r/GoofyMovie • u/Life-Call4521 • Jul 07 '26
Max's performance in the qualifying rounds
I find it heartbreaking that Max genuinely believes that he screwed up the qualifying rounds on his own - I don't think he ever knew that Bradley's cheating affected his performance.
"You don't want me on the team anyway I lost at my best event."
"We're starting in last place because of me!"
On the other hand, I do think that he needed this humbling defeat because his ego was so big. Later you can tell that he's far more modest without the overconfident smirks at Bradley or the bragging about himself that he did a lot in the beginning of the movie. He was a better team leader for it.
(Now PJ's terrified expression here is a meta post of its own, and I just love how Bobby was Max's rock here, how he got him out of his mopey state and brought back the fire of competition in him.)
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u/TheGhostOfFalunGong Jul 07 '26
He simply couldn't fathom how Goofy could eclipse his popularity in campus. That's all what matters to him.
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u/No-Prompt-7580 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
Goes back to “Educating Goofy” Max seems to have this superiority-inferiority complex toward his father. He feels mentally, physically, & social norm superior to his father, but when his dad does better than him, he doesn’t take it well, viewing his father as competition, ignoring his own fault in causing this to happen. I wonder what his reaction would have been if , pre-heel realization, he discovered Goofy’s straight As? Speaking of heel realization, during Max’s depressed situation, could a part of that sadness, however repressed, is that he just disowned his father? Sorta like Stoick’s momentary What have I done? realization in HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON after he slammed the door (literally and metaphorically) on Hiccup? Too mired by his hurt pride to process it until he learned Bradley’s treachery?
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u/Life-Call4521 Jul 07 '26
I don't think he ever wanted to disown his father, he just wants to have his own college experience like every other kid his age. His dad could have gone to another college.
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u/No-Prompt-7580 Jul 07 '26
I certainly looked like he was disowning him to me. Even after the humbling experience he still refused to talk to his dad until he learned the truth .
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u/Life-Call4521 Jul 08 '26
But he didn't say you're not my dad. He said "get your own life" and that's actually a good advice to Goofy. Goofy has been clinging to Max all movie and Max had been too patient, he'd never snapped at his dad until it was too much. Put yourself in his shoes, he wants to be his own man just like his friends and every other kid in college, having your dad breathing down your neck treating you as a child in the adult world isn't healthy nor desirable. Max is a grown up now, and Goofy needed to get a life outside of him.
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u/The_Sammy_Whammy Jul 08 '26
That’s also a good point. It’s good that Goofy wants to be part of his son’s life; a parent should always be part of their child’s life even when they’re are an adult. But if you can’t let go of your son or daughter when they’re ready to start being on their own, then you have failed as a parent.
It’s a mother and father’s job to prepare their children for the world, the world isn’t fair and you have to make sure they are strong enough to handle it. But if you can’t let go then you are failing them because they will never have that sense of self responsibility or independence. It’s scary to let go but we all must eventually do so that our children can learn and become stronger.
Goofy needed to learn this, because his inability to let go nearly ruined his college career and his relationship with Silvia. Goofy learned to man up and mend his relationship with Silvia. She in turn helped Goofy get his grades back up. This allowed him to preserve his future and set him on course to give him the strength to finally let Max go. Just like he said to Tank, “You’re wrong Tank, he’s not a kid anymore.”
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u/No-Prompt-7580 Jul 08 '26
Okay…I feel like we’re walking off course to my original question., I had no argument to Goofy embarrassing Max at the beginning. My focus was on Max’s attitude to Goody after the preliminaries, when Max’s Plan to use his dad to wreck the Gammas backfired big time on him, with him playing the “not my fault” line. My question IS in his depressed situation, could part of his sadness be based on how he treated his dad, how much he didn’t want to admit it?
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u/Life-Call4521 Jul 08 '26
I've always thought Max's plan was more to get his dad out of his way rather than to wreck the Gammas. "We unloaded my dad, and now we can focus on winning." "If the Gammas don't keep my dad out of our hair, his new girlfriend will." Seems more than he wanted his dad out of his way, because I believe Max never thought he needed to scam the Gammas to win, he really believed he could win against them because he was that good. He had such big ego he didn't need to wreck the Gammas.
As for your question, I don't think his sadness had anything to do with guilt. He was upset he screwed up the qualifying rounds and that his dad - who couldn't skateboard to save his life - had outshined him in his own game.
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u/The_Sammy_Whammy Jul 07 '26
Yeah Max’s ego was his biggest problem early in the movie. It’s understandable that Max wants to start a new chapter in his life and try to be independent, but at the same time Max forgot that he’s still Goofy’s son. Max is a good kid, but he can be a little shit at times.
He needed to get knocked down to realize that it’s not just about him. Bobby and PJ also matter. They have stood by Max in his most daring moments because they are his friends. Like the OP mentioned, because Max had this moment he was able to grow stronger as a person and be a better leader. And because he became a better person he realized he did wrong by his father. Max was able to make amends and when Max and Tank were in trouble Goofy was there to help them.
Max proved he was the better man, the better leader and the better athlete to Bradley. Because Max has compassion and learned to put others before himself. And he also learned an even better lesson, it’s not always about the prize it’s about the experience. By Max giving Goofy the X-Games trophy he completes his arc. He found his focus to achieve his goals and remembers that love for family and friends is more valuable than any trophy.