The world of animation has always embraced sports, and hockey is no exception. From humorous single-panel cartoons to full-fledged animated series, hockey goalies have been a recurring and beloved subject. This article explores the history of cartoon hockey goalies, highlighting key figures and memorable animated productions.
Early Cartoonists and Hockey Humor
Cartoonist Lang Armstrong was a Canadian, born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1906, before he made the move with his family to Spokane, Washington in 1922. That’s where he started, in high school, drawing cartoons. His first jobs at the Spokane Daily Chronicle were office boy and night switchboard operator, but he eventually made it back to the drawing board.
One of his regular contributions as staff artist was the “Stuff And Things” cartoon in the sports pages. Hockey was a subject he returned to because, well, funny. Playing through concussions, for example: what could be droller?
Disney's Goofy and "Hockey Homicide"
Goofy Cartoons 1 _ Over One Hour Non-Stop!
If this author had to pick his favorite moment in the history of sports, it would have to be a certain hockey match between the Loose Leafs and the Ant Eaters. Jack Kinney directed many of Goofy’s cartoons during the ‘40s and into the early ‘50s. He joined the studio on February 9, 1931, animating and working in story before he became a director.
After the studio moved from Hyperion Avenue to Burbank, Disney developed an inattention to the short cartoons, more engaged with features and war-related projects. He later stated in an interview about his enjoyment of the character, “The Goof to me, was a nice long, lean character that you could move; you could get poses out of him, crazy poses."
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Evaluating Kinney’s Goofy cartoons with the fairly amusing Donald Ducks from directors Jack King and Jack Hannah and Charles Nichols’ fatally bland Pluto cartoons, they were undoubtedly stronger. They belied the studio’s gentle approach to comedy, shaping them with the raucous energy implanted in the Warners and MGM cartoons that dominated 1940s animation.
Fred Quimby, producer of MGM’s animation department, wanted to lure Kinney away, but Disney gave Kinney a raise that matched Quimby’s salary offer. The Goofy cartoons he directed during the ‘40s - sometimes known as the “How To” series - generally involved Goofy’s incompetence in accomplishing a particular sport (skiing, boxing, swimming, fishing and golfing, to name a few.)
In other cartoons, which profiled team sports such as baseball and football, multitudes of Goofy are portrayed as player and spectator. With such an aggressive sport like hockey, Hockey Homicide permeates with sheer chaos, which starts as soon as the rival players launch the referee into the scoreboard.
What ensues near the end is manic enough for lifted footage of previous Goofy sports cartoons - along with quick cuts of Victory Through Air Power and Pinocchio - to convey the pandemonium. It is guaranteed to leave viewers as breathless as announcer Doodles Weavers’ final comment by the end. The lack of music, with the brief exception of the ice-scraping gag, especially works to the cartoon’s favor.
The animators, including the effects artists, were finally given screen credit during this period on the short cartoons. However, the artists uncredited for Hockey Homicide include animators Cliff Nordberg, Al Bertino, Les Clark, Ward Kimball, and effects animator Andy Engman (a former East Coast animator for Fleischer and Van Beuren in the early ‘30s). Clark animates only one shot in the cartoon, where the referee nervously drops the puck.
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Amusingly, the hockey players are named after Disney staffers; the referee is named “Clean Game” Kinney, after Hockey Homicide’s director. Likewise for the star players “Fearless Ferguson” and “Ice-Box Bertino,” named after animators Norm Ferguson and Al Bertino. The diminutive fan that cheers for Riley in scene 68 is admiring a player named after Art Riley, the background artist for this film.
If you freeze-frame the program roster shown in scene 13 (and the modifications two scenes later) or listen carefully to the frenetic announcements, you’ll notice more Disney artists’ names inserted into the game.
Milt Kahl’s draftsmanship is highly regarded, but his comedic sensibilities as an animator are often overlooked. The timing/weight as the referee struggles to balance on the ice rink, ultimately landing on the ground a few scenes later, is marvelous.
