MissSimonetta Though the 1950s is far from my favorite decade as far as the Disney studios are concerned, there is no denying how awesome the Goofy cartoons were, especially under the direction of Jack Kinney. Motor Mania (1950) is among the best of the bunch. It features Goofy as a mild-mannered fellow who becomes a homicidal, road-raging maniac when put behind the wheel. Not only is it bizarre to see Goofy so malicious, but it's funny too, especially because many of the film's observations about the manners of drivers have not aged or become irrelevant. The pacing is great, gags both surreal and grounded in reality come flying at you with no mercy whatsoever-- a great time!

John T. Ryan IN REAFFIRMING THE long standing idea that there are only so many plots, MOTOR MANIA brings our favourite bumbling everyman, GOOFY, into a sort of DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE of the mid 20th Century. Instead of the application of some dangerous serum, the transformation comes to our hapless hero due to his being alternately a pedestrian and a motorist.AS WITH ALL of the Disney Short subject cartoons, there is nearly not one frame of film wasted. Characterization is quickly established and the story is off and running. We need only a short trip from the Goofy home in suburbia to downtown to observe the transformation. Comic versions of what we really experience in our driving experiences are paraded forth and we laugh, out loud even.THE NAMES GIVEN to the Goofy split personalities are fittingly: Mr. Walker & Mr. Wheeler. With Walker we have the laid-back, easy going and peacefully stable man next door. He goes out of his way to be kind and genteel to everyone; be they animal, vegetable or mineral. Mr. Walker would not harm a fly or step on an ant, as was demonstrated in on screen action.ONCE BEHIND THE wheel of the car, a sudden and extreme change takes place. Walker the meek becomes Wheeler the constantly irate and overexcited. His is a life of constant competition and racing with any and all drivers who may be near. His every instinct is tuned in on every aspect of the ride. He is keyed on being the first and only one to get where he wants, when he wants.AS WITH ALL well made cartoon stories, we are treated to a morale; which is made all the more palatable by the freely distributed gags that accompany the story. As is usually the case, Goofy pays the price in the end.ONE THING THAT has only now come to our consciousness is how much these GOOFY Cartoons of that period resemble the sort of on screen live action short subjects that were so successful for years. In example we offer the format and style of on screen humor that is the backbone of such exponents of the voice-over and visuals in familiar series such as the ROBERT BENCHLEY Series, the PETE SMITH SPECIALTIES and the JOE McDOAKES (BEHIND THE 8 BALL) Comedies.IN CLOSING, WE were reminded of having viewed this Disney Cartoon so many years ago. It is just a funny, amusing and relevant today as it was in the 1950's when it was made.IT IS OUR verdict that it should be screened by every driver at least 2 or 3 times each year. If I had done this, Lord knows how many of those troublesome fender benders that I could have avoided.

Ron Oliver A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon.Even the most mild mannered pedestrian becomes afflicted with MOTOR MANIA when he gets behind the steering wheel of a car.This little film is not only humorous - in a bone-jarring sort of way - but it also deals with a serious problem: emotional drivers who are a danger to everyone else on the highway. This was the first of Goofy's car safety cartoons and would later be followed by FREEWAYPHOBIA NO. 1 and GOOFY'S FREEWAY TROUBLE (both 1965). John McLeish narrates in his best documentarian manner.Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a storm of naysayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

Edith I've been wanting to find this on video ever since I saw it in Traffic School after receiving a traffic ticket 15 or 20 years ago! I guess our Traffic School instructor meant to use it as a funny way of showing us what not to do while driving. Now, finally, it will be available in Disney's Treasures Series, the Complete Goofy.The Jeckyl/Hyde transformation feels just like what happens to me when I get behind the wheel of a car. The best comedy is the kind you can see yourself in, and that you can relate to. Disney hit the nail on the head in this one. I didn't realize drivers had this same problem in 1950!