From 1989-1999, Disney released what many would still consider their most critically acclaimed films. Millions of moviegoers dove under the sea with Ariel, watched as Simba took his rightful place as King, and surfed through the jungle with Tarzan. For 10 years, The House of Mouse couldn’t miss. And in 1995, they released a film that fully encompassed everything that made the films of Disney’s Renaissance so iconic. I am speaking, of course, about A Goofy Movie. It’s been 25 years since the cult classic, a continuation of Toon Disney’s short-lived Goof Troop, was released in theaters and two and a half decades later, the movie’s legacy lives on in the hearts of fans through cosplays, comic con forums, graphic tees, and even in the DuckTales reboot.

Many movies have coasted on the nostalgia that viewing them gives people. The movie itself may not be as good as you remember, but at least you get to escape into your childhood for a little while. That’s not the case with A Goofy Movie. If anything it’s aged like a fine wine. Is A Goofy Movie a fun movie about a kid who is forced on a road trip with his well-meaning insurance liability of a father? Absolutely. But that’s not what makes it special. It’s the fact that we can relate to the characters on a personal level.

Despite his best intentions, Goofy is embarrassing. Max just wants to be a normal teen and that doesn’t include a dad who will willingly and eagerly wear a possum hat. Goofy loves his son, and would do anything to prove that, even if that means going on a cross country fishing trip to keep his son from ending up in the electric chair. Combine their respective feelings with the fact that they don’t really listen to each other, and that’s a recipe for chaos. Instead of just talking to each other, Goofy projects his fears onto Max and Max just full on lies to Goofy. A lie that brings them together but, when uncovered, pushes them further apart than when we started. Max and Goofy finally have a heart to heart, followed very closely by a traumatic near-death experience, and it becomes clear that no matter their differences, Goofy and Max wouldn’t choose anyone else. Plus, how many dads do you know would sneak their child on stage at a sold out LA concert so they could keep a promise to a girl they barely ever talked to?

We also have to acknowledge that A Goofy Movie is a monolith of 90s pop culture. From the clothing, the music, which deserves a completely separate post of its own, and even the quintessential 90s animated pizza. Characters that don’t have names are memorable for their outfits and their peak 90s one-liners. “Yo Stacy? Talk to me Talk to me Talk to me Baby!”? Shakespeare himself couldn’t come up with better prose.

A Goofy Movie has a special place in the hearts of millions of Disney fans, and despite the goofiness of it all, the movie is, at it’s core about how loving someone and understanding someone do not always go hand and hand. And that’s something everyone can relate to.

All that plus Powerline, who is arguably the coolest fictional rockstar ever created. Shoutout to the incomparable Tevin Campbell.

A Goofy Movie is available on Disney+