How to Sleep

A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon.

Down through history, man has encountered the age-old problem of HOW TO SLEEP...

Electric blankets, hot milk & counting sheep are just some of the remedies Goofy uses to fall asleep in this humorous pseudo-documentary. A few nuggets of authentic information can be gleaned among the chuckles.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by 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 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 simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

Call it running out of ideas or simply making a short for a quirky topics, Jack Kinney has made another short film for Disney, this time one that focuses on the importance and vitality of sleeping. How to Sleep stars Goofy, showing us an overworked soul who is in dire need for sleep, but also goes out of its way to show us how sleep has evolved over the years and where we've come in our innovations as man and how we sleep. This is a cute short, one that takes a simple concept and makes it surprisingly witty, entertaining, and often laugh-out-loud funny. The beauty of these old school Disney shorts is, not only do they look remarkable for their age, but they manage to house so much humor and subtle craft into their basic premises.

Directed by: Jack Kinney.

I can't help having a soft spot for Goofy, clumsy he is but very funny and lovable also. How to Sleep is very clever, not quite one of his greatest like Motor Mania, Goofy Gymnastics and How to Dance but still one to watch. The animation is always great, colourful and vibrant, and the music is as energetic, dynamic and as action-enhancing as ever. As it is often with Goofy, How to Sleep is a very funny cartoon, this time dealing with Goofy and how to cure lack of sleep, some of the resolutions are not only amusing in how they result but also good ideas if you struggle to sleep too. And again like most Goofy cartoons, I always learn a thing or two. Goofy is always entertaining to watch, and Pinto Colvig's vocal work is just as good. All in all, a great, clever cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Goofy seems to have a lot of these stories where the plot in his cartoons are experimental. In this case, a narrator (voiced by Paul Frees) tells the story of the different sleeping methods of Goofy and the challenges that he faces while trying to sleep. Somehow, toward the climax of the cartoon, the plot turns toward a scientific approach in explaining dreams and subconsciousness.

This cartoon is more like a mini-documentary than an animated story. Not much laughs in this one and Goofy hardly speaks. It's not an awful cartoon, just a little mediocre.

Grade C