The Art of Skiing (Part of the Goofy Collab)

Well,   as most of you know, I've decided to kick off the Goofy Collab to celebrate him turning 80 and I can't wait to see what everyone else has to say on your shorts.  I've decided to take a look at The Art of Skiing and later, I'll be taking a look at Goofy Gymnastics.  

The Plot

Well to be perfectly frank, there isn't much of a plot to this short but that is the case with most of the How To shorts as they're more about setup for jokes but the basics is Goofy skiing and the hilarity comes from that.  Now this was the first How To short and it had to set up the workings of these shorts and it gives you a basic idea of how the How To shorts work.   Goofy is put into a certain situation and we see Goofy attempt it while the narrator explains it while sometimes getting agitated with Goofy.   This short set it up well and it was a fun watch. 

Narration

Narrator - John McLeish

Again,  the narration is important for this short as it lays the groundwork for what to expect in the How To shorts.   The best way to describe the narration I think would be to say it comes across as watching an instructional video hence the How To but you have moments where the narrator does get annoyed with Goofy's actions and has to point out the obvious and it is fun and one of the biggest things that can either make a How To short sink or swim is the interaction between the narrator and Goofy and for the most part, I'd say most of the How To shorts handle this well.   

Character

Goofy voiced by Pinto Colvig

The big thing that really makes these shorts work is Goofy and the situation is he thrown in and this short is a testament to how well, this idea works.   There are so many great moments with Goofy in this short such as the little things as Goofy trying to put his trousers on over the skis.   

Or how about Goofy  skiing into a pole. 

This is perhaps one of the things that I recall most from this short and each I've been to a ski lodge I think of this instace and of course, how could I forget  that this short introduced what is perhaps Goofy's trademark. The Holler.  Just as Donald is known for his outbursts,  Goofy is known the Holler.    

This short pure and simple has some of the best slapstick in any short that I've ever seen.  

My Final Thoughts

This is a great short and a great start to what would become staples of not only Goofy's career but Disney shorts in general. The How To shorts are some of the funniest out there and they've produced some of the biggest laughs and it's not hard to see why with this short.