Heartwarming / Goof Troop

• The Max and PJ subplot in "Everything's Coming Up Goofy" is really sweet. They are cautious about each other at first, but Max becomes very excited once he sees all the cool toys in PJ's room... until he finds out that Pete doesn't let him play with any of them. He shows immediate sympathy for his despondent new neighbor, and then finds a loophole in the rules that allows PJ to play with his toy tank. After everyone goes to bed, we see a shot of PJ, cuddling the tank like a teddy bear, and smiling in his sleep... one of the only genuine smiles we've yet to see him give. Aww.
• Max coming up with two very elaborate plans to make it so that PJ could be friends with him in "Good Neighbor Goof" (the second half of the pilot), after PJ had been abused in Max's earshot, had been forbidden from seeing him, had revealed that Max was a Living Emotional Crutch, and had given up. It really seems to excuse any moment Max seems to take PJ for granted, and completely justifies PJ's fervently loyal behavior to Max in later episodes.
• In "You Camp Take It With You", Goofy and Pete spend much of the episode trying to one-up each other as better campers, which their sons are not interested in, to say the least. Later, Max and PJ wander off into the forest to follow a lonely bear cub, which causes Goofy and Pete to believe they've been kidnapped by bears, while the bear cub's father simultaneously thinks Goofy and Pete kidnapped his son. Violent slapstick ensues when three different fathers on a warpath collide, resulting in an all-out parental brawl. Max, PJ and the bear cub break it up, revealing that they were never really in any danger, to their fathers' immense relief. In the closing scene, the three parties are shown to have put aside their differences and enjoyed the rest of their trip, eating and sleeping together under the stars. It's one of the few times in the series where an episode doesn't end on a gag.
• In "Midnight Movie Madness", Max and PJ are thoroughly spooked by a gory horror movie Max insisted that they see, and their paranoia is only made worse by everything that happens after they get home. After living in fear of 'The Mutilator' all night, the only thing that gets Max to snap out of it and overcome his fears is the possibility that Goofy might be in serious danger, rushing to his father's rescue.
• At the end of "Counterfeit Goof", the police need to distinguish between Goofy and his criminal doppelganger so they can know which man to arrest, and Max is able to easily tell which one of them is his real father when Goofy steps in some wallpaper paste, before giving him a big hug.
• The chestnut speech in "O, R-V, I N-V U". Especially if you identify with PJ. And if you keep in mind that Goofy is effectively serving as a Parental Substitute for PJ's own (inadequate) father. What really makes the scene is how profoundly the speech affected PJ, who changed from dismissing the chestnuts to gathering them in large quantities, which even turned out to be a Chekhov's Gun. Then when he does "come out of his shell" in the second movie... it becomes Heartwarming in Hindsight too.
  Goofy: Is there something wrong?
  PJ (plaintively): Do I look dumb to you?
  Goofy: No way, PJ! Here's dumb! (tosses chestnut at PJ's head)
  PJ: Ow! (looks at nut) What's this?
  Goofy: A chestnut.
  PJ: Ugly.
  Goofy: Not too perty on the outside, huh? It's all spiny and dull-looking.
  PJ: Yuck!
  Goofy: (takes chestnut from PJ and begins shelling it) But come the right time, the shell falls off and walla! Look at it! Ah-hyuck! (inner nut is shown) It's chock-full of good stuff, (cuddles PJ) and handsome too. Ah-hyuck! (touches PJ's nose affectionately) You know what I mean?
  PJ (smiling softly): Yeah, I think I do...
• Goofy and Max winning the best father and son pair in the class in "Meanwhile, Back at the Ramp" because they'd do anything for each other.
• Max (and Peg) defending Goofy from Ms. Pennypacker in "Date with Destiny", Goofy rushing over to comfort Max after his nightmare, and Ms. Pennypacker taking back her judgment when she sees Goofy preparing Max for his second night with the Petes.
• In the climax of "Hot Air", Pistol gets to prove herself as a budding Ace Pilot by landing an out-of-control plane and saving Goofy and Pete's lives. Considering the talk Pete and Pistol had earlier, where the former tried to let the latter down gently about how unrealistic her dreams were, this resolution is both funny and cute.
  Pistol: (grinning) See, a piece of cake! And you said I couldn't do it.
  Pete: (smiles woozily) I'll never say you can't again, so long as you never do it again. At least, until you're a little older. Ouch.
