Today In Disney History ~ June 30th
Motor Mania is a cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1950. 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.
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 change in personality to the violent “Mr. Wheeler” when he gets behind the wheel of his yellow car. As Mr. Walker he’s polite, safe, and good-natured while as Mr. Wheeler; he is very mean, reckless, and predatory. Upon reaching his destination in town (we are not shown the character’s reason for traveling) 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 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 on safe driving habits, “Ah, shut up!”.
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.
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