Steve Martin Almost Voiced Goofy in A Goofy Movie—Here’s Why It Didn’t Happen

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In a nutshell, the heartwarming tale of a father-son journey filled with hilarious jokes and an amazing soundtrack, I firmly believe that the 1995 animated film A Goofy Movie, featuring the iconic Disney character voiced by Bill Farmer on an unsuccessful road trip with his reluctant son Max (Jason Marsden), is one of the greatest Disney animated movies ever made. However, I was genuinely shocked to discover from a recent documentary titled Not Just a Goof that this film did not receive positive reviews in the 1990s and did not perform well at the box office.

Nevertheless, this isn’t the most astonishing disclosure from the recently released 2025 movie (now streaming on Disney+), which delves into the filmmakers’ efforts to accurately portray Goofy in his first feature. A significant challenge they faced was a proposal to cast a renowned comedian, often admired, in the leading role.

Jeffrey Katzenberg Proposed Casting Steve Martin As Goofy

In “Not Just a Goof“, director Kevin Lima shares that he presented an initial version of “A Goofy Movie” to Jeffrey Katzenberg, who served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984-1994 according to THR. Instead of the usual response, Katzenberg penned a surprising note. He found that Bill Farmer’s longtime portrayal of Goofy (who is not quite a dog like Pluto, but part of the same family) seemed too “unconvincing,” as co-writer Brian Pimenthal put it.

In an attempt to solve the issue, Katzenberg (the future founder of Quibi) pondered over the idea of re-filming the entire movie featuring A-list comedian Steve Martin, without imitating Goofy but using his authentic voice instead. As a huge fan of Martin and his work, I feel this could have been disastrous, considering the iconic character’s deep-rooted drawl, chuckle, and holler which Farmer had mastered over decades. Fortunately, the director devised an alternative plan.

Kevin Lima Convinced Katzenberg To Rerecord The Movie With Bill Farmer’s Real Voice

Lima suggested that Katzenberg should let Martin re-record the movie with Farmer using his real voice, instead of calling him first. However, Martin was uncomfortable with this idea, and he mentioned in his book, “Not Just a Goof,” that he lost sleep worrying about how audiences would react to Goofy not having his signature sound.

Instead of Lima’s assurance in the document, it suggests that the entire rerecording process was intended as a trick to persuade Katzenberg that producing A Goofy Movie without the signature voice wasn’t one of his wisest decisions. Thankfully, after viewing a fresh cut that didn’t include Farmer’s impression, Katzenberg eventually understood he had erred, and Goofy continued to be Goofy.

Back in the day, it wasn’t just the first time that Katzenberg stirred up some trouble with a Disney voice actor – Robin Williams turned down reprising Genie for the initial Aladdin sequel due to an executive attempt to hinder his role in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. Thankfully, his unusual plan to cast Steve Martin as Goofy never came to fruition; otherwise, the beloved charm of A Goofy Movie might not have stood the test of time over these past 30 years.

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2025-04-11 12:07