Kahl also handles the running gag involving heated rivalry between Ferguson and Bertino, nose-to-nose and seething with anger, before hitting each other with their sticks. The referee’s authoritative pose - pointing over to the penalty box much like a strict schoolteacher admonishing misbehaving pupils - and the two hockey players facing away from each other really sells the sequence.
The ice scraper sequence is amusing, if not for the miscellaneous objects that are found in the slush, among them a cat. Besides Kahl, John Sibley also handles some dimensional scenes in Hockey Homicide. Sibley animated at Disney’s his entire career, almost exclusively on Kinney’s cartoons. He started there in early 1937, graduating as an assistant animator by March 1938.
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In addition to his animation for Disney, Sibley was also a successful magazine cartoonist, often contributing with story artist Virgil “VIP” Parch. His magazine cartoons were submitted to Collier’s, True, and Saturday Evening Post. Sibley’s animation is broadly exaggerated, which certainly added to the humor of the Goofy cartoons yet it seems effortless.
For instance, the quick gags of the hockey player scooping up pucks into the goal net (scenes 101 and 102), and another hitting a tower of pucks with the velocity of a machine-gun (sc. Two of Kinney’s animators, Cliff Nordberg and Hal King, contribute great scenes in the cartoon.
Nordberg animates scene 14’s two spectators jot down the modifications to the program roster, resulting in multiple hands flurrying around the paper, similar to Dave Tendlar’s “flurry effect” in the Fleischer cartoons of the late ‘30s. He also handles the wonderful cycle of the three Loose Leaf players skating up to the camera (scene 43) and a hilarious scene of two players squashing and disfiguring an opponent with their rumps (scene 67).
King’s animation is very loose; it’s plainly evident in scene 47, when the goalie is yanked around and torn from his uniform to retrieve a lost puck, leaving him only in his long johns.
Small Saves: A Modern Cartoon Goalie
Small Saves teamed up with his friends over at Renfrew Pro hockey tape. Parents will write and comment on how much my cartoon reminds them of their young netminder. However, the number one question must be about his mask. From, “Does he ever take his mask off?” to “Does he have hair-and if so-what color is it? His mask always stays worn.
A goalie’s face is always partially hidden. In the days of the facemask, you never really got to see the features of the goaltender at all. I remember when I first saw Tony Esposito without a mask. They looked so different from their face protection.
For the birth of this feature, I must go back to 1982-Sunrise, Florida. My best friend, Anthony (You may know him as the Iron Goalie) had just begun his career in the world of goaltending. Proud of his craft, he’d place the facemask atop his head when hanging out after a game. I loved this statement he made to the world.
This week’s spotlight shines on a truly classic-yet simple-design. Small Saves in all his glory standing in a full butterfly stance. No words, just him… ready to stop anything that comes his way!
The Mighty Ducks: Animated Adventures on Ice
In another universe exists a planet populated entirely by humanoid ducks. Dubbed "Puckworld" by its inhabitants, it is an icy planet, perfectly suited to the Ducks' favorite pastime, hockey. Legend has it that centuries ago, during an invasion by a reptilian race called Saurians, a duck named Drake DuCaine became the planet's savior over the Saurians' Overlords.
The legend tells that DuCaine did so with a high-tech goalie mask which gave him the ability to see through the Saurians' cloaking technology which was a game changer for him and his people. The last of the Saurians escape from the Dimensional Limbo and returns to Puckworld with an armada of robotic attack ships. The group of four is led by the last of the Saurian Overlords, Lord Dragaunus, who is assisted by his minions Siege, Chameleon and Wraith. They invade the planet and enslave the people of Puckworld.
After some time, a resistance is formed by Canard Thunderbeak, who has found The Mask of Drake DuCaine. With it, the wearer of the Mask could see through the Saurians' invisibility cloaks. Canard forms a band of Ducks to fight Dragaunus. The members of his team consists of Wildwing Flashblade, Nosedive Flashblade, Tanya Vanderflock, Duke L'Orange, Mallory McMallard and Grin Hardwing.
