In AEGM , there’s a brief moment where Max gives a quick saddened expression after he is happy about persuading his dad to join the Gamma’s . This moment in the movie is often seen as Max feeling a bit guilty for wanting/tricking his dad to get away from him. And this is of course, a valid interpretation to be had. It is what a lot of people assume to be the case when watching the movie.
But is this moment really about Max feeling guilty or could this brief moment be towards something else? Some may say it’s even about Bradley but is there really some truth to this?
To know for sure I think it's important to look at the scenes that led up to this moment for proper context and to see how Max ultimately acts after this scene to see if there really could be any other cause for Max’s sudden disheartened reaction.
So let's start off when Goofy first attends Max’s college.
When Max see's Goofy enter his classroom , Max screams , is absolutely horrified and ( jokingly) wants Bobby to kill him . Even screams “NOOOOOO!” at the top of his lungs after everyone in class laughs at his ordeal for having his own dad attend college with him.
This was supposed to be a fresh start for Max and he wants to be popular and make a good impression on everyone , but Goofy’s unexpected arrival has now potentially jeopardised all that.
But after Max understands Goofy’s situation of being fired and needing a degree to get a good job , he sympathizes with him and gives Goofy ground rules to follow. Even defends Goofy's arrival to PJ and Bobby when they fear he will get in the way of the X games and their social life on campus.
“Look, I talked to him and laid out all the ground rules. No interfering with the X games practice. No hounding us about schoolwork. No coming into our room unannounced. And no acting like a father. Especially mine. He's got his life , I’ve got my life”- Max to PJ and Bobby
However , Goofy pushes the boundaries and neglects these rules, causing Max to feel embarrassed and annoyed by his father’s constant interference in his life. It’s becoming a problem for Max and it’s getting in the way of his own goals and reputation.
This goes on for days or weeks until one day at the library , Max tries to sneak away from his dad.
Goofy catches him though and asks where he's going to which a nervous Max quickly try's to figure out a excuse as to what he is doing. He then comes up with the idea that Goofy needs library card. A perfect cover up and a perfect way to distract his dad.
Once Goofy is distracted with Miss Marpole , Max actively tries sneaking away again and even jumps over one of the library stalls to get away unseen.
Now that Goofy has someone else to latch onto and is completely distracted , Max Finally has a chance to get away from his dad once and for all and is more than happy to do so with no regret or feeling of guilt whatsoever.
“Come on guys , we're out of here!”- Max to PJ and Bobby
This is probably the first moment since Goofy arrived at college that Max has had time away from his dad and he willingly takes full advantage of this with a smile on his face when making his getaway.
Once at skating boarding practice , Max is impressing everyone with his skateboarding skills and Max couldn’t be happier.
He finally got a moment again where he feels popular and validated , just like he did when he first skated past frat row and things are really looking up for him.
That is until out of nowhere Goofy shows up in the middle of the ramp and Max accidentally collides into him, causing both Max and Goofy to be swung into the air and Max falling off his skateboard. Goofy however manages to land on Max’s skateboard and accidentally ends up taking Max’s spotlight by impressing everyone with his own skateboarding skills.
Everyone applauds Goofy , something everyone was doing to Max moments prior , making Max annoyed and snatch his skateboard ruffly away from Goofy.
Due to Goofy’s actions, Max has now had enough of skateboarding practice for the day and is ready to leave but then Goofy suddenly proposes that he should join Max’s skateboarding team.
Max at first is bewildered that his dad would even ask him something like that, especially considering what he just did moments ago even if it was unintentional.
And so having enough of his dad's constant medalling , Max makes it perfectly clear to Goofy through his firm tone and disapproving body language that he isn’t going to let Goofy join his team as this is the one boundary that he isn't going to let Goofy cross.
“ Dad, as fun as that sounds. There are no, openings on my team. Kay.”- Max
At this point , Max’s patience with his dad is wearing thin. He is already annoyed that his dad isn’t listening to the ground rules and that his constant presence is medalling in with his social life. And when Max finally gets a break from his dad , a moment where he can be celebrated for his skateboarding skills again, Goofy accidently takes this moment away from him by impressing everyone with his own skills , making Max get more annoyed/frustrated with his dad than he was before .
Max then walks off with PJ and Bobby to which Bradley takes this as his opportunity to make Goofy an offer to join the Gamma’s. However , Goofy lets Bradley know that he is more interested in staying close to Maxie than joining his team. Bradley tries to make Goofy realise that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity but in response Goofy infers that Bradley doesn't understand the bond between a father and his son.
Overhearing this conversation, it’s clear to Max that Goofy isn’t going to leave him alone unless he thinks of another way to keep his dad away but for good this time. So as Max watches the conversation unfold , he cunningly comes up with a plan to get rid of his dad once and for all. Looks pretty satisfied and happy about it too.
"Guys, I have a plan."-Max
Once Bradley and the Gamma’s leave Goofy alone , Max convinces his dad that he should join the Gamma’s as they need him more than his team does and that they will both still see each other at practices and events all the time. Goofy asks Max if his sure about this decision to which Max happily approves by telling his dad to go for it.
