Motor Mania is a cartoon released by Walt Disney Productions on June 30, 1950.[1] In this madcap motoring animation, Goofy (during his "Everyman" period) transforms into a Mr. Hyde-type split personality, when he gets behind the wheel and provides the lowdown on how to not drive safely.[2]

Motor Mania
Poster
Directed by	Jack Kinney
Story by	Dick Kinney Milt Schaffer
Produced by	Walt Disney
Starring	Pinto Colvig John McLeish
Music by	Paul J. Smith
Animation by	John Sibley Charles Nichols Ed Aardal Jack Boyd
Layouts by	Al Zinnen
Backgrounds by	Claude Coats
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	June 30, 1950 (1950-06-30)
Running time	7 minutes (one reel)
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

The cartoon shows how the character, as the pleasant, friendly, and good-natured "Mr. Walker" who "wouldn't hurt a fly nor step on an ant", undergoes a Jekyll-and-Hyde-like change in personality to the violent "Mr. Wheeler, motorist" when he gets behind the wheel of his yellow car. As Mr. Walker, pedestrian, he's polite, safe, and good-natured while as Mr. Wheeler; he is very mean, reckless, and predatory. Upon reaching his destination in town (he apparently only wanted to buy a newspaper) and leaving his automobile, he reverts to the mild-mannered Mr. Walker, whereupon he is the victim of other motorists' unsafe (and sometimes even predatory) driving habits. However, once he returns to his car, he becomes Mr. Wheeler, motorist, again, seeking to impose his own will upon traffic, to the point of blaming the tow truck which hauls him away for his slow pace after his own auto accident, and breaks the fourth wall by telling the narrator, while educating him (and the fourth wall) on safe driving habits with, "Aw, shaddap!"

The car

The car that Goofy drives is a yellow Lincoln-Zephyr convertible. Although not every detail is correct on the cartoon car in relation to the original, its deep, growling sound is unmistakable.

Historical significance

• This is first Goofy cartoon to have Goofy redesigned, with a lack of both floppy external ears and frontal teeth. It was also the first to use a jazz remake of the theme song used in Goofy shorts prior.
• Was used as an army commercial film in 1955.[3]
• This cartoon reveals that road rage is not a recent phenomenon, but also an issue recurring with each generation of drivers.
• Due to its subtle topicality, it and two 1965 Goofy cartoons about freeway safety, Freewayphobia#1 and Goofy's Freeway Troubles, have been shown in driving schools across the continent.
• This short was awarded the Buyer Trophy for the best film on traffic safety.
• In D-TV, clips from this cartoon were set to the Beach Boys' "I Get Around".
• Mr. Walker makes a cameo reading a newspaper in Toontown in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
• In the House of Mouse episode "Max's New Car", after getting banned from getting a car from Goofy, Max Goof also showed clips of this cartoon (with altered audio) to prove how Goofy was a 'responsible' driver.

Home media

The short was released on December 2, 2002, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Complete Goofy.[4]

Voice cast

• Goofy: Pinto Colvig
• Narrator: John McLeish

References

This article about a Disney animated film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e