• In "Max-imum Protection", Max's faith in his father's ability to protect him from harm had been wavering throughout the entire episode (due to how accident-prone and incompetent Goofy can be), until the climax, when the booby traps Goofy set up for burglars help Max to capture every single one of the criminals who were robbing PJ's house (and were also after Max). After that, Max's faith in Goofy's skills is fully restored, and is arguably stronger than ever.
• The way Max's relationship with his cousin Debbie improves in "Leader Of The Pack". Max has harbored some resentment towards his old babysitter ever since he was an infant, but when he meets his cousin again years later, he discovers she's actually a pretty cool girl. Debbie is willing to help him get some revenge on teenage delinquents who have been bullying him and PJ recently, and can empathize with him as a kindred spirit about his frustrations with everyone calling him a loser - since she's used to people writing her off as a dweeb as well in the past, something Max was also guilty of doing earlier in the episode. Debbie passes along some valuable wisdom to Max - that he shouldn't try to grow up too quickly to become popular and lose sight of his own strengths - which ultimately proves to be the key to beating Max's harassers at their own game.
• In "Terminal Pete", when Pete thinks he's dying, he chooses to confide in Goofy about all his doubts and regrets, and the two of them share a tearful hug. At one point, Pete is all set to take his revenge on the gopher he blames for his 'life-threatening' injury, but relents when Pistol tells him that the little critter is her new best friend, and the one who keeps her company when he's not around - triggering a fear inside of him about what she'll do after he's gone. As a result, Pete lets her officially adopt the ground animal as her new pet.
• In "Hallow-Weenies", Pete drags Max, PJ and Goofy down to Spoonerville's local haunted house to prove to them that ghosts aren't real, which the boys try to get out of by offering to stand guard outside. A teasing Pete scoffs at the idea of the boys 'protecting them' from harm, but ironically, that's exactly what ends up happening. Goofy and Pete (as usual) bite off more than they can chew in the haunted house, when they get kidnapped by the ghosts that live there and are subjected to frightening Halloween slapstick for hours. With no one else around to help them, it's left up to Max and PJ to come up with a way to subdue the ghosts and rescue their parents - something the boys completely succeed at. Max and PJ's determination, combined with their resourcefulness, is about as sweet as it is impressive throughout the episode.
• "Major Goof" starts with Max and PJ playing around with PJ's uncle Bob and having a great time during his visit, which makes for a cute opening scene. In general, the boys really enjoy hanging out with him and seem to look up to him, even though his glory days are behind him, which means a lot when you remember that Max and PJ are not kids who are easily impressed. When the general has his self-esteem wounded by Pete later, and starts to feel old and obsolete, it's the boys who try to give him a pep talk about recognizing his own worth as an Old Soldier - which really comes in handy a few minutes later when Pete gets himself in trouble yet again, and the general has to step up to save him. Eventually, Pete revises his opinion of the man and admits that he misjudged him, especially after Bob inadvertently helped him accomplish his goal of out-selling a rival car salesman on the fourth of July. At the end of the day, the general's pride and his sense of self-worth is more secure than it has been in years.
• P.J. and Pistol spend "Goodbye Mr. Goofy" competing to do various chores, as Pete promised to pay a given amount for each completed task. After it's time to collect the sizable totals, the kids immediately give the money to Goofy in order to replace his missing mortgage money.
• In "Lethal Goofin'", Max convinces PJ to become a safety patrolman with him, so they can tear down the extortion racket of local bullies at their school and become heroes. PJ is both very timid and pretty pessimistic, so he's very resistant to the idea at first and is basically The Drag-Along for the first half of the episode. However, over time, PJ starts to enjoy himself and progresses from being Max's partner for Max's sake, to doing it for the excitement and adventure of busting bullies, to doing it for the principle of the matter after they're betrayed by their corrupt superior who wants to keep the other kids under his heel. By the last act, bringing justice to their peers means as much to PJ as it does to Max, letting his inner courage come to the forefront prominently, which is always heartwarming to see.
