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Goofy About Health The Wonders of Life, Presented by MetLife |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2005 |
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Step into the golden dome of the Wonders of Life, Presented by MetLife. Today your destination is Goofy About Health—starring lovable Goofy. Gawrsh! |
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It seems that the sponsor, MetLife, wants you to have a long, healthy life. That’s not only good public relations, it might also keep MetLife from having to pay out medical and death benefits if their customers adopt the healthy habits being promoted here. MetLife is short for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a major health and life insurance company. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2005 Good advice from Goofy |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2005 Goofy’s billboard |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2006 No queue. No door. No Cast Member. |
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You’ve arrived at the Goofy About Health theater. There’s never a line to get in, and there is always plenty of room on the benches. Although the eight-minute show has a beginning and an end, you can start watching whenever you want. Have a seat. You’re in luck. You arrived right between shows. The show takes place on seven screens in a cityscape. The plot is simple. Goofy is a victim of the stress of urban living and his own bad habits. Goofy winds up sick in bed. According to the announcer, “The doctor diagnoses our friend’s illness as the dreaded, but all-too-common, unhealthy living.” |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2005 Doctor singing “Unhealthy Living Blues” |
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The doctor sings “Unhealthy Living Blues,” with lyrics that include, “If you keep inhaling that cigarette smoke, you can get emphysema or cancer and stroke.” Heavy stuff for a theme park attraction! |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2002 Goofy living a healthy lifestyle |
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Goofy decides to banish his bad habits. He gives up smoking, takes up all sorts of sports, and winds up happier and healthier. The End. The story is told through recycled animation with a new soundtrack. Brief clips from around two dozen cartoon shorts appear on seven screens. The films were made over a period of 28 years, so Goofy’s appearance keeps changing. Sometimes Goofy even has no ears. Okay, Goofy About Health isn’t an “E” ticket attraction. But it is entertaining, and there’s plenty of classic animation. If you’re pregnant or suffer from motion sickness, it’s a good place to wait while the rest of your party rides Body Wars. And, for everyone, it provides a chance to sit down in an air-conditioned space. |
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Goofy About Health opened at EPCOT Center (now Epcot) in October 1989, along with the rest of the Wonders of Life pavilion. When MetLife ended its sponsorship of the Wonders of Life by June 2001, most of the features of the pavilion, including Goofy About Health, continued to operate. Wonders of Life became seasonal in 2004 and closed permanently after the 2006 Christmas season. From 2007 to 2018, the former Wonders of Life pavilion served as the event center for Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival each fall and Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival each spring. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Simply blocked in 2007 |
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The former Goofy About Health theater was not used the first year. After that, Disney removed Goofy’s cityscape. It became another space for the festivals. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2008 ABC Television promo theater during the 2008 Epcot Food & Wine Festival |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Cutco knife display during the 2009 Epcot Food & Wine Festival |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Festival Stage during the 2009 Epcot Food & Wine Festival |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Promoting an ABC daytime series, The Chew, in 2016 |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Small audience for The Chew on a video display in 2016 |
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The former Wonders of Life pavilion is supposed to reopen as the PLAY! pavilion. When that happens, it’s unlikely that any remnants will remain from Goofy About Health. |
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DVD art © Disney 2002 DVC set Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Goofy |
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According to the Internet Movie Database, Goofy About Health included footage from 25 films: Mickey’s Amateurs (1937), Hawaiian Holiday (1937), The Art of Skiing (1941), The Art of Self Defense (1941), Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942), The Olympic Champ (1942), How to Swim (1942), They’re Off (1948), How to Ride a Horse (1950), Motor Mania (1950), Hold That Pose (1950), Cold War (1951), Tomorrow We Diet! (1951), Get Rich Quick (1951), Fathers Are People (1951), No Smoking (1951), Father’s Lion (1952), Hello Aloha (1952), Two Weeks Vacation (1952), How to Be a Detective (1952), Father’s Day Off (1953), How to Dance (1953), How to Sleep (1953), Aquamania (1961), and Goofy’s Freeway Troubles (1965). |
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© 2023 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated April 28, 2023 |
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