College in the Goofy Movie

A theme throughout Disney’s An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000) is how important it is to stay focused on set goals, so they can be accomplished. The plot line focuses on Goofy’s son, Max, heading to college for the first time and how Max is excited to be free of his “smothering” father. To Max’s dismay, Goofy loses his job and must return to college and earn a degree as well. Ironically, instead of focusing on their studies, Max’s goal is to win the College X Games (a parody of ESPN’s X games), and Goofy gets involved in a romantic relationship with the librarian. But, what kind of person would want to watch a movie about characters solely studying and stressing over exams?

Focusing on the college aspect, Goofy is told by the unemployment office, “Look, I’m afraid we can only get jobs for people who have college degrees,” which still applies. Almost two decades later, jobs are increasing requiring Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and/or Master’s; additionally, by 2020 65% of job openings will require college degrees according to Georgetown University studies. But as the demand for higher education increasing, so does the competition, test score requirements, and finances of college. Luckily, Goofy successfully enrolls into the university and graduates, despite the movie portraying all the characters attending only one lecture and taking two exams.

In today’s society, not attending college is frowned upon, yet one of the main reasons people do not attend is because of the cost, even a majority of students attending universities face financial struggles and debt. According to Student Debt Relief, the average pricing is $34,740 for one year. Goofy is never shown facing financial struggles of paying for both him and his son, other than losing his job at toy manufacturer company. Overall, college is not as attainable as society makes it appear to be, or as the movie portrays it.