home.disney.go.com/guestservices/faq?id=mnf12 |title=Disney FAQ: Who was the mother of Goofy's son Max? |publisher=[[The Walt Disney Company]] |access-date=July 31, 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810155058/http://home.disney.go.com/guestservices/faq?id=mnf12 |archive-date=August 10, 2014 }}</ref>

In the comics, Goofy usually appears as Mickey's [[sidekick]], though he also is occasionally shown as a protagonist.<ref>[https://inducks.org/comp2.php?code=&keyw=&keywt=i&exactpg=&pg1=&pg2=&bro2=&bro3=&exactparts=&parts1=&parts2=&kind=nk&rowsperpage=0&columnsperpage=0&hero=&xapp=Goofy&univ=&xa2=&creat=&creat2=&plot=&plot2=&writ=&writ2=&art=&art2=&ink=&ink2=&excludeCZ=on&pub1=1900&pub2=&ser=&xref=&mref=&xrefd=&repabb=&repabbc=al&imgmode=0&vdesc2=on&vdesc=en&vus=on&sort1=s.firstpublicationdate Chronological list of Goofy's appearances in comics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304064553/https://inducks.org/comp2.php?code=&keyw=&keywt=i&exactpg=&pg1=&pg2=&bro2=&bro3=&exactparts=&parts1=&parts2=&kind=nk&rowsperpage=0&columnsperpage=0&hero=&xapp=Goofy&univ=&xa2=&creat=&creat2=&plot=&plot2=&writ=&writ2=&art=&art2=&ink=&ink2=&excludeCZ=on&pub1=1900&pub2=&ser=&xref=&mref=&xrefd=&repabb=&repabbc=al&imgmode=0&vdesc2=on&vdesc=en&vus=on&sort1=s.firstpublicationdate |date=March 4, 2021 }} according to the [[INDUCKS]] database. For each story, the database lists the featured characters and the protagonist mentioned in the title.</ref> Goofy lives in [[Mouseton]] in the comics and in Spoonerville in ''Goof Troop''. In [[Disney comics|comics books and strips]], Goofy's closest relatives are his smarter nephew [[Mickey Mouse universe#Gilbert Goof|Gilbert]].<ref>{{Inducks character|GIL|Gilbert}}</ref> and his grandmother, simply called Grandma Goofy.<ref>{{Inducks character|Grandma+Goofy|Grandma Goofy}}</ref> In Italian comics, he has been given several cousins, including adventurer [[Arizona Goof]] (original Italian name: Indiana Pipps),<ref>{{Inducks character|IP|Arizona Goof}}</ref> who is a spoof of the fictional archaeologist [[Indiana Jones (character)|Indiana Jones]].

Goofy's [[catchphrase]]s are "gawrsh!" (which is his usual exclamation of surprise and his way of pronouncing "[[wikt:gosh|gosh]]"), along with "ah-hyuck!" (a distinctive chuckle) that is sometimes followed by a "hoo hoo hoo hoo!", and especially the Goofy holler (YAAAAAAAAH-HOO-HOO-HOO-EEEEE!). In the classic shorts, he would sometimes say "Somethin' wrong here" (first heard in ''[[Lonesome Ghosts]]'') whenever he suspected something was not right about the situation he was currently in, or sing a few bars of "The World Owes Me a Livin'" from the Silly Symphonies cartoon ''[[The Grasshopper and the Ants (film)|The Grasshopper and the Ants]]'' (the first instance of Goofy singing this song is ''[[On Ice (film)|On Ice]]''). In ''The Grasshopper and the Ants'', the Grasshopper had an aloof character similar to Goofy and shared the same voice actor (Pinto Colvig) as him.

