Cartoon Discussion: "Soccermania"

[Dan Porceddu]

A few days ago I had the chance to watch the 1987 Disney short "Sport Goofy in Soccermania" for the first time. This apparently rarely-viewed short is just over 20 minutes long, and stars Goofy (as a sports coach), Uncle Scrooge, the three nephews, the Beagle Boys, and a host of unnamed animal characters (including a cameo of a Roger Rabbit prototype). I thought it was a very interesting cartoon, although Goofy wasn't really himself (he wasn't the clumsy sports star we know from his 1940s "How To" shorts). But I found that it had some pretty funny parts, and it was able to sustain my attention for the whole time (a rare thing among more modern cartoons). I'm sure that if the Disney TV series from just after this time period (i.e. "Duck Tales") had been more like this I'd be a much bigger fan of those TV shows. What does everybody else think of it?


-Dan

[MF TOON]

This remains the ONLY short subject from Disney that I've yet to see... and I'm dying for it to be released!


Any cartoon featuring both Goofy and Scrooge McDuck, The Beagle Boys and a Roger Rabbit cameo has got to be a winner, I'm sure I'd enjoy it!

[David Gerstein]

IMHO, SOCCERMANIA loses points with me through its mischaracterization of Goofy, and also through its anthropomorphized versions of RANDOM animals— this Duckburg is full of elephants, rhinos, and other critters we just aren't used to seeing humanized in the comics.
That said, I'd actually call SOCCERMANIA the best animated rendition of Scrooge McDuck and the Beagle Boys ever done! Scrooge is treated not as a family-friendly miser, but as the cantankerous old coot he was at his best. He's also animated using Barks drawings as a reference (rather than using the 1972 Tony Strobl publications model sheet, the standard reference for DuckTales), and one can see the difference.
The Beagle Boys all look alike, and they don't have screechy, exaggerated voices as on DuckTales. Arguably the best rendition of them ever committed to film, too.

[Jon Cooke]

IMHO, SOCCERMANIA loses points with me through its mischaracterization of Goofy, and also through its anthropomorphized versions of RANDOM animals— this Duckburg is full of elephants, rhinos, and other critters we just aren't used to seeing humanized in the comics.

Most of those animals on Goofy's team were originally from BEDKNOBS & BROOMSTICKS, I believe.


-Jon

[JIM ENGEL]

I LOVE it. So lively, and the character designs are "hipper" than the typical Disney stuff. And for THIS funny animal fan, the more species the better. I've never liked Duckburg's half man/half "dog" citizenry...YEESH...the Beagle Boys aren't even BEAGLES! (Tho' at least they're not those insane Barks duck-men with little elf-ears).

[Thad]

I haven't watched the special since I got it in a trade (I should look for it, it's on the same tape with TNT's "Salute to Bugs Bunny" special). This was before I knew about Carl Barks' Duckburg universe, so I couldn't compare the Scrooge and Beagle Boys here to the comics. Other than the ungoofy Goofy though, I thought it was entertaining, and much better than any of the DuckTales episodes.

-Thad