Goofy then catches up with Bradley and joins the Gamma’s , now following Bradley’s lead as they leave the skate park.
Max and his friends watch as they leave and Max is seen smiling and content with what he has just done. But as PJ and Bobby celebrate , Max suddenly looks briefly sad when the scene starts to come to an end ?
It’s very odd as this change in demeanour only lasts a few seconds in the actual movie but for some reason this display of emotion from Max isn't actually addressed later or?
Every scene leading up to this moment has implied that Max should be rightfully happy. So why would Max suddenly look sad about finally getting rid of Goofy when all he has wanted up to this point is to do just that.
Max didn't feel guilty when he pushed Goofy on to Miss Marpole in the scene previous to this one, so what's changed?
Shouldn't he be feeling … relieved? Over the moon even?
Well , if it was a brief moment of guilt it was Very short lived as in the next following scene Max is overwhelmingly ecstatic/happy that his plan had worked and he even wants to celebrate with PJ and Bobby by making a nacho toast with them.
“A Crunch to us. I can’t believe it. It worked. We unloaded my dad and now we can focus on winning. Let’s do it, to it !”-Max
Then later on during the scene , Max happily see's Goofy dancing with Miss Marpole and makes a point to Bobby that even if the Gammas can't keep Goofy away, then Miss Marpole surely will. Even gives Bobby a high five as a sign of approval/victory to his own statement.
"If the Gammas don't keep my dad out of our hair, his new girlfriend will."- Max
So clearly , Max isn't sad about ditching his Dad or tricking him to keep him away. As long as somebody is occupying his dad away from him then it's all good in his eyes.
So , uh … what happened then? Why is there a sudden whiplash of emotions here ? Did we miss a scene? Did Max just quickly get over it? Shouldn’t Max be asking PJ and Bobby for reassurance that he did the right thing if he really felt guilty over his dad?
Well, with everything leading up to this scene it would be reasonable to suggest that Max shouldn't be feeling guilty.
Goofy has over stepped Max's boundaries despite Max putting ground rules in place and Max can only be so patient and tolerant of Goofy's interference in his life for so long. Max is desperate to get away from his dad , and now that Goofy is out of the way , It makes absolute sense that Max should be happy and relieved about this change as Max believes he will only benefit from it.
So if we are to go with the notion that Max's expression isn’t guilt, then what was Max’s expression really about ?
One interpretation could be , Max suddenly realizing that Goofy could be a threat to him in the X games but I don't think this is the case at all. At this point in the story , Max doesn't actually think Goofy can out best him at skateboarding. In his words he thought his dad was “the most athletically challenged man in the universe”.
And when it’s time for the actual qualifying rounds , Max sounds/looks condensing when wishing Goofy luck, as if Goofy will need all the luck he can get.
And when Goofy replaces Bradley as a last minute substitution , Max is surprised at first at the sudden change but is confident that Goofy will make the Gamma’s look bad.
"(chuckle) This is gonna be good"-Max
It's only when Goofy performs really well that Max is rather shocked that Goofy proved him wrong and could out best him.
So what else could it possibly be? ...
Well … as you've probably already guessed , what I'm going to propose is that Max’s saddened expression is actually addressed towards Bradley …
Let me explain why this could be the case through a character/Story perspective.
After Max walks off from telling Goofy he can’t be on his team , Bradley swoops in to offer Goofy a place to be on his team instead.
The following scene goes as follows.
“Mr. Goof! Your performance was, without a doubt, the most breath-taking display of alternative sport inventiveness... yet to be paralleled by mankind!”-Bradley
“Gee! Ah-yuck. Thanks. Whatever you said”.-Goofy
“The Gammas, the number one team in the history of the College "X" Games, have an opening on our team. And it has got your name on it, buddy! Be a winner. Join us.” - Bradley
“Hey, welcome to the team.”-Tank
When Max first skated past Frat Row, people were impressed by his skateboarding skills and the one and only Bradley Uppercrust the Third gave Max a chance to be a Gamma.
But now the tables have turned where it is now Goofy impressing everyone with his own skills and just like Bradley had done with Max, Goofy is also getting the opportunity to be a Gamma. Keep this in mind as these two scenes are meant to mirror one another as through out the movie Goofy is slowly taking Max’s place on campus.
So as Max is leaving , he can hear this whole conversation between them both but it's only after Bradley asks Goofy to join their team, that we see Max’s reaction.
He stops in his tracks , shocked and turns around perplexed with a raised eyebrow by what is happening.
In this moment , Max has just overheard that Bradley , the same guy who had once complimented him for his own skateboarding skills and given Max the same opportunity to be Gamma , is now doing the same to Goofy , someone who just stole the spotlight away from him moments ago.
When Max was first given the offer by Bradley, Max looked touched and thrilled that Bradley wanted him as his first draft pick
and when Bradley asked him what he thought , Max claimed that he couldn’t believe it and looked immensely happy.
“No way. You want us to be Gammas?
