Cartoon a Day: For Whom the Bulls Toil

For Whom the Bulls Toil

1953

Directed by Jack Kinney

Available on: Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Goofy

There's still one classic character that hasn't participated in bullfight week yet. You just had to know that Goofy ended up as a matador once, in 1953's "For Whom the Bulls Toil."

Goofy is a tourist in Mexico when a bull gets in they way of his car. His efforts to move the bull, completely oblivious to the danger, convince some locals that he would make a great matador. They dress him up and throw him into the ring, which is when he realizes the trouble he's in.

The Leonard Maltin introduction to this short on the DVD points out the background designs of artist Eyvind Earle, which really are one of the highlights of this short. Earle would later go on to work on "Sleeping Beauty," which has some of the most amazing designs of any of the Disney features. This short gives a little bit of a hind to what was to come.

I also really like the design of the bull in this short. The bulls in the other four shorts we've looked at have their similarities. This guy, with his prominent chin, snarling jaw, and nasty eyes just looks like pure evil in bovine form.