Maximilian "Max" Goof is a cartoon character who is the son of the Disney character Goofy. He first appeared in the 1951 short Fathers Are People as a kid under the name of Goofy Junior, continuing under that identity in later 1950s short films, and later appeared in the 1992 television series Goof Troop as Max Goof, as a preteen, being his official name ever since. He then later appeared as a teenager in the spin-off film A Goofy Movie (1995), and as a young adult in its direct-to-video sequel An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000), and in the 2001 television series House of Mouse. He appeared as a child in the direct-to-video film Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and as a young adult in its sequel Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004).
Max has also appeared as a playable character in video games such as Goof Troop (1993) for the Super NES, Disney Golf (2002) for the PlayStation 2, and Disney's Extremely Goofy Skateboarding (2001) for PC CD.
Origins The first appearance of Goofy's son was in the 1951 theatrical short Fathers Are People. He is referred to as Goofy Junior or simply Junior. He later appeared in a few other shorts such as Father's Lion (1952), Father's Day Off (in which Goofy refers to his son as "George" at one point), Father's Week-end (1953), and Aquamania (1961). In these earlier films, Goofy was also portrayed with a wife, though nameless and with her face always hidden from view. When Goof Troop was created, Goofy Junior evolved into Max, and Goofy's wife was no longer on the scene. Disney Guest Services FAQ later stated there is no definitive answer regarding details of his mother, as one has not been revealed "on the screen".
Overview
Max is one of the few Disney characters, aside from his best friend PJ and Huey, Dewey, and Louie, child or otherwise, who has actually aged in subsequent appearances. He is depicted as an 11-year-old in Goof Troop, then a teenager in high school in A Goofy Movie,In The Making of A Goofy Movie, director Kevin Lima describes Max as being 14 years old. and then in An Extremely Goofy Movie he is a high school graduate starting college. In House of Mouse, he is still a teenager but one who is old enough to be employed as a parking valet. In Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, he is a child who looks and sounds younger than he does in Goof Troop. In Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, he is a young adult who is returning home for the holidays.
Max, much to his own dismay, takes after his father at times, whether it be mannerisms (including Goofy's trademark laugh) or occasionally being clumsy (although that is a trait he does not display obviously in An Extremely Goofy Movie during the College X-Games competition). Max is originally shown to be embarrassed by his laugh, however towards the end of A Goofy Movie and his subsequent appearances, he is shown to embrace it. Max is shown to have a scream similar to Goofy's in the video game Disney Sports Skateboarding.
While Goofy is still clumsy, he works hard to be a good father towards Max, at one time reprimanding him to take personal responsibility by telling him about his (Max's) great-uncle, Eliot Goof, an FBI agent with a never-give-up attitude (and a parody of Eliot Ness).
Max's personality has evolved as the character has aged. As a child, he is shown to be very close to his father. He spent most of his time tagging along with Goofy during his father's shenanigans; however, as he grows, their relationship becomes strained. In Goof Troop, there are times he would get suckered in by Pete and his get-rich-quick schemes, only to come around towards the end. Despite everything, Max loves his father, even if he does wish that Goofy would be a little more normal.
As a teenager and young adult, Max is portrayed as an emotional, passionate and ambitious albeit self-conscious and rebellious character. He grows while striving for independence, navigating the conflicts that arise from his father's goofy nature. Max is prone to feeling humiliated and overwhelmed by Goofy's behaviour which is further hindered by Goofy not always understanding the wishes and needs of his son.
In the Goof Troop television series, Max is voiced by Dana Hill, while Shaun Fleming voices the younger Max in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. Jason Marsden voices an older Max in all other appearances starting with A Goofy Movie. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. The Goof Troop series shows some of his relatives – an older cousin named Debbie was featured in the episode "Leader of the Pack". In the Halloween episode "Hallow-Weenies", his father's "great-great-granddaddy" was Gooferamus T. Goofy, while a "Gooferamus G. Goof" is instead referred in "Calling All Goofs" as Max's "great-great-great-grandpappy"; at a family reunion in "Calling All Goofs" his relatives are Goofy's Aunt Goophelia, Pattonleather Goof (Goofy's great-uncle and a parody of George S. Patton), Wernher von Goof (Goofy's scientist cousin and a parody of Wernher von Braun), and M. Angelo Goof (Goofy's artist uncle and a parody of Michelangelo). In "the Old Country" his father's "great-grand uncle" was the late mad scientist Dr. Frankengoof. Other relatives include Sir Goofy of Knock-Knees A.K.A. "Goofin' Hood" (Max's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather and a parody of Robin Hood), Sherlock Goof (Max's great-great-great uncle and a parody of Sherlock Holmes), Mopalong Goofy (Max's great-great-great-grandpa and a parody of Hopalong Cassidy), and Caveman Goof (Max's and Goofy's prehistoric ancestor). In one episode of Goof Troop, Goofy says that Max was scared of the witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when he was younger.