According to biographer [[Neal Gabler]], [[Walt Disney]] disliked the Goofy cartoons, thinking they were merely "stupid cartoons with gags tied together" with no larger narrative or emotional engagement and a step backward to the early days of animation. As such, he threatened constantly to terminate the series, but only continued it to provide [[make-work]] for his animators.<ref name="micechat">{{cite web |url=http://micechat.com/forums/news/42925-disneytim-talks-walt-disney-historian-neal-gabler-micechat-news-team-10-29-06-a.html |title=Disneytim Talks with Walt Disney Historian Neal Gabler – MiceChat News Team, 10/29/06 |publisher=micechat.com |access-date=July 11, 2014 |archive-date=January 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107105400/http://micechat.com/forums/news/42925-disneytim-talks-walt-disney-historian-neal-gabler-micechat-news-team-10-29-06-a.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Animation historian [[Michael Barrier (historian)|Michael Barrier]] is skeptical of Gabler's claim, saying that his source did not correspond with what was written.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240225161533/http://michaelbarrier.com/Commentary/Gabler/GablerErrata.htm |author= Barrier, Michael |date= December 2006 |title= 'Walt Disney's Errors and Ambiguities' |publisher= MichaelBarrier.com |access-date= May 13, 2014}}</ref>

===Origin and early years===
[[File:Goofy Debut.PNG|left|thumb|250px|Goofy, anonymous in his debut cartoon, ''Mickey's Revue'' (1932)]]

The character of Goofy originated with his voice actor, a former circus and [[vaudville]] actor, comedian, clown and [[chalk talk]] artist [[Pinto Colvig]], who began working as a story man for the Disney Studio in 1930. 

According to Colvig, one day in 1931, he was having a conversation with [[Walt Disney]] and director [[Wilfred Jackson]], and began to reminisce about “…a grinny, half-baked village nitwit back in my hometown whose mannerisms I had copied and used for one of my former stage characters, ''The Oregon Appleknocker''.”<ref name="CrazyBusiness">{{cite book|last1=Colvig|first1=Pinto |title=It's A Crazy Business: The Goofy Life of a Disney Legend|date=2015|publisher=Theme Park Press|editor1=Pierce, Todd James|editor2=Mclain, Bob|isbn=978-1-941500-49-1|page=99|url=https://www.amazon.com/Its-Crazy-Business-Disney-Legend/dp/B0DJGHSVV6}}</ref> Colvig later identified this “village nitwit” as a local flagman that worked at [[Jacksonville, Oregon]]'s main railroad crossing, who he described as a  “...slow-minded guy who is the happiest fellow in the world. Each small town has one, and he always seems to hang around the depot... As a youngster I used to watch every train come in, and I knew all the details and peculiarities of that flagman's life. I impersonated that man for Disney, not in jest, but because I admired him and his simplicity. I always laughed with him rather than at him."<ref>{{cite news |title=Voice of Comic Characters, Pinto Colvig, Visits Here |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-rhinelander-daily-news/5410537/ |agency=The Rhinelander Daily News |page=3 |date=July 22, 1958 }}</ref> 

Walt Disney was captivated by Colvig's impersonation and, eager to expand his cast of recognizable characters,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Jake S. |title=The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation's Golden Age |date=2022 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |page=51 |isbn=9781641607223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ciVSEAAAQBAJ}}</ref> decided to develop a new character around Colvig's former stage routine for Mickey's ever-growing roster of supporting players. The next day, Colvig went in front of a microphone and camera and started acting out the loose ungainly mannerisms of his ''Oregon Appleknocker'' persona, while animator [[Tom Palmer (animator)|Tom Palmer]] sketched out a character based on his performance. “Thus ‘Goofy, the Guy with a Silly Laugh’ was hatched”, as Colvig would later declare with pride.<ref name=CrazyBusiness/>

The character first appeared in ''[[Mickey's Revue]]'', released on May 27, 1932. Directed by Jackson, the short features [[Mickey Mouse]], [[Minnie Mouse]], [[Horace Horsecollar]] and [[Clarabelle Cow]] performing a song and dance show: a typical Mickey cartoon of the time. What set this short apart was the appearance of a new character: a dog-like member of the audience who constantly irritates his fellow spectators by noisily crunching peanuts and laughing loudly (the laugh being provided by Colvig) until two of those fellow spectators knocked him out with their mallets, before revealing they have the same exact laugh. 

This early version of Goofy was named ''Dippy Dawg'' by Disney artist Frank Webb{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} and was depicted as an old man with a white beard, a puffy tail, and no trousers, shorts, or undergarments. A considerably younger and more refined version of the ''Dippy Dawg'' character next appeared in ''[[The Whoopee Party]]'' (released on September 17, 1932) this time as a party guest and a friend of Mickey and his gang. 