They go on a mission to destroy Dragaunus's fortress the Master Tower and free the planet from the Saurians' control. While the mission is successful, Dragaunus and his forces manage to escape in their ship, the Raptor.
Dragaunus attempts to get rid of the Ducks inside the portal by attacking them with an electromagnetic worm that will grow until it can swallow the Aerowing. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the worm, Canard sacrifices his own life by throwing himself to the worm.
Before doing so, however, Canard gave the Mask, and leadership of the team, to Wildwing Flashblade, his best friend. Both the Raptor and the Aerowing leave the portal and enter a different dimension, landing in the Earth city of Anaheim, California.
The Ducks meet Phil Palmfeather, a human who becomes their manager and makes them a legitimate NHL team. Their arena, only known as The Pond in the show, has a hockey rink that doubles as a landing pad for the Aerowing above and has a formal HQ below.
Key Characters
- Wildwing Flashblade: Saved by Canard back on Puckworld, he is the leader of the Ducks on and off the ice. As a hockey player, he is the team's goaltender, wearing jersey number 00, and is known for his ability to take any kind of beating and remain standing.
- Nosedive Flashblade: Wildwing's younger brother, who initially was not intended to be part of Canard's resistance. Once they reach Earth, Nosedive becomes an official member of the team, both on the hockey team and the crime-fighting team.
- Duke L'Orange: A notorious jewel thief on Puckworld, Duke changes his ways to battle Lord Dragaunus and aid the people of Puckworld. He mainly uses a golden sword called a Ducksaber.
- Mallory McMallard: A fiery redhead who is well-learned in Puckworld's version of martial arts, although most of the time she is content with just using a Puck Blaster.
- Tanya Vanderflock: The Ducks' resident genius who is often the one turned to for advice, even by Wildwing. She is good with mechanics and uses the Omnitool on her wrist with many of her projects.
- Grin Hardwing: A large super-strong member of the group with a Zen-like philosophy. He rarely uses weapons in battle, relying on his wisdom and strength instead.
- Canard Thunderbeak: Was Wildwing's best friend and the only remaining survivor of the Resistance from Puckworld. He was the original leader and team captain of the Mighty Ducks.
- Phil Palmfeather: Is the Ducks' manager when they are being an ice hockey team.
Antagonists
- Lord Dragaunus: The Dragon-like leader of the Saurians and the last of the Saurian Overlords. Dragaunus is evil, big, strong, and can breathe fire.
- Wraith: A Dragon-like Sorcerer with a dry sense of humor. He is smarter than Siege or Chameleon and serves as Dragaunus' second-in-command.
- Siege: An Ankylosaurus-like soldier who is aggressive and has a strong hatred for the Ducks.
- Chameleon: A shapeshifting Chameleon-like Saurian that can increase or decrease his strength, size, and dexterity depending on his transformations.
Other Characters
- Captain Klegghorn: Head commissioner & captain of the Anaheim Police Department who initially doesn't trust the Ducks.
- Thrash & Mookie: Nosedive's seemingly only human friends who dress like punk rockers. They run a comics store called "Captain Comics".
- Bernie "Buzz" Blitzman: A young orphan and boy genius in his early teens. He is a big fan of the Ducks and is particularly fond of Mallory.
The adventures of the Mighty Ducks blend sports action with superheroics, creating a unique and engaging animated series that has left a lasting impact on fans of both hockey and animation.
Below is a summary of the key people involved in the Mighty Ducks animated series:
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Theme Music Composer | Robert N. |
| Opening Theme | "Ducks Rock" performed by Mickey Thomas |
| Ending Theme | "Ducks Rock" Instrumental |
| Composer | Carl Swander Johnson |
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Original Language | English |
| No. of Seasons | 1 |