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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Short Subject: How to Be a Spy (1999)



Well at least I can tolerate the narrator this time.


Once again we have a short that is meh in my opinion.  As I said the narrator is better this time and I like that he communicates to Goofy through the spy ear piece.  Some of the antics like Goofy infiltrating the house across the street, only to forget his spy briefcase and walk back across the street through the front door are good.  I also really like the twist ending of Clarabelle using the Ajax Catch a Man course on Goofy and the spy course was all a part of that.  That’s unexpected and really cute.

I think my issue is that with the premise of it being a spy short and that Goofy is the loudest most over the top klutzy guy in the Disney canon I would think that contrast would lend itself to funnier material.  I don’t think the underwear gag in the opening is funny.  I don’t like the robotic arm that comes out of the spy kit, or the debugging the phone gag.  Where’s him busting out night vision goggles?  Or tapping someone else’s phone and totally misinterpreting a conversation that was really a TV show?  The limited animation is also still an issue because Goofy just can’t move as well, and it really takes away from much of the action.

So in the end this short is middle of the road.  There are a few interesting and fun bits in here, but I’m mostly just left wishing that it had had the budget and desire to push the scenario just a little bit further.          

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