''Father's Lion'' is an
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
in the ''Goofy'' series, produced in
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
by
Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
and released to theaters on January 4, 1952 by
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...
. The film tells the story of
Goofy taking his son camping and teaching him how to hunt.
[ The plotline of the short is a parody of the book, that loosely based on the novel ''The Mountain Lion'' by Robert William Murphy.
The film was directed by ]Jack Kinney
John Ryan Kinney (March 29, 1909 – February 9, 1992)Lenburg (2006), pp. 180 was an American animator, director and producer of animated shorts. Kinney is the older brother of fellow Disney animator Dick Kinney.
Early life
Jack Kinney was born ...
and features Pinto Colvig
Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. C ...
as Goofy and Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...
as Goofy's son, Goofy Junior. Voices for the narrator and the lion were uncredited.[''Father's Lion'']
at the Big Cartoon DataBase
The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, Feature film, animated feature films, Animated television series, animated television shows, and cartoon Short film, shorts.
The BCDB proj ...
. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
Plot
Goofy and his son Goofy Jr. are leaving for a camping trip. As they are packing Goofy tells his son all the things he is going to teach him. Goofy's son is very excited and suggests they might shoot a lion. Later as they are driving out to the mountains in their red woodie station wagon, Goofy tells his son about his past adventures. Each story is taken from previous ''Goofy'' short films. These include ''Californy er Bust'', ''Tiger Trouble'', and ''African Diary'' (all 1945). A common theme throughout the film is Goofy's exaggeration of his adventures.
After they arrive the scene cuts to Louie the Mountain Lion
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...
fleeing from the sound of gunfire. One bullet comes close enough to part his hair, but in the next scene it is discovered that Goofy was unaware of the lion and merely target practicing with an empty can.
Later Goofy and Goofy Jr. set up camp. Goofy ties their meat up on what seems to be a rope to keep it "safe from the little forest creatures." However it turns out to be the lion's tangling tail as he was resting on a tree branch. The lion quickly devours the meat, and when the dry bone is thrown to the ground, Goofy Jr. becomes suspicious that the lion might be present. Goofy Jr. asks if there are animals up in the tree, while the lion lowers his tail hoping for more goodies, but Goofy unknowingly beats the lion up while telling his son what he would do animals in the trees if there were.
Next Goofy teaches his son how to start a fire using a hand drill
A hand drill is the simplest primitive method to produce rapid rotary motion of a rod. It consists in holding the rod vertically between both hands and moving these back and forth, in opposite directions, as in rubbing them. The rod typically ...
. The lion sneaks up behind him but Goofy Jr. shoots him with his pop-gun. The continuing gags in the film revolve around Goofy being unaware of the lion while his son is. Goofy Jr. isn't afraid of the lion however, because he thinks Goofy knows about the lion and also because he believes his father's stories about being a great explorer. Meanwhile, the lion makes a continued effort to eat Goofy, but is foiled either by the popgun's cork hitting his nose and making him sneeze or by unintentional, well-timed actions on Goofy's part.
Finally the lion slips into Goofy's sleeping bag, and when Goofy zips up the lions tail in the zipper the lion reacts in pain and roars. Finally a full on chase begins. At last they rid themselves of the lion long enough to break camp. As they are speeding away in the car, Goofy asks his son "Did I ever tell you about the time I was a race car driver?"
Voice cast
* Goofy: Pinto Colvig
Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. C ...
* Junior: Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...
* Lion: unknown
Releases
*1952 – theatrical release
*1957 – ''Disneyland
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
'', episode #3.19: "The Adventure Story" (TV)
*c. 1983 – ''Good Morning, Mickey!
''Good Morning, Mickey!'' is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was first aired on April 18, 1983 when Disney Channel was launched. It was one of the Disney Channel's first original programs, a ...
'', episode #48 (TV)
*c. 1992 – ''Mickey's Mouse Tracks
''Mickey's Mouse Tracks'' is an American animated television series on The Disney Channel which ran from 1992 to 1995, and featured Disney cartoons and animated short films, dating from before the advent of The Disney Channel. A similar show was ...
'', episode #58 (TV)
*1998 – '' The Ink and Paint Club'', episode #1.47: "The Goofy Clan" (TV)
Home media
The short was released on December 2, 2002 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Complete Goofy''.
Additional releases include:
*1984 – " Cartoon Classics: Sport Goofy's Vacation" (VHS)
*1992 – " Cartoon Classics: Happy Summer Days" (VHS)
*2006 – " Walt Disney's Funny Factory with Goofy" (DVD)
Notes
{{Goofy in animation
1952 films
1952 animated films
1950s Disney animated short films
Goofy (Disney) short films
Films about hunters
Films about cougars
Films directed by Jack Kinney
Films produced by Walt Disney
Films scored by Joseph Dubin
1950s English-language films