• In "Big City Blues", Max and PJ's decision to venture downtown on their own to get a taste of big city life proves to be a horrible mistake, subjecting them to plenty of fear, loneliness and starvation - but there is one silver lining. During their trip, they befriend a homeless man named Buster who gives them advice and a brand new perspective about how lucky they are to have a warm home to return to, before he helps them get back to their neighborhood. The boys, wanting to repay him, come up with a plan to help out Spoonerville's homeless population - they give their fathers (who spent the bulk of the episode worrying about them) big hugs the next time they see them while gushing excitedly about everything they have in mind. Pete is mostly just confused by their rapidfire explanations, while a grateful Goofy quickly decides to give them a helping hand with their idea.
• In "Gymnaseum", a very out-of-shape Pete puts a lot of strain on himself to compete against Tan Roadster in the winter games, under the belief that his marriage is being threatened. Throughout it all, Peg tries to show her support for her husband, in big ways and little ways. The conflict is eventually resolved when Pete inadvertently saves Tan's life and the latter man decides to concede defeat to him, with this exchange following:
  Tan: Okay, okay, I've learned my lesson, Pete. There's no such thing as too much of a good thing. You know, Peg, you've got a good man there.
  Pete: (smiles at Peg) True, and he's got a good woman.
• Max and PJ's friendship is on full display throughout "Buddy Building", and it's really sweet. Early on, Max saves PJ from being hurt when they're rollerblading, and tries to help him stand up to Leech, an older bully. A classmate of theirs, Cooper, comes to their rescue and decides to help PJ get into exercising. The two boys hit it off incredibly well, and Max starts to feel a bit left out, becoming a third wheel. As the episode progresses, Max starts to legitimately worry about the possibility of him and PJ growing apart as friends. At the story's end, after Max has once again come through for the gang in a pinch, PJ reassures him that they'll always be the best of buds, and a considerably happier Max comes to accept that the two of them can be friends with other people without it taking away from their own bond. Considering how close Max and PJ will be with Bobby during their teen years in the future, the premise of this episode is also Heartwarming in Hindsight.
• At the end of "Dr. Horatio's Magic Orchestra", most of the cast basically decide to stage an intervention and force Pete to come clean about why a simple song ("When The Saints Go Marching In") has been driving him up the wall recently. As it turns out, when Pete was a boy, he choked under pressure, failed to perform it with his school band and was publicly humiliated, leaving him with a complex for decades. Once they learn this, Goofy, Peg, PJ and Pistol are all very understanding and they promise to help him overcome his problem - even Goofy's magical musical instruments, who Pete has been far from kind to, seem to show him some sympathy. In the following scene, Goofy, Peg and the kids show Pete their support and gently encourage him to go through with the plan they agreed on. Pete decides to recreate that old performance on his car lot so he can finally gain some closure and put it all behind him, and after some trepidation, the plan is a complete success, leading him to embrace the song and play on for hours.
• In "Goof Fellas", witnessing mobsters at the docks advance on a naïve Goofy, an unseen Pete doesn't hightail it out of there, despite previously warning him not to approach them to the point of exasperation. Rather, his priority is getting Goofy out of there instead of saving himself. Later, when the two men are cornered by the vengeful gangsters with seemingly no way to escape their demise, Goofy and Pete both decide to hug each for comfort as they await their fate that they're thankfully spared of.
• In "Peg O' The Jungle", Peg decides to put together an elaborate ruse with Goofy and the kids to teach Pete a lesson about taking her for granted as his wife, and she succeeds. While Pete's mindset is self-centered as usual for the first half of the episode, he steadily starts to realize how much he would miss Peg if he actually lost her, to the point where he breaks down in tears when it looks like she's going to marry someone else, and almost gets himself killed saving a keepsake of their first anniversary. Peg in return saves his life from a volcano, and swiftly puts an end to her ruse so she can whisk him away back to the suburbs. Meanwhile, PJ, Pistol and Max are not only pleased that they were able to help Peg out, but the kids had a great time in general pulling off the crazy, elaborate ruse, to the point where they're eagerly hoping that they'll be able to do it all again the next year and do some more globetrotting.
• "Puppy Love" is a pretty sweet focus episode for PJ. He develops a crush on a girl in his class named Rose, and it's implied she caught his eye because he saw her as a kindred spirit, being moved by her poetry about the life of a lonely introvert when no one else was. Max, Peg and Pete all try to help him work up the nerve to talk to her with their own perspectives, though their various attempts at meddling usually only manage to make his problem worse. Eventually, PJ decides that talking to Rose is something he needs to do alone, and he manages to win her over by being himself, connecting over the things they have in common. Once the ice is broken, Max decides to help one last time by discreetly setting the mood with some music, and then he gives them both some space. In true bro fashion, during the final scene of the episode, Max just looks happy to see PJ happy.
