Goofy and Wilbur

Goofy and Wilbur
Directed byDick Huemer
Story byOtto Englander
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringGeorge Johnson
CinematographyArt Babbitt
Izzy Klein
Ed Love
Wolfgang Reitherman
Bernard Wolf
Music byPaul Smith (movie and television composer)
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • March 17, 1939 (1939-03-17)
Running time
8 minutes 5 seconds
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Goofy and Wilbur is an animated cartoon short. It was made by Walt Disney Productions. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures on March 17, 1939. It was the first cartoon with Goofy in a solo role without either Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck.

In this cartoon Goofy goes fishing with his pet grasshopper, Wilbur. They have nothing but bad luck. The smarter dog, Goofy, and his dumb insect friend catch fish in a fishing net using Wilbur as bait. This cartoon shows a lot of violence, because Wilbur is nearly, or perhaps actually, killed.[1]

The cartoon is known for its 13 slapstick adventures during the eight minutes of action. It was released two years after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and a year before Pinocchio and Fantasia (both in 1940).

Plot

Goofy and his friend Wilbur, a tame grasshopper, team up for a fishing expedition. Goofy decides to use Wilber as bait, but he realizes too late that his friend might actually get eaten by a fish.[2] Goofy has a boat he is rowing and a net, but no fishing rod. Wilbur, being a live bug, becomes the perfect choice for bait inside their fishing net, which will attract the fish as food.[3]

Wilber's life depends on Goofy to save the little bug, who becomes the bait for a half-dozen fish.[4] As Wilber gets tricked again and again, he is at last swallowed by a frog; then that frog gets eaten by a stork, all while Goofy desperately attempts a chasing rescue.[3] In the end Wilbur hatches out of the stork egg, and to Goofy's relief, seems okay. It is not explained how Wilber ended up in the egg of the stork.[2] One blog writer says: "I wonder if Goofy has had a psychotic break at the end of the cartoon, and the reappearance of Wilbur is simply a delusion."[1]

Releases

  • 1939 – Original release in movie theaters
  • 1956 – Walt Disney anthology television series, episode #2.22: "On Vacation" (TV)
  • 1977 – Donald Duck's Summer Magic (in movie theaters)
  • 1981 – "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volume Two" (on laserdisc)
  • c. 1983 – Good Morning, Mickey!, episode #59 (TV)
  • c. 1992 – Mickey's Mouse Tracks, episode #46 (TV)
  • c. 1992 – Donald's Quack Attack, episode #32 (TV)
  • c. 1997 – The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.25: "Goofy Goofs Around" (TV)
  • 2002 – "Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Two: The Complete Goofy" (on DVD)
  • 2006 – "Walt Disney's Funny Factory with Goofy" (DVD)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Cartoons of 1939: 035 Goofy and WIlber". The Cartoons of Project: 1939. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Goofy and Wilbur A Goofy Cartoon". The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Goofy and Wilbur (1939) Plot Summary". IMDb / plot summary. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Goofy And Wilbur: Synopsis". The Big Cartoon Database. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.

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