How to Be a Baseball Fan

A Goofy Cartoon

Release Date : January 22, 2000

Synopsis

Goofy takes time out from being a participant in sport to join the fans in the bleachers.

Characters

Goofy

Credits

Story

Neil Aslip

Story Editor

Kevin Campbell

Television

Mickey Mouse Works: Season 2 - Episode 11

House of Mouse: Season 3 - Episode 14

Technical Specification

Comments

From Patrick Malone : I haven't figured out what it is about the new Goofy that bothers me so much. or maybe I just haven't been able to put it into words yet. He talks too much for one thing and seems to be much more aggressive than the older Goofy; like he's trying too hard to do what he's attempting rather than chancing upon his solutions by happy accident. The older Goofy was much more reactive than proactive. This specific short was also very episodic, so I couldn't really sustain interest for too long. Each episode contained one gag, then on to the next so the continuity didn't hold up too well. Even the gags seemed to be reused from previous shorts, so I couldn't give this one very high marks.

From David Gonterman : The South Park factor in Mickey Mouse Works continues! First it was Donald getting a space probe, then it was Donald in drag a la Warner Brothers, and the infamous litterbox scene that reminded us all of 'American Pie,' and now . . . Self-censorship with the Air Horn! I heard that Kenny dies in this short, but I keep missing him in the melees that ensued in this short, so I'll keep looking.

From Charles Buchanan : Goofy is an odd Disney character for me. Some of his stuff really works and is really funny, but other stuff just falls flat. I've never been really fond of the "How to" series, so this one didn't thrill me. I did like a few of the gags, though, like the one about finding his seat. I can't imagine Disney actually put in a Goof skeleton!

From Lee Suggs : This series of shorts have been amusing, but too unfocused to be really funny. They tend to be a succession of shorts, with one gag after another playing out. That said, there is almost always something clever or funny in some part of these shorts. This one has Goofy getting the baseball yoinked from him every time he gets it. (Yoink is just such a good sound.) It also has a bit with an air horn that's pretty amusing. However, all in all it just seems to me like this short doesn't hang together well.

From Nikki : Can't say I like this Goofy as much as the old one but this short is quite good for the newer cartoons. Can't say I like the fact that people are showing up more in these cartoons like that kid who takes the ball away when Goofy is in the hospital.

From Graham Hackett : I have noticed that the kid who yoinks the ball that Goofy catches three times in the film looked like Junior (Goofy's son) from most of the goofy cartoons in the 1950's.

From Bryan Hensley : This short was a hilarious one from the Mickey MouseWorks era! It also seems to be a remake of the 1942 short How To Play Baseball, just as an earlier MouseWorks short Hansel and Gretel is a remake of the 1932 Silly Symphony Babes In The Woods! I never could imagine why Goofy would want to curse out a baseball player by the name of Gracie. (He honked his airhorn 4 times to censor out his language.) Earlier, he tried finding his seat. It was so high, that an Ajax blimp knocked him all the way down. He was making his famous yell, similar to his classic shorts! He was also with some shirtless Goofys trying to cheer for the home team, in letters! Poor Goofy kept mixing them up until some spelled out "Go home". Being a baseball fan isn't as complicated as the narrator puts it. The simplest way to be a great fan is to try to catch a foul ball! Can you imagine getting hurt from catching a foul ball? Recently, I was nearly conked in the head by foul baseballs here in Asheville, North Carolina! The first rule of catching the visiting team's foul balls: DON'T DO IT! I hope you enjoy Goofy's baseball fan antics as only the House of Mouse would give you, as well is in the 40's!