Over the course of his life, Max's has been romantically involved with at least two young ladies. In A Goofy Movie, Max tries to impress a popular girl at his school named Roxanne, and ends up with her by the film's end, but by the second movie, Max is apparently single again as he flirts with a number of other girls at the college. However, in an episode of House of Mouse, he and Roxanne are a couple once more, on a date at the titular House of Mouse. Later, in Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, Max is seen with yet another a girl named Mona, whom he brings home for Christmas to meet his father and attempts to impress her while trying not to be embarrassed by his father's goofiness. Both Roxanne and Mona are voiced by Kellie Martin, except in the House of Mouse episode in which Roxanne is instead voiced by Grey DeLisle.
Max has a love for skateboarding, as shown in the Goof Troop episodes "Leader of the Pack" and "Meanwhile, Back at the Ramp" and the films A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie.
In the series Goof Troop, Max is playful, brave, loyal, and quirky; despite the changes he undergoes in the two movies, the person truly responsible for ruining the boy's life was always Pete who is ultimately punished for his actions—whereas Max is frequently forgiven and accepted by everyone, who treat him with greater friendliness and respect.
Appearances Goof Troop In the series Goof Troop, Max is the 11-and-a-half years old son of Goofy. At the same age, Max moved to his father's hometown of Spoonerville with him and has lived there ever since. He is active, nice, observant, friendly, and best friends with P.J., Pete's son. He and P.J. are in the same grade at junior high school. Max, like in all of his appearances, loves his father but wishes he would be a bit more normal, and dislikes the idea of sharing similarities with him.
A Goofy Movie
A Goofy Movie in 1995 features Max as a 14-year-old high school student, finishing the freshman school year before going on summer vacation. Max has grown to find his father's goofy antics embarrassing, and is likewise viewed by his peers as a geek and a goof himself; a view he seeks to change at the school assembly when he dresses up like the musician rock star Powerline and interrupts the principal's speech to dance and perform to Powerline's hit song "Stand Out" before the entire student body. Additionally, Max seeks to gain the attention of his crush, a girl named Roxanne, whom Max is convinced only ever looks right through him and believes the laugh he inherited from his father ("a-hyuck") is to her disliking. Though Max ends up in detention for hijacking the assembly, he succeeds in not only impressing the other students but also winning the affections of Roxanne, who shyly yet delightedly agrees to go with him to a party that is to be held the next Saturday.
However, the principal informs Max's father, Goofy, about Max's bad behavior. Fearful that his son is becoming a delinquent, Goofy decides to take Max on a cross-country fishing trip for some 'father-son bonding', much to Max's chagrin. Before Goofy and Max hit the road, Max pays a quick visit to Roxanne's house to explain to her why he can no longer go with her to the party but ends up lying to her that it is because he is instead going to see Powerline live in concert in Los Angeles and that he and his father will join Powerline on stage for the last song since, as Max claims, Goofy and Powerline are an old acquaintance. The guilt from this lie eats at Max throughout the film, while Goofy tries to bond with his son in ways that end up pushing Max away even further. When Goofy appoints Max the official navigator of their road trip, things go much more smoothly for the two as Max gets to pick all the stops along the way.
But, unbeknownst to Goofy, Max had secretly changed the driving route on the map to lead them to Los Angeles, and when Goofy finds out, he and Max come to a head as the two finally let out all their held-back emotions at each other before they finally reach an understanding in which Max confesses to his dad how he has felt about Roxanne and the lie he told her before while Goofy explains that he just wants to be a part of Max's life and that even though he's all grown up, he is still Goofy's son. By this point, Max and Goofy admit that they are stuck together and would not want to be with anyone else in this situation. The two actually make it to the Powerline concert, even appearing (accidentally) onstage. By the end of the film, when the two arrive back home, Max reveals to Roxanne that he lied, admitting that he just wanted her to like him. Roxanne in turn confesses that she already did like Max, revealing that the goofy laugh Max had been so embarrassed by was the very thing that led to her liking him. After Goofy's car suddenly explodes due to the damage after it had fallen down the waterfall, he is sent crashing through the roof of Roxanne's porch, at which point Max introduces Roxanne to his dad.
An Extremely Goofy Movie
In the direct-to-video sequel to A Goofy Movie, An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000), Max is a high school graduate and leaves for college with his best friends P.J. and Bobby Zimuruski. He hopes to start a new life for himself and partake in the College X-Games competition. Upon his arrival to the campus, he and his friends are met by the five-time X-Games champions, the Gamma Mu Mu fraternity. However, because the Gammas invited only Max and not P.J. and Bobby to join them, Max makes a bet against the Gammas' leader, Bradley Uppercrust, to see who will be towel boy to the other should either win the X-Games.