Goofy and Wilbur

Goofy and Wilbur is a 1939 cartoon short produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures on March 17, 1939.[1] It was the first cartoon which featured Goofy in a solo role without Mickey Mouse and/or Donald Duck.

Goofy and Wilbur
Original theatrical poster
Directed byDick Huemer
Produced byWalt Disney
Story byOtto Englander
StarringGeorge Johnson
Music byPaul J. Smith
Animation byArt Babbitt
Izzy Klein
Ed Love
Wolfgang Reitherman
Bernard Wolf
Production
company
Walt Disney Productions
Walt Disney Pictures (opening logo showned in restored version)
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures (original)
Buena Vista Distribution (reissue)
Release date
  • March 17, 1939 (1939-03-17)
Running time
8 minutes 5 seconds
LanguageEnglish

In this cartoon Goofy goes fishing with his pet grasshopper, Wilbur, only for persistent bad luck to befall the duo. An anthropomorphic dog Goofy and his grasshopper friend Wilbur (who has limited ability to think or feel), catch fish in a net using Wilbur as bait. This cartoon has a violent depiction because Wilbur is nearly, or perhaps actually, killed.[2]

Plot synopsis

Goofy and his friend Wilbur, a tame grasshopper, team up for a fishing expedition. Goofy decides to use Wilbur as bait, but has second thoughts when he realizes too late, that his friend might actually get eaten by a fish.[3] Goofy has a row boat and a net, but no fishing rod. Wilbur, being a live bug, becomes the perfect choice for bait inside the net, which will lure fish when the boat approaches.[4]

Wilbur's life depends on the hapless and incompetent Goofy to save the little bug, who becomes the bait for a half-dozen fish.[5] As Wilbur gets tricked again and again, he is even swallowed by a frog; then that frog gets eaten by a stork, all while Goofy desperately attempts a chasing rescue.[4] In the end Wilbur hatches out of the stork egg, and to Goofy's relief, seems okay. It is not explained how Wilbur ended up in the egg of the stork.[3] One dedicated blog writer comments; "I wonder if Goofy has had a psychotic break at the end of the cartoon, and the reappearance of Wilbur is simply a delusion".[2]

Voice cast

Releases

References

  1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 86–87. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. "Cartoons of 1939: 035 Goofy and Wilbur". The Cartoons of Project: 1939. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  3. "Goofy and Wilbur A Goofy Cartoon". The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  4. "Goofy and Wilbur (1939) Plot Summary". IMDb / plot summary. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  5. "Goofy And Wilbur: Synopsis". The Big Cartoon Database. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  6. Hischak, Thomas S. (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786462711.
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