''Dippy Dawg'' made a total of six appearances between 1932 and 1933, but most of them were mere [[Cameo appearance|cameos]]. By his seventh appearance, in ''[[Orphan's Benefit]]'' (released on August 11, 1934), he gained the new name "Goofy", but was still considered a minor character.

===Development under Art Babbitt===

Inspired by popular comedy trio acts of the era – such as ''[[The Three Stooges]]'' and ''[[The Marx Brothers]]'' – Walt Disney and his storymen decided to team Mickey, Goofy and the newly popular character of [[Donald Duck]] together in a cartoon entitled ''[[Mickey's Service Station]]'': directed by [[Ben Sharpsteen]] and eventually released on March 16, 1935.{{sfn|Friedman|2022|p=69}}

In mid-1934, Walt held a story meeting for ''Mickey's Service Station'' where he and Sharpsteen began assigning animators to specific sequences. One of the animators assigned to the short, [[Art Babbitt]], took a particular liking to a sequence with Goofy.{{sfn|Friedman|2022|p=71}} "I had to fight for that..." Babbitt remembered years later:

{{quote|"... in it [''Mickey's Service Station''] there's a small sequence of Goofy on this cylinder block of a car. And he reaches down in one of the holes of the cylinder block and his own hand comes up behind him. God, I wanted that... Walt was in this story meeting and I said, “Gee I want that.” [Walt said] “Nah, I've got you scheduled to do Pete, Pegleg Pete". I said “I'll do Pegleg Pete, but give me Goofy, too.” And so that was the final deal, I'd do Pegleg Pete and get Goofy for dessert. Goofy was originally a sort of stock character in mob scenes, so on, but nobody attempted to do anything with him, so I can't say that I created Goofy, but I was the first that made him into a character. I liked the character, there was all sorts of possibilities."<ref name="CanemakerBabbitt">{{cite web |last1=Canemaker |first1=John |title=ART BABBIT Interview |date= June 4, 1975 |url=http://animatedeye.johncanemaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Art-Babbitt-intvw-4Jun75_web-1.pdf |website=John Canemaker's Animated Eye |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref>}}

Babbitt's scene with Goofy was originally timed to be 7 feet of film (just over 4 seconds); however, Babbitt padded his scene adding additional bits of comic business, with the final scene being 57 feet (38 seconds) long. Sharpsteen was furious that Babbitt had gone over his allotted time without permission, but Walt was impressed by Babbitt's work and approved his scene.<ref name=CanemakerBabbitt/>{{sfn|Friedman|2022|p=71}}

Upon completing his sequence with Goofy in ''Mickey's Service Station'', Babbitt (who had been studying [[Konstantin Stanislavski]]'s theories of [[method acting]]) not only redesigned Goofy from his earlier ganglier appearance to a more ovular streamlined version, but also psychoanalyzed the character: something no other animator had done before.{{Sfn|Friedman|2022|p=72}} Babbitt wrote a two-and-a-half page character bible of Goofy, entitled ''Character Analysis of the Goof'' that circulated the studio in late 1934. Some of what Babbitt wrote included:

{{quote|In my opinion the Goof, hitherto, has been a weak cartoon character because both his physical and mental make-up were indefinite and intangible. His figure was a distortion, not a caricature, and if he was supposed to have a mind or personality, he certainly was never given sufficient opportunity to display it... In the case of the Goof, the only characteristic which formerly identified itself with him was his voice. No effort was made to endow him with appropriate business to do, a set of mannerisms or a mental attitude...<br />
... Think of the Goof as a composite of an everlasting optimist, a gullible [[Good Samaritan]], a half-wit, a shiftless, good-natured colored boy and a hick... He can move fast if he has to, but would rather avoid any over-exertion, so he takes what seems the easiest way. He is a philosopher of the barber shop variety. No matter what happens, he accepts it finally as being for the best or at least amusing. He is willing to help anyone and offers his assistance even where he is not needed and just creates confusion. He very seldom, if ever, reaches his objective or completes what he has started. His brain being rather vapoury, it is difficult for him to concentrate on any one subject. Any little distraction can throw him off his train of thought and it is extremely difficult for the Goof to keep to his purpose. Yet the Goof is not the type of half-wit that is to be pitied. He doesn't dribble, drool or shriek. He is a good-natured, dumb bell who thinks he is pretty smart. He laughs at his own jokes because he can't understand any others. If he is a victim of a catastrophe, he makes the best of it immediately and his chagrin or anger melts very quickly into a broad grin. If he does something particularly stupid he is ready to laugh at himself after it all finally dawns on him. He is very courteous and apologetic and his faux pas embarrass him, but he tries to laugh off his errors. He has music in his heart even though it be the same tune forever, and I see him humming to himself while working or thinking. He talks to himself because it is easier for him to know what he is thinking if he hears it first.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sporn |first1=Michael |title=Goofy and Babbitt |url=https://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=2418 |website=MichaelSporn.com |date=26 October 2010|access-date=24 October 2023}} NOTE: In the original version of his character analysis, Babbitt referred to Goofy as an "[[N-word]] boy". In a later revised edition he changed this to be "colored boy".</ref>}}

