Dubbing Differences: A Goofy Movie

 I found the following notable changes in the Brazilian Portuguese dub of Disney's A Goofy Movie:

• The title is subtly different: “Goofy: The Movie.”

• Goofy’s name is Pateta. It basically means “goofy.”

• Max says “look what you did!” instead of “you ruined it!”

• Goofy says that Max forgot his “lanche,” which fits with the lip syncing but actually means “snack” instead of “lunch.”

• Several notable changes in “After Today” that lose or muddle their visual descriptions.

• Instead of “No more mystery meat,” the guy says “No more having to steal lunches” as he steals Max’s lunch.

• The guys say “It’s the end” instead of “No more gym,” making it odd that they’re randomly flinging jock straps around.

• The jock says “Gonna move to the South” instead of “Gonna live at the pool.” That’s kind of a baffling one.

• Instead of “No more pep rallies to cut,” the goth chicks say “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

• Instead of “I’m gonna sit on my butt,” the bus driver just says “I’m gonna go rest.”

• Instead of “Things will be going my way after today,” the chorus of the song is “Life will improve if I try.”

• Bobby’s memorable lines are all ruined by simplicity. “Slurpage!” becomes “How delicious!” “Cheddar whizzy!” becomes “Awesome cheese!” and “The leaning tower of Cheese-a” is translated literally, which loses the “cheese-a / Pisa” pun.

• Pete’s name is John.

• Powerline’s songs are not dubbed. I assume in Brazil they’re watched with subtitles since they’re important to the theme of the movie.

• Instead of “It’s the Goof boy!” the guy in the crowd says “It’s the polka boy!” I’m not sure why.

• In English, Pete’s words about “joining gangs, stealing stuff, and causing riots” comes back to haunt Goofy when the principal calls him and says Max was “dressed like a gang member,” had “stolen equipment,” and “caused a riot of the entire student body.” But in Portuguese, Pete’s lines are simplified to stuff like “causing problems,” and the parallels are lost.

• Max asks Goofy if he’s “going on vacation” instead of “going somewhere.”

• Max at first thinks the fishing pole is a cane instead of a stick.

• Goofy: “Goodbye, broken fence!”

• Instead of “We gotta put some road behind us,” Goofy says “We have a long way ahead of us.” I love reversals like that.

• After Roxanne kisses Max on the cheek, he just mumbles in English, but in Portuguese he mutters “I’m dreaming!”

• The “High Hopes” tape is not translated or dubbed, which I think is a shame. They missed a good chance to put in an old-fashioned Portuguese children’s song that would delight Goofy’s nostalgia and annoy Max.

• The Portuguese voice actor for Goofy does an incredible job of imitating the “Hyuk!” laugh of Goofy, as well as his general, well, goofy mannerisms. This is even more clear when he sings “High Hopes,” since it’s not translated. So hearing him sing in English is very close to Bill Farmer’s voice.

• Goofy: “We’ll just have to distract ourselves.”

• “On the Open Road”’s chorus is “Traveling I’ll Go.”

• Instead of “Though I may be in traction when I do,” Max sings “I might turn into cashew juice.”

• Instead of “To Beverly Hills 90210” Max says “Take me to another dimension.”

• The initial voices of Lester and the other animatronic possums are dubbed, but not the main yodeling song. This movie must not have had as much funding as the others, because it’s surprising how many of the songs aren’t translated at all.

• The “My life is a living HELLO THERE!” joke is lost. Before the mascot arrives, Max is saying “I’m paying for my sins.”

• Instead of “What a serendipity-doo-dah!” Pete says “What a marvelous deduction!” almost like he’s making fun of Goofy for how obvious his observation is.

• Pete’s philosophy of “Keep ’em under your thumb” is changed to “Demonstrate your authority.”

• While fishing, instead of “Must be a three-pounder!” Goofy says “It must weigh a kilogram and a half!”

• “I pledge allegiance” is translated as “I promise to obey.” Makes me wonder… Do other countries have pledges of allegiance to their flags?

• When the cup of “Hi Dad Soup” is shown, Goofy says “Hi Dad…” to himself, but obviously also to translate for the Brazilian audience.

• In his sleep, Goofy mutters “More alphabet soup please…” instead of “More Hi Dad Soup please…”

• Instead of “Short stack?” the waitress says “Who are these for?” Kind of a odd refusal to just say “Pancakes.”

• Goofy names Max his Official Navigator and Chief Co-pilot, instead of Head “Which-wayer.”

• When Max checks out the female dancers and says “Then again…” in Portuguese it is changed to “What beauty!” I’m not sure if I mentioned this before in other dubs, but “beauty” is a slang term in Brazil used for basically anything cool. So it was probably used in that sense instead of him commenting on their beauty. But maybe it was a double meaning.