How to Dance

A Walt Disney Goofy Cartoon.

Tired of being a wallflower, Goofy takes instructions in HOW TO DANCE.

This humorous little film was one of several made by Disney between 1940 & 1956 in which Goofy receives instruction in some task or pastime - with inevitably chaotic results. In this cartoon the Goof once again portrays his vaguely human alter ego George Geef. The snappy soundtrack was provided by The Fire House Five Plus Two, a lively little Dixie band founded by wacky Disney animator Ward Kimball and consisting entirely of other Disney staffers; they appear as toons during the film's closing scene (Kimball is the fellow playing the trombone).

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 blizzard of doomsayers, 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 will always pay off.

Goofy seems to have a lot of these stories where the plot in his cartoons are experimental. In this case, a narrator tells the story of the different dancing methods for Goofy to learn so he could get into the scene.

This cartoon is more like a mini-documentary than an animated story. Not much laughs in this one and Goofy hardly speaks, but there are some various nice dancing sequences and catchy music. It's not an awful cartoon, just a little mediocre.

Grade C

Goofy I have always liked, he is clumsy yet very funny and lovable. Alongside Motor Mania and Goofy Gymnastics, How to Dance is one of my favourite Goofy cartoons. With the vibrant colour palette, well-drawn character designs and fluid backgrounds, How to Dance is animated beautifully, while there is also a snappy soundtrack, thoughtful and somewhat sardonic narration(delivered to perfection by John McLeish) and many funny, imaginatively-timed moments with Goofy's chaotic but somewhat endearing attempts to ballroom dance. All in all, one of Goofy's best cartoons and certainly one of my favourites of his. 10/10 Bethany Cox