Ha! You guys, you hear that?- We're gonna be part…”- Max
Before attending college, Max hadn’t intended on becoming a Gamma ( probably due to not thinking it was ever going to be a possibility) but when Bradley , the College X games King , the president of the best frat house on campus and a actual royal , was so impressed by Max’s skills that he chased after Max on a skateboard all the way down to the bean scene , just to ask him to be on his winning team , well of course this gesture meant a lot to Max.
Max had even spilled hot coffee on the guy by accident and Bradley still wanted him.
And because Bradley rejected Bobby and PJ, who are in Max’s eyes serious athletes , Max knows what a big deal an offer like this is and knows full well that Bradley isn't just going to let just anyone be a Gamma.
So the idea that Goofy , the person who just gained applaud and admiration from everyone else moments ago , is now being seen as someone who is good enough to be a Gamma just like Max had been, is now being given the same opportunity he once had from Bradley, well ... this is obviously going to be something that Max is going to take to heart and take great intrigue in.
But as the conversation between Goofy and Bradley unfolds , Max is more focused on how he can get his dad away from him than how he might be feeling inferior to his own dad at this moment.
So after Max persuades Goofy to join the Gammas , Max gets to witness the Gamma’s welcoming Goofy to the team , Bradley presenting Goofy with his own Gamma Mu Mu pledge Pin and Bradley calling Goofy “Brother Goofy”, making him an official Gamma.
“Gamma Brother Goofy, let me present you with your Gamma Mu Mu pledge pin.” -Bradley
Then as Bradley, Goofy and the Gamma’s walk off , we cut back to the moment where Max and his friends are happy with their plan succeeding but of course Max gives that saddened expression just before the scene ends.
With all this in mind , what I'm going to suggest is that this isn't a sign of guilt but rather a disheartened expression of Max feeling inferior to Goofy.
It's also of Max feeling a sense of sorrow that Goofy gets to be what Max could have been if things had turned out differently.
Knowing Max's Character , It’s no secret that Max tends to be insecure about feeling replaced/inferior . He has quite the history of it throughout the Goof troop show and the first Goofy Movie.
E65 Buddy Building - Feels like he's going to lose PJ as his best friend to a body builder named Coop.
S1 e71 Educating Goofy - When Goofy attends his school , Max feels like Goofy is taking everything away from him
The Goofy movie - When Roxxaane suggests that she can just go with someone else to the party , Max panics and lies about going to the Powerline concert when he's actually fishing with his dad.
So it's easy to see how Max could be feeling like he has been replaced by Goofy as a potential draft pick for Bradley.
Obviously, just by comparing how Bradley acts and talks towards both Max and Goofy , we as a audience know that Bradley doesn't actually think Goofy is better than Max and is only using Goofy for his own gain. Bradley even admits later in the movie to Max himself that Goofy was never Gamma material but in this moment , this is just how Max could be feeling towards this situation.
When they met , Max could see and tell how much Bradley really wanted him as a Gamma,
but now that Max is no longer a option , Max is dealing with the unexpected scenario of seeing Bradley choose someone else. Something Max probably didn't think he would have to deal with as he didn't think Bradley would be able to find any better competitors than himself.
And when it comes to my other reason where Max feels saddened at seeing Goofy living a life that he could have had , I feel like this goes well with the overall theme and conflict between Max and Goofy, which is Max wanting Goofy to get his own life and Max becoming resentful that Goofy is becoming everything Max strived for and wanted.
When Goofy beats Max in the qualifying rounds and takes away all the admiration and validation that Max wanted for himself, Max feels like Goofy is living the life that he wanted and strived for. This was supposed to be how life was going to go for Max but now Goofy gets to experience it for himself instead.
So when we take this theme into account , it makes sense that Max would feel disheartened at the idea that Goofy gets to be a Gamma with Bradley as this was something that could have happened to him if Max didn't turn Bradley’s offer down.
If Max had accepted Bradley’s offer , he could have been in the same position as Goofy is in now. He could have become a Gamma , he could have been given a Gamma Mu Mu Pledge Pin by Bradley , he could be the one following Bradley around campus as Brother Max.
But due to circumstance , he had to turn the offer down due to PJ and Bobby not being allowed to join. A decision he doesn't regret for the sake of his friends but now that he see’s Goofy living out a life that he could have had , it probably dawned on Max in that moment what he actually did and that he gave Goofy a life that he could have been his if things turned out differently between him and Bradley. Goofy even had permission to join after turning Bradley down where as Max didn't.
Additionally , both the library scene and the Skatepark scene are very similar in terms of Max trying to get away from his dad and pinning his dad on someone else, but the only difference between these two scenes is that Max looks sad after pinning his dad on Bradley/Gamma’s but not when he did the same thing on Miss Marpole.
So in a sense , Max’s expression is about Goofy but it's really about Bradley. Or at least that's what I think.
Regardless of what interpretation anyone has , it's all valid. People even suggesting that Max is pining for Bradley from a far is fine as it all depends on your own perception. And if you want to believe that Max was actually feeling guilt towards Goofy then that's fine too.
This was just my take/analysis on the scene and I hope it was at least a interesting perspective to think about.
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