Disney Cartoon Short "Aquamania" Has Goofy Dad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Aquamania (1961)
Running time: 8 minutes
DIRECTOR: Wolfgang Reitherman
WRITERS: story by Vancy Gerry and Ralph Wright
PRODUCER: Walt Disney
LAYOUT ARTISTS: Dale Barnhart and Basil Davidovich
ANIMATORS: John Lounsbery, Dick Lucas, Dan MacManus, John Sibley, and Art Stevens
BACKGROUND ARTIST: Ralph Hulett
Academy Award nominee

SHORT/ANIMATION/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: (voice) Pinto Colvig

Disney’s cartoon short, Aquamania, was a 1962 Oscar nominee in the category of “Best Short Subject, Cartoons” (with the nomination going to Walt Disney). Goofy is Mr. X (Pinto Colvig), a suburban husband and father who is also an “aquamaniac,” which as the narrator informs us is a boat aficionado. One weekend, Mr. X takes his son, Junior, to the beach for an afternoon of boating. However, Mr. X and son inadvertently end up in a water ski race, and an unlucky octopus gets dragged along on Mr. X’s wild ride.

Aquamania is a Chuck Jones-influenced short, but the animation isn’t nearly as pretty as Disney cartoon shorts that the company released less than a decade earlier. There is, however, outstanding animation in terms of physical comedy and also the animation of characters and objects in rapid and constant motion. The torturous obstacle course through which the filmmakers put Goofy is a wacky wonder.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, March 30, 2007