Babbitt's ''Character Analysis'' was considered highly influential within the studio, and character bibles were quickly adopted for all Disney's major stars; including Mickey, Donald and [[Pluto (Disney)|Pluto]].{{sfn|Friedman|2022|p=72}}

''Mickey's Service Station'' also set the template for a series of films where Mickey, Donald and Goofy attempted to perform a certain task, with each character being separated early on, and attempting to solve a problem in their own way and with their distinct style of comedy, before reuniting at the end – often resulting failure rather than success.

While other animators would also animate the character of Goofy in these "trio" shorts (such as in ''[[Mickey's Fire Brigade]]'', released in August 1935, where an earlier Pre-Babbitt version of Goofy was animated by [[Wolfgang Reitherman]]), Art Babbitt became the Goofy specialist at the Disney studio and the authority on the character.{{sfn|Friedman|2022|p=77}}

Babbitt continued to develop the character of Goofy when he next animated him in ''[[On Ice (film)|On Ice]]'' (released in September 1935). Here he developed a technique he called "breaking the joints" – where Goofy's arms, legs, feet and other appendages would bend the wrong way for a few frames before popping back into the correct position. This gave the character a lot more loose and unpredictable movements, emphasising his stupid personality.{{sfn|Friedman|2022|p=77}}

Babbitt finally crystalized the character of Goofy with his third time animating the character in ''[[Moving Day (1936 film)|Moving Day]]'' (released in June 1936), where he was tasked to animate a scene of Goofy attempting to move a piano onto a truck. For this scene Babbitt created another first for animation: using his recently acquired [[16mm]] camera, he filmed Pinto Colvig performing Goofy's movements in his ''Oregon Appleknocker'' persona, making Babbitt the first animator to use live-action reference.{{sfn|Friedman|2022|p=81}}

As animation historian [[Michael Barrier]] wrote of this scene: "Babbitt's ''Moving Day'' animation was by far his most ambitious... Babbitt's ''Goofy'' was the first Disney character after [Norm] [[Norm Ferguson (animator)|Ferguson]]'s ''Pluto'' to have a visible inner life and ''Goofy'', stupid though he was, was clearly more complex than ''Pluto''. For the most part, ''Pluto'' simply reacted; ''Goofy'' schemed and planned, however dimly."<ref name="HollywoodCartoons">{{cite book |last1=Barrier |first1=Michael |title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-516729-0 |page=150 |edition=revised }}</ref>

Ben Sharpsteen directed the majority of the Mickey, Donald and Goofy trio cartoons.<ref name=HollywoodCartoons/> ''[[Clock Cleaners]]'' and ''[[Lonesome Ghosts]]'' (released on both October 15 and December 24, 1937 respectively), are considered the highlights of this series, with the former being voted Number 27 in the book ''The 50 Greatest Cartoons''.<ref>Beck, Jerry (ed.) (1994). ''The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals''. Atlanta: Turner Publishing. {{ISBN|1-878685-49-X}}.</ref>

Progressively during the series, Mickey's part diminished in favor of Donald, Goofy, and [[Pluto (Disney)|Pluto]]. The reason for this was simple: between the easily frustrated Donald and Pluto and the always-living-in-a-world-of-his-own Goofy, Mickey—who became progressively gentler and more laid-back—seemed to act as the [[double act|straight man]] of the trio. The studio's artists found that it had become easier coming up with new gags for Goofy or Donald than Mickey, to a point that Mickey's role had become unnecessary.

