How to Play Baseball
Goofy shows us the national pastime. After a brief overview, we have a demonstration of the many possible pitches. On to the World Series, where we go through an eventful inning, culminating in a baseball that disintegrates when being hit.
Jack Kinney
Casts & Crew
George Johnson
Fred Shields
Also Directed by Jack Kinney
This generous collection includes 46 of the 48 shorts that starred Goofy between 1939 and 1961 (but none of the great Mickey-Donald-Goofy films from the mid-'30s). The "How to Ride a Horse" sequence in The Reluctant Dragon (1941) set the pattern for many of these cartoons. An elegant narrator (artist John Ployardt) explains a sport that Goofy attempts to demonstrate. The character that animator Art Babbitt described in a 1935 lecture (quoted in the DVD bonus material) as an easygoing dimbulb gave way to an enthusiastic but spectacularly maladroit figure. One of the funniest entries in the series, "Hockey Homicide," contains several studio in-jokes: dueling stars Icebox Bertino and Fearless Ferguson, and referee Clean-Game Kinney are named for artists Al Bertino, Norm Ferguson, and director Jack Kinney.
Meet the doers and dreamers who made America great -- including John Henry, the railroad builder who proved the value of believing in oneself. Journey with giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan as he clears the land for American settlers. Follow the trail of the beloved American Icon Johnny Appleseed, who planted apple trees which blossomed along the new frontier. Then, take an unforgettable ride with Casey Jones, The Brave Engineer who never failed to deliver the mail...no matter how difficult the route!
Two animated fables from the Disney studios. In 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' Ichabod Crane is besotted by the lovely Katrina but has to contend with Brom Bones, the town bully. Their rivalry leads Crane to the legend of Sleepy Hollow and the headless horseman. In 'The Prince and the Pauper' Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Pluto star in Disney's re-working of the Mark Twain classic.
Live-action segments show members of the Disney staff touring South America and recording their impressions in sketches. These segue into four animated sections: "Lake Titicaca" depicts tourist Donald Duck's troubles with a stubborn llama; and in "Aquarela do Brasil," Jose Carioca shows Donald the sights and sound of Rio de Janeiro.
A marching band of Germans, Italians, and Japanese march through the streets of swastika-motif Nutziland, serenading "Der Fuehrer's Face." Donald Duck, not living in the region by choice, struggles to make do with disgusting Nazi food rations and then with his day of toil at a Nazi artillery factory. After a nervous breakdown, Donald awakens to find that his experience was in fact a nightmare.
After several long days at work, Goofy finally takes a much needed vacation. However, his trip never quite gets off the ground mainly because he spends most of it stuck behind a slow moving trailer. When he gets a flat tire, the mechanic inspects every part of his car except the tire. The only motel he can find is a little shack too close to a railroad track. On the road once more, he gets stuck behind said trailer again only to pass it and discover no one is driving it.
Goofy (again playing George Geef) is a nicotine addict to the extreme. He smokes while doing income tax, before going to bed, after waking up in the morning, and at work. Finally, he decides to quit. He soon learns it's not as easy as that and everywhere he looks, he is tempted to start again until he finally cracks. He runs everywhere yelling, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!" but with no luck. Finally, he asks a man for a cigar and the man gladly gives him one...an exploding cigar which finally has Goofy vowing, "I quit!".
Figaro the cat wants to eat Cleo the goldfish in this Pinocchio short.
The Martins and the Coys are two feuding clans. One day, Grandpa Coy gets caught in the Martin henhouse, and a massive battle erupts, leaving only a Martin girl and a Coy boy. Love conquers all for a while, anyhow.