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Walt Disney made it pretty obvious that Mickey Mouse is a mouse, Donald Duck is a duck and Clarabelle Cow is a cow.
Then you’ve got Pluto who is clearly a dog due to his mannerisms and there’s Pete who, despite his bearish looks, is actually a cat.
And while looking at Goofy – best known for his clumsy but loveable nature – you’d think he’s a some kind of hound, according to his voice actor Bill Farmer, you’ve got the beloved character all wrong.
Mickey Mouse has been going since 1928, but it wasn’t until 1932 that Goofy first appeared in the animated short titled Mickey’s Revue – when he was originally named ‘Dippy Dawg’ by Disney artists.
He made a total of six appearances, but by his seventh in 1934 he gained a new name ‘Goofy’ and became a regular in the show.
But other than him originally being called a dawg, no one has ever highlighted what animal he is – and if you compare him to Mickey’s dog Pluto, he’s not very dog-like.
Bill Farmer has been the voice of Goofy since 1987 (The Walt Disney Company/Getty Images/Disney)
Goofy walks on two feet and can talk, while Pluto just barks and gets about on all fours.
There’s even been speculation online as to whether or not Goofy’s another animal entirely because of his romantic interest in Clarabelle Cow, with one Twitter user questioning: “The people have been debating for years & years… Is goofy a dog or a cow?”
Farmer – who has been the ‘official voice’ of Goofy since taking on the role way back in 1987 – weighed in on the age-old debate of what kind of animal his character is.
He claimed that for decades people have been barking up the wrong tree.
In 2020, Farmer told Yahoo News!: “He is not a dog.
Farmer revealed Goofy isn’t a dog (Disney)
“Pluto is a dog, but Goofy seems to be in the canine family in the same way that a wolf is not a dog, but they also are in the canine family. I think ‘Canis Goofus’ is the technical Latin term for what Goofy is. He’s just Goofy.”
Well there you have it, Goofy’s voice actor has spoken… but with Goofy originally being named Dippy Dawg I’m sure there will be some fans, including myself, who have their suspicions that he may still just be a clumsy dog.