''[[Polar Trappers]]'', released on June 17, 1938, was the first film to feature Goofy and Donald as a duo. Mickey would return in ''[[The Whalers]]'', released on August 19, 1938, but this and ''[[Tugboat Mickey]]'', released on April 26, 1940, would be the last two shorts to feature all three characters as a team.

===Solo series===
Goofy next starred at his first solo cartoon ''[[Goofy and Wilbur]]'' directed by [[Dick Huemer]], first released on March 17, 1939. The short featured Goofy fishing with the help of Wilbur, his pet [[grasshopper]].

====The ''How to...'' series====
[[File:Disney drawing goofy.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Walt Disney|Disney]] drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941]]
[[Jack Kinney]] would take over the Goofy cartoons with the second short ''[[Goofy's Glider]]'' (1940).<ref name=Barrier/> Kinney's Goofy cartoons would feature zany, fast-paced action and gags similar to those being made at [[Warner Bros. Cartoons|Warner Bros]] and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio|MGM]], and possibly influenced by [[Tex Avery]].<ref name=Wells/> Kinney found Goofy to be "a nice long, lean character that you could move; you could get poses out of him, crazy poses". A sports fan, he would place Goofy in ''How to...'' themed shorts in which Goofy would demonstrate, poorly, how to perform certain sports.<ref name=Barrier>{{cite web|title=Jack Kinney interview (1973)|website=MichealBarrier.com|accessdate=September 5, 2022|url=http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Kinney1973/Kinney1973.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302101053/http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Kinney1973/Kinney1973.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-03-02}}</ref>

''How to Ride a Horse'', a segment in the 1941 film ''[[The Reluctant Dragon (1941 film)|The Reluctant Dragon]]'', would establish the tone and style of future shorts like ''[[The Art of Skiing]]'' (1941), ''[[How to Fish]]'' (1942), ''[[How to Swim (1942 film)|How to Swim]]'' (1942) and ''[[How to Play Golf]]'' (1944). Cartoon shorts like ''[[How to Play Baseball]]'' (1942), ''[[How to Play Football]]'' (1944) and ''[[Hockey Homicide]]'' (1945) would feature Goofy not as a single character but multiple characters playing the opposing teams. Animation historian Paul Wells considers ''Hockey Homicide'' to be the "peak" of the sports cartoons. Some of the later sports-theme cartoons, like ''[[Double Dribble (film)|Double Dribble]]'' (1946) and ''They're Off'' (1948) would be directed by [[Jack Hannah]].<ref name=Wells>{{cite book|author=Wells, Paul|year=2014|title=Animation, Sport and Culture|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=78–96|isbn=978-1137027627}}</ref>

Pinto Colvig had a falling out with Disney in 1937 and left the studio, leaving Goofy without a voice.<ref name="Hischak"/> Kinney recalls "so we had to use whatever was in the library; you know, his laugh and all those things. But he did have a hell of a library, of different lines of dialogue".<ref name=Barrier/> In addition, the studio had voice artist [[Danny Webb (American actor)|Danny Webb]] record new dialog.<ref name="Hischak"/> Kinney also paired Goofy with a narrator voiced by John McLeish: "He had this deep voice, just a great voice, and he loved to recite [[Shakespeare]]. So I suggested, my God, we'll get McLeish for a narrator, and don't tell him that he's not doing it straight. Just let him play it".<ref name=Barrier/> Colvig returned to Disney in 1941 and resumed the voice until 1967.<ref name="Hischak"/>

====The ''Everyman'' years====
[[File:Geefgoof.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Goofy in his "George Geef" persona in {{nowrap|''Cold War''}} (1951)]]
Disney had started casting Goofy as a suburban [[everyman]] in the late 1940s. And with this role came changes in depiction. Goofy's facial stubble and his protruding teeth were removed to give him a more refined look. His clothing changed from a [[casual attire|casual style]] to wearing [[business suits]]. He began to look more human and less dog-like, with his ears hidden in his hat. By 1951, Goofy was portrayed as being married and having a son of his own. Neither the wife nor the son was portrayed as dog-like. The wife's face was never seen, but her form was human. The son lacked Goofy's dog-like ears.<ref name="Lehman">{{cite book | last1=Lehman | first1= Christopher P. | title=''American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era: A Study of Social Commentary in Films and Television Programs, 1961–1973'' | chapter= The Cartoons of 1961–1962| year=2007 | publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|pages=27–28|isbn= 978-0-7864-5142-5| chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=WlEjmDkdc08C&q=Goofy+suburban&pg=PA28}}</ref> One notable short made during this era is ''[[Motor Mania]]'' (1950). Kinney disliked making most of these later shorts, stating "...those pictures were disasters, because I didn't fight it hard enough".<ref name=Barrier/> Goofy would also be given a formal name in these cartoons, George Geef.