• Max's friendship with his new pet, Bubbles, in "Great Egg-spectations". He found her when she was just an egg and raised her through the first few stages of her childhood, with their relationship being the classic dynamic between a boy and his dog - if the dog was a plucky green dinosaur resembling the Loch Ness Monster. While Goofy is understandably concerned about whether or not Max can handle that kind of responsibility, he is supportive of Max's decision to take care of Bubbles for the time being, and he later gently encourages Max to do what he must when it's time for Bubbles to return to the wild with her mother.
• In "Three Ring Bind", after the circus animals save Pistol, an overjoyed Pete buys them from the obnoxious ringmaster (who was going to sell them to a dog food company) and throws Pistol a circus-themed birthday party. Even Max is impressed by how he went all out for this.
• In "Pistolgeist", PJ gains a greater understanding of his Annoying Younger Sibling, Pistol - why she enjoys her favorite book series so much, and why she keeps seeking out his company - and by the end of the episode, he surprisingly finds he enjoys reading her favorite book to her. On her end, Pistol's imaginary friend Inky (who was Real After All) helps her to gain a better appreciation of her big brother and everything he does for her before saying good-bye to her. In the B-plot, their parents have another Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moment when a sentimental Pete decides to treat Peg to a romantic night on the town, and both of them are clearly pleased to see the progress PJ and Pistol have made.
• Pete's Pet the Dog moment when he gave a participation trophy to the kid at the end of "Tee for Two".
• In "Have Yourself A Goofy Little Christmas", Goofy manages to not only burn down his own cabin by accident, but also blows up the Pete family's cabin, exposing everyone to the elements on Christmas Eve. Pete yells at him that he's ruined Christmas for everyone, even Max - which is the last thing Goofy wanted to do, since he only wanted to treat everyone to a super fun, memorable Christmas - and when he realizes he's let Max down as well, the sad, guilt-ridden dog decides to head out into the wilderness to be alone. While he's gone, Max looks back on a photo of happier times and decides that even if Goofy has disappointed him recently, he's still his father and he couldn't live with himself if anything happened to him, so he decides to head after him - since the storm's getting worse. The rest of the Goof Troop gang tag along after Max - starting with PJ, his best friend, then Peg, then Pistol, and finally Pete (who's been complaining about Goofy for the entire Christmas special) - to bring Goofy back in from out of the cold.
  • Once they manage to find some shelter in the blizzard, Goofy confesses to Max that the reason he tried so hard (a bit too hard) to make the holidays special this year is because Max is growing up - every year, their relationship is a little bit different, and every year Christmas is a bit less magical. This is a conversation that is a lot more poignant in retrospect, since the movies confirm that Goofy and Max will start to grow apart from each other as Max gets older and the differences between them start to pile up. For the time being, Max reassures Goofy that he doesn't need to make Christmas perfect; so long as they're together on the holidays, he's happy. Then they discover that the cave they're resting in already belongs to someone - a bear that's been terrorizing the suburbanites throughout the entire Christmas special. They all manage to placate it with a silly little dance Goofy and Max came up with when Max was younger, reaffirming the strength of their father/son bond, and so the bear decides to do them a kindness and let the Goofs and the Petes stay for the night. The episode ends with all six suburbanites huddled together warmly, singing "Silent Night", making the most of their unorthodox Christmas Eve as the storm safely passes outside.
• In "Wrecks, Lies, and Videotape," Max goes out of his way to win his father a Hawaiian vacation by submitting a video of his klutzy actions to "America's Most Painful Home Videos." It's explicitly stated that he's doing this for Goofy, who has to make do with fishing in the backyard every summer because of his low salary. Seeing Max so determined to give Goofy a genuinely amazing trip is very sweet. Later, when Pete steals the vacation from Goofy, the rest of his family gets in on the Heartwarming by teaming up to make sure he gives it back. Peg, PJ, and Pistol clearly love and respect Goofy, and they go the extra mile to make sure that he finally comes out on top for once. And it works! The episode ends with the whole gang enjoying their Hawaiian vacation, with Pete getting some Laser-Guided Karma by having to wait on them.

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