Cartoon a Day: Hockey Homicide

Hockey Homicide
1945
Directed by Jack Kinney
Available on: Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Goofy

Well folks, life got crazy, so "Cartoon a Day" didn't happen for quite a while. But with the Winter Olympics going on, I just couldn't resist doing a review of a great cartoon that celebrates a great winter sport...the Goofy short, "Hockey Homicide." In my opinion, this may be the best of Goofy's staring vehicles.

Like many of the other Goofy sports cartoons, every character in this short is a variation on Goofy. This time it's presented as coverage of a hockey match with Doodles Weaver (of Spike Jones' City Slickers) as the voice of the play by play announcer. His fast-paced commentary alone makes this funnier than your average Disney short, but there's so much more to love here.

As usual, the animation is masterfully done. The artistry is really where the Disney animation studio set itself apart from the others, but here you also have a level of comedy not often seen from the mouse house. The comic pacing is more like a Warner Brothers short.

Through it all you can see that while the makers of this short poked fun at some of the odd aspects of the sport (the fights and such), that they also had a true appreciation for the sport. That kind of appreciation is often what makes for the best kind of comedy. So during a break in the games from Vancouver, be sure to check out this animated winter sports classic!