Christopher P. Lehman connects this depiction of the character to Disney's use of humor and animal characters to reinforce social [[conformity]]. He cites as an example ''[[Aquamania]]'' (1961), where everyman Goofy drives to the lake for a boat ride. During a scene depicting a [[Multiple-vehicle collision|pile-up accident]], every car involved has a boat hitched to its rear bumper. Goofy is portrayed as one of the numerous people who had the same idea about how to spend their day. Every contestant in the boat race also looks like Goofy. Lehman does not think that Disney used these aspects of the film to poke fun at conformity. Instead, the studio apparently accepted conformity as a fundamental aspect of the [[society of the United States]]. ''Aquamania'' was released in the 1960s, but largely maintained and prolonged the status quo of the 1950s. The decade had changed, but the Disney studio followed the same story formulas for theatrical animated shorts it had followed in the previous decade. And Lehman points that Disney received [[Normative social influence|social approval]] for it. ''Aquamania'' itself received a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film]].<ref name="Lehman"/>

===Later appearances===
After the 1965 educational film ''Goofy's Freeway Troubles'', Goofy was mostly retired except for cameos because of the cartoons' fading popularity and the death of voice actor [[Pinto Colvig]]. Goofy had an act in the 1969 tour show ''[[Disney Theatrical Group|Disney on Parade]]'' with costar [[Herbie|Herbie the Love Bug]]. His profile began to rise again after his appearance in ''[[Mickey's Christmas Carol]]'' as the ghost of Jacob Marley. After that, he appeared in ''[[Sport Goofy in Soccermania]]'', a 1987 television special.  He made a brief appearance in [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]/[[Amblin Entertainment|Amblin]]'s Academy Award-winning film ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'', in which the titular character, [[Roger Rabbit]], says of Goofy: "Nobody takes a wallop like Goofy! What timing! What finesse! What a genius!". He later appears at the end of the film with the other characters.

[[File:Goofymoviemain.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Goofy (right) with his son [[Max Goof|Max]] (left) in ''[[A Goofy Movie]]'' (1995)]] 
In the 1990s, Goofy got his own TV series called ''[[Goof Troop]]''. In the show, Goofy lives with his son [[Max Goof|Max]] and his cat Waffles, and they live next door to [[Pete (Disney)|Pete]] and his family. ''Goof Troop'' eventually led to Goofy and Max starring in their own movies: ''[[A Goofy Movie]]'' (in 1995) and ''[[An Extremely Goofy Movie]]'' (in 2000); as well as starring in their own segments of ''[[Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas]]'' (in 1999) and ''[[Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas]]'' (in 2004). While Goofy is clearly depicted as a single custodial parent in all of these appearances, by the end of ''An Extremely Goofy Movie'' he begins a romance with the character Sylvia Marpole, Max being grown and in college by this point.

In one episode of ''[[Bonkers (American TV series)|Bonkers]]'', Goofy has an off-screen cameo whose distinctive laugh is "stolen" by a disgruntled toon. In another episode, both he and Pete cameo as actors who film cartoons at Wackytoon Studios. And in a third episode, Goofy cameos as part of a group of civilians held hostage in a bank robbery.

Goofy returned to his traditional personality in ''[[Mickey Mouse Works]]'' and appeared as a head waiter in ''[[House of Mouse]]'' (2001 to 2003). Goofy's son [[Max Goof|Max]] also appeared in ''House of Mouse'' as the nightclub's valet, so that Goofy juggled not only his conventional antics but also the father-role displayed in ''Goof Troop'' and its aforementioned related media. In both ''Mickey Mouse Works'' and ''House of Mouse'', Goofy also seemed to have a crush on [[Clarabelle Cow]], as he asks her on a date in the ''House of Mouse'' episode "Super Goof" and is stalked by the bovine in the [[Mickey Mouse Works]] cartoon "How To Be a Spy". Though Clarabelle was noted as [[Horace Horsecollar]]'s fiancé in early decades, comics from the 1960s and 1970s and in later cartoons like the aforementioned ''House of Mouse'' and ''Mickey Mouse Works'', as well as ''[[Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers]]'', imply some mutual affections between Goofy and Clarabelle; perhaps as an attempt for Disney to give Goofy a more mainstream girlfriend to match his two male co-stars.

In the interactive website ''[[Toontown Online]]'', Goofy previously ran his own neighborhood called Goofy Speedway until the close of Toontown. Goofy Speedway was a place where players could race cars and enter the Grand Prix. Tickets were exclusively spent on everything there, instead of the usual jellybean currency. The Grand Prix only came on "Grand Prix Monday" and "Silly Saturday". Goofy's Gag Shop was also found in almost every part of Toontown' except Cog HQs, Goofy Speedway, or Chip & Dale's Acorn Acres. At Goofy's Gag Shop, Toons could buy gags.

Goofy also appears in the [[children's television series]], ''[[Mickey Mouse Clubhouse]]'', with his trademark attire and personality. Goofy appeared in ''[[The Lion King 1½]]''. Goofy starred in a new theatrical cartoon short called ''[[How to Hook Up Your Home Theater]]'', that premiered at the [[Ottawa International Animation Festival]]. The short received a positive review from animation historian [[Jerry Beck]]<ref name="cartoonbrew">{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/events/report-from-ottawa |title=Report from Ottawa: Persepolis and Goofy &#124; Cartoon Brew |publisher=cartoonbrew.com |access-date=July 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204045016/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/events/report-from-ottawa |archive-date=December 4, 2008 }}</ref> and then had a wide release on December 21, 2007, in front of ''[[National Treasure: Book of Secrets]]'' and has aired on several occasions on the Disney Channel.

In 2011, Goofy appeared in a promotional webtoon advertising [[Disney Cruise Line]].<ref name="cartoonbrew2">{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/advertising/checkin-in-with-goofy.html|title="Checkin' In With Goofy" &#124; Cartoon Brew|publisher=cartoonbrew.com|access-date=July 11, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215140838/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/advertising/checkin-in-with-goofy.html|archive-date=February 15, 2012}}</ref> He is also a main character on ''[[Mickey and the Roadster Racers]]''. He has also appeared in the third season of the 2017 ''[[DuckTales (2017 TV series)|DuckTales]]'' TV series; based on his ''Goof Troop'' incarnation.<ref name="ComicCon2019">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/comic-con/2019/07/19/ducktales-rescue-rangers-talespin/|title=DuckTales surprises Comic-Con with Rescue Rangers, Daisy Duck, and Lin-Manuel Miranda|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=July 19, 2019}}</ref> Guest starring in the episode, "Quack Pack", Goofy appears as the Duck family's wacky neighbor after Donald accidentally wished them into a '90s sitcom. Donald hires him to be the photographer for a family photo, but after the Ducks realize what Donald did, Goofy helps him understand that "normal" does not necessarily mean the same thing between families; using the relationship he has with his son [[Max Goof|Max]] as an example.<ref name="Quack Pack!">{{cite episode|title=Quack Pack!|series=DuckTales|airdate=April 4, 2020|season=3|number=49}}</ref>

In 2021, it was announced that Goofy would star in a new series of "How to..." shorts entitled ''[[How to Stay at Home]]'' in a reflection of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. Animator [[Eric Goldberg (animator)|Eric Goldberg]] ([[Genie (Disney)|the Genie]] from ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'') served as director of the shorts as well as supervising animator on one of them, while [[Mark Henn]] ([[Belle (Disney character)|Belle]] and [[Jasmine (Aladdin)|Jasmine]]) and Randy Haycock (Naveen in ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'') served as supervising animators for other shorts. Bill Farmer once again voiced the Goof, with Corey Burton narrating. The shorts "How to Wear a Mask", "Learning to Cook", and "Binge Watching" were released on [[Disney+]] on August 11, 2021.<ref name="d23726"/>