After the events of the first film, Max (Jason Marsden) is now moving onto college (university for us Brits) with his friends P.J. (Rob Paulsen) and Bobby (Pauley Shore). Naturally, his dad, Goofy (Bill Farmer), is upset over Max's absence. After daydreaming at work, Goofy manages to get himself fired but in order to get a new job he needs one thing: a college degree. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! Goofy must now go back to college...the same one that Max is going to! Meanwhile, Max, P.J. and Bobby are trying out for the college's skateboarding team. Their main rivals are the Gamma House led by Bradley Uppercrust III (Jeff Bennett) with his right hand man and main muscle appropriately named Tank (Brad Garret). Bradley tries to convince Max to join them but he declines so he can stay with his friends, this enrages Bradley and how wants to beat Max and his team.
Technically, this film actually looks better then it's predecessor. It has some very nice shading and lighting and the new designs for the characters (since they're older) look pretty good. I say technically because, while it does look better, I still prefer the style of the first one. It's more lively and cartooney (this one was darker) which is what I affiliate with Goofy. Actually that's another thing. The title doesn't really reflect the film. Neither does the first one. In comparison to other films, these films aren't actually as goofy as you might expect and this one isn't as goofy as the first so I wouldn't go around calling it Extremely. Yeah, I realise it's a pun so...bleh!
The cast is expanded from the last films. Goofy, Max, P.J., Bobby and Pete all return from the last film while new characters basically replace the older ones. Roxanne is gone for some unknown reason. New to the series is Slyvia Marpole (Bebe Neuwirth), the college librarian and Goofy's love interest (Max had one last time so it's time that Goofy got one...as a result of Disney's one parent policy), the afformentioned Bradley Uppercrust III who acts as the main villain for the film and, lastly, is a girl who everyone just calls 'Beret Girl' (Vicki Lewis), I guess because she wears a beret, who acts as P.J's love interest. Can I just say that, because of Slyvia and Goofy's love of the seventies, the film has one hell of a dance scene in the middle. There are no songs this time but the dance scene is fantastic. The lack of songs doesn't seem like a problem as the setting of the film would make them seem out of place...plus this film was released during Disney's era where they didn't make musicals (like Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove and Atlantis: The Lost Empire).
An Extremely Goofy Movie was a big surprise considering what usually happens with Disney sequels (they usually suck). It's one of the only Disney sequels where it's acceptable to prefer it to the original. Do I? No. No I don't. The first one was a classic with so many memorable moments and quotes but this one, while it is a good film, isn't as memorable and won't leave a great impression. Kudos on keeping the entire same cast though. Disney sequels don't do that usually. It's a hard film to track down (it was direct-to-video and the DVD was only released in USA) but if you catch in on something like Disney Cinemagic, I would recommend you watch it if you like the first film.
Verdict:
7/10
A pretty good sequel to a classic but it sadly doesn't meet the same level as the first (it's close though).
The best way to check if a Disney sequel is any good is to see if it was direct to VHS/DVD. I remember when they used to do that all the time!
ReplyDeleteAladdin and the King of Thieves, Lion King 2 and 3, Cinderella 3 and Little Mermaid 3 are the only ones that are good (Aladdin and the king of thieves being VERY good)
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