You Won't Believe the Iconic Celeb Who Almost Voiced Goofy in 'A Goofy Movie'!

Since he first appeared in Disney’s animated short Mickey’s Revue, Goofy has had a distinct voice that is difficult to imitate, making those actors who can nail it incredibly special.

In 1987, Disney hired talented voice actor Bill Farmer, and the beloved actor has been the voice of Goofy ever since. Mr. Farmer has more than 250 credits to his name, and nearly all of them are various films and television shows in which Goofy appeared.

However, he has provided voice work for other Disney classics, including Beauty and the Beast (1991), Toy Story (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Monsters, Inc. (2001), and many more.

Bill Farmer is the voice of Goofy — Credit: D23

In 1995, Goofy got his big break on the big screen with the release of a movie centered solely around him — A Goofy Movie. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t perform well in theaters, but it has become a cultural icon and cult classic among Disney fans. The soundtrack was incredible, and fans have been waiting for Powerline to go on tour for three decades.

While it’s hard to think of anyone but Bill Farmer voicing Goofy, that would have happened if one Disney executive had gotten his way. And all we can do is be grateful that it didn’t happen.

On April 7, a new documentary, Not Just a Goof, premiered on Disney+. The documentary explores the making of a goofy movie and tells the story of a group of pretty inexperienced filmmakers and storytellers who had to come together to create a movie that would honor one of Disney’s original characters while also telling a fun and memorable story.

The idea for the film was actually pitched by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 until 1994. He was inspired by a real-life road trip that he had taken with his daughter.

But it wasn’t the story idea that was the craziest idea that Katzenberg had. No, the craziest idea he had was to bring in a big-name actor to voice Goofy instead of using Mr. Farmer.

Goofy and Max doing the I2I moves — Credit: Disney

According to director Kevin Lima, Mr. Katzenberg actually suggested that Disney hire Saturday Night Live legend Steve Martin to provide the voice of Goofy in the movie. Mr. Katzenberg was convinced that Mr. Martin would be a “fabulous” choice, and would be the perfect person to help bring audiences to the theater.

But what was even more shocking was that Mr. Katzenberg did not want Steve Martin to learn how to go Goofy’s iconic voice. Instead, he wanted Mr. Martin to sound like himself, so people would know who was voicing the character!

Can you imagine listening to Goofy and hearing Steve Martin instead?!

Lima was stunned by the idea. So, he had Bill Farmer go into the studio and record some of the scenes from the movie in his regular voice. He knew that you couldn’t make a movie starring Goofy and then use a regular person’s voice in the role.

“How can you play Goofy with just a regular person’s voice? That would be like Mickey Mouse (speaking) with Cary Grant’s voice. It’s just incredibly ridiculous. But we had to because he’s the boss. Jeffrey’s the boss. So, we had to go and try something.”

Mr. Farmer was equally shocked by Katzenberg’s idea, but did agree to do some of the scenes in his normal voice, but very begrudgingly. In fact, Lima said the actor had a “complete meltdown”, and Mr. Farmer admitted to not sleeping much, just thinking about what he had to do.

“I went home and I didn’t get much sleep those days ’cause I was worried, “don’t they want to hear Goofy when they hear ‘A Goofy Movie’?”

After a few days of recording the scenes, Mr. Lima showed the footage to Mr. Katzenberg, and thankfully, the studio executive saw the error of his ways. After watching the film, he agreed that A Goofy Movie could not change the voice of Goofy, as it just wouldn’t be the same.

And we could not agree more.

Not Just a Goof is currently streaming on Disney+.

What do you think of Mr. Katzenberg’s original idea of having Steve Martin voice Goofy in A Goofy Movie? Could you imagine hearing Goofy speak in a regular voice, or would it have completely ruined the film? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!