No Smoking is perhaps the most messed-up Goofy cartoon out there! First released in 1951, it is another short in the "Goofy as The Everyman" series.
The cartoon starts with a brief history of tobacco, showing how it was introduced from the Americas to Europe, and how it would be advertised in the early 1950's. Here, Goofy, as George Geef, is an extremely heavy smoker who ends up coughing and wheezing at work. Realizing that the cigarettes are leaving him breathless, he tries to quit smoking—only to fail miserably!
It should be noted that, although Goofy is still referred to as George here, this cartoon saw the return of his original voice and persona, after a few cartoons of having a different voice entirely.
Tropes:
- Accidental Pervert: Goofy tries to sneak into a smoking room... only to find that it's for women only and get kicked out.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Towards the end of the short, Goofy runs to a wealthy old man and begs him for a smoke:Goofy: Hey, mister! You got a cig, a fag, a pipe, nail, weed, rope, or chaw, or cigar, or snuff, or... or anything? Just anything!
- Batty Lip Burbling: Goofy does this during his Sanity Slippage due to wanting a smoke.
- Bland-Name Product: One of the Goofies in this short is smoking a cigarette that's from Phyllis Morrison, which is a parody of Phillip Morris. A subsequent Goofy skywrites an ad telling to "Smoke LOOK Ys", which parodies the advertising message, "Smoke LUCK Ys" (Lucky Strike brand, which was Walt Disney's preferred cigarette brand).
- The Cavalier Years: One scene shows a 17th-century gentleman rolling a cigar from a tobacco leaf, asking his squire to light it, and then smoking it.
- Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: After he quits smoking, Goofy sees people lighting up and smoking tobacco products everywhere, until he actually wants a smoke himself
- Couldn't Find a Lighter: During the history of smoking in "No Smoking", the Goofy facing the firing squad has his last cigarette lit by a bullet. Later, Goofy himself uses his pop-up toaster to light a cigarette, catching it in his mouth as it shoots out.
- Elevator Gag: Goofy tries to pick up a cigar from the elevator, but the elevator doors slam in front of his face, and when the elevator goes up, so does the cigar.
- Everybody Smokes: The main reason why Goofy's attempt to quit smoking fails is because everyone else around him smokes cigars, cigarettes, and/or a pipe. Given
the time period in which this cartoon was made, this is entirely justified. - Explosive Cigar: This happens to Goofy in the end, where he is so desperate for a smoke, that he doesn't even care about the torn clothes, but just stands there enjoying the cigar's remains.Narrator: Give man enough "rope", and he'll hang onto his habit.
- Going Cold Turkey: Goofy tries to quit smoking after finding that the smoke irritates his eyes, makes him cough and wheeze, and results in shortness of breath. But a few puffs from some well-meaning co-workers results in him dashing out the workplace desperately seeking a smoke.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Quitting smoking is hard, and some people who try to quit do not succeed. As the narrator smugly puts it, "give the smoker enough rope, and he'll hang on to his habit."
- Have a Gay Old Time: When Goofy pleads to the elderly stranger for something to smoke, he quotes various slang terms for various tobacco products... including "fag" and "weed." "Fag" was a common British slang for tobacco before that started becoming a homophobic slur. And even though the modern-day definition of weed goes as far back as the 1920s, it was also a common term for tobacco well into The '50s.
- Innocently Insensitive: Goofy's boss congratulates him for quitting smoking, while puffing at a cigarette and admitting that he'd quit smoking too if it was easy. Then a man who just became a father hands out cigars and remembers that Goofy quit smoking. This makes Goofy go insane and run out the office for a smoke!
- Ironic Episode Title: "No Smoking" is in fact permeated with tobacco products!
- Irony: While Goofy is trying to pick up a cigar butt, the man who steps on his hand leaves an imprint that reads "Pussy Foot."
- Madness Mantra: "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! SMOKE! SMOKE!"
- Mouth Full of Smokes: Goofy has at least eight cigarettes in his mouth before he decides to quit.
- Must Have Nicotine: Goofy is shown to smoke from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed (in fact, this short is the source of the page image). He then decides to quit but ends up running from his office while screaming in search of a cigarette after only a minute.
- No Smoking: Inverted! The short is not only permeated with tobacco products, but also discusses the history of tobacco. Goofy, who is a heavy smoker, decides to quit smoking only to realize how difficult it is to break the habit.
- Poe's Law: Due to the abundance of tobacco products in this short, the debate goes on as to whether this is supposed to be pro-smoking or anti-smoking.
- Proud Papa Passes Out the Cