Goofy and Wilbur
| Goofy and Wilbur | |
|---|---|
Original theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Dick Huemer |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Story by | Otto Englander |
| Voices by | George Johnson |
| Music by | Paul J. Smith |
| Animation by |
Art Babbitt Izzy Klein Ed Love Wolfgang Reitherman Bernard Wolf |
| Studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 8 minutes 5 seconds |
| Language | English |
Goofy and Wilbur is a 1939 cartoon short produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures on March 17, 1939. It was the first cartoon which featured Goofy in his first solo role without Mickey Mouse and/or Donald Duck.
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.
The cartoon is notable for its high level of japery throughout, and its remarkable sequence of 13 consecutive pratfalls. This cartoon was released two years after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), on the same year as The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939), and a year before Pinocchio and Fantasia (both 1940).
Goofy and his friend Wilbur, a tame grasshopper, team up for a fishing expedition. Goofy decides to use Wilber as bait, but has second thoughts when he realizes too late, that his friend might actually get eaten by a fish. 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.
Wilber's life depends on the hapless and incompetent Goofy to save the little bug, who becomes the bait for a half-dozen fish. As Wilber 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. 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. 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."
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Wikipedia