Shorts Review: Mickey Mouse – Goofy’s Grandma

After a three week break, we finally get a new Mickey Mouse short. This time around, Mickey gets to meet Goofy’s grandma. Or does he?

Spoilers Below

Mickey is enjoying his evening alone, reading his book, when the doorbell rings. Goofy has stopped by to ask if his grandma can stay at Mickey’s house for the night. Apparently, Goofy’s house is unsuitable for the elderly lady. Mickey reluctantly agrees and Grandma shows up on his doorstep, demanding food. Being such a nice guy, the mouse offers her some tea and biscuits. The old lady ain’t having none of that. Instead, she fixes herself a huge sandwich and gobbles it up in one huge gulp.

Afterwards, the two sit down to enjoy some television programs. Mickey chooses a nice show featuring a Liberace-esque classical pianist. Once again, Grandma ain’t having none of that. She steals the remote and turns on a monster truck rally. In her exuberance, she raises her hands in the air and slams them down on the reclining chair’s lever. This throws the old lady out of the chair and into the wall, creating a huge Grandma-sized hole.

Unperturbed, Mickey shows Grandma to the guest room, which he has lovingly decorated just for her. Guess what? Yup, she ain’t having none of that. She decides to crawl into bed with Mickey. Who would have thought that Goofy’s grandma was a creeper?

Mickey finally blows his top when Grandma wakes him up at the crack of dawn with a trumpet reveille. It isn’t until Grandma makes him breakfast, complete with heart-shaped pancakes, that Mickey gives in again. Unfortunately, the old lady slips on some syrup and spills breakfast all over Mickey’s face. She also crashes into a cabinet in Mickey’s living room. That is the final straw.

With some quick telephone dialing skills, Mickey calls Goofy to tell him that Grandma can’t stay at his house any longer. Somehow, the call gets directed back to his own house, where he overhears Goofy answering his conversation from the other room. It turns out that Goofy is Grandma! Mickey tackles the costumed friend, insisting that the old lady and Goofy are the same person. That is when Goofy walks through the front door.

What?

You heard me! Goofy walked through the front door of Mickey’s house. Just as our beloved mouse starts to have a mental breakdown, Goofy takes off the Grandma disguise and reveals himself. It turns out that Donald was in the other Goofy suit! Goofy pays the duck, who walks out of the episode without a single spoken word.

Mickey questions his friend. Why would he disguise himself in order to sleep at Mickey’s house? It turns out that there is a spider at Goofy’s. Being the bestest friend ever, Mickey goes to Goofy’s house to take care of the spider. But, when they get to Goofy’s shack in the swamp, Mickey finds that the spider is a lot bigger than he imagined. The duo decide to leave the spider as-is and go back to being old ladies at Mickey’s house.

This was an interesting episode but I can’t say that I liked it as much as the previous ones. Goofy just doesn’t seem very Goofy-like. Old-school Goofy would have tried to kill the spider but end up destroying his house instead. I don’t think Goofy would have lied to Mickey simply because he was scared of a spider. It is disappointing to see him fall so far out of character. Donald’s lack of action is also disappointing. Old-school Donald wouldn’t have gone along with this plan. He, too, would have tried to kill the spider, along with the house. I get that these episodes are aimed at being Mickey-centric. However, I don’t think they should completely change the personalities of the other characters in order to fit him into an episode. Perhaps the show’s writers and animators need to watch the old animated features. Mickey and the Beanstalk is a good place to start.