TheLittleSongbird
Most of the Disney How to...shorts with Goofy are classics and among the best they've done. African Diary is not among their best and I couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment, but it is decent enough. The story is a little thin and routine, the ending is too abrupt and while there are legitimately funny moments that level is not consistent throughout African Diary. But when the short is funny, particularly with Goofy's very fast-dressing scene, it is very funny. The part with the rhino at the end was also a good touch, though could have been more rounded off. The animation is bright and colourful and flows well from one frame to the next with no awkwardness. The touch with the safari rolling by and then stopping was also nicely done. The music has a lot of character and the orchestration is beautiful. African Diary also has an interesting twist on the usual narration format of the How to...series, with Goofy taking on the narrator role, with his words coming out of his diary, as well as the other multiple characters in the short. It does work, it shows Goofy's versatility as he shows he can do lots of roles and still be him too, doing it this way also avoids the risk of political incorrectness. Goofy is as appealing and energetic as ever, and the narration is thoughtful with some witty quips, though the interaction between it and Goofy has been stronger in other shorts and it also doesn't teach quite as much. All in all, decent but not great, worth a look but not a must see. 7/10 Bethany Cox
MartinHafer
By the way, although the story is supposedly narrated by Goofy, the voice is of a normal person--not Pinto Colvig or George Johnson (the original voices of Goofy). This was yet another one of Disney's 'how to' videos starring Goofy. Unfortunately, this is not one of the better ones and finds Goofy on the African Savannah--but unfortunately, it's not particularly funny or inspired. And, oddly, the story is quite weak and the short ends all too abruptly. I was waiting for something interesting to happen...then, suddenly, the credits started rolling! By the way, goofy refers to his African porter as his 'boy'. Hmmm....not exactly politically correct, Walt--but it was the 1940s.
rbverhoef
This short only stars Goofy on a safari in Africa. His diary tells us how they travel and one day they cross a pool which they and other animals use to drink from. The next day Goofy also takes a swim in the pool, a funny sequence. The day after that he goes on a little field trip with one of his boys and they come face to face with a big rhino. It is a funny cartoon but not a great one. 7/10.
Coolguy-7
In this cartoon, Goofy keeps a diary about his trip to the dark continent of Africa. The boat he is travelling on reaches the ivory coast (made out of piano keys) and he sets up camp. About the only action in this short was the scene where Goofy and a fellow hunter (a Goofy look-alike) go hunting on the African savanna. They encounter a rhino who charges after them. There was a scene where Goofy points a gun at the rhino and then checks to see if he has a permit to shoot (this bit has been deleted due to it not being politically correct). One part I thought was funny was where Goofy was narrating his diary and telling us about the different animals that came up to the waterhole by his camp for a drink. One of them happened to be none other than Goofy himself. Great short, but I think I would've liked it better if it had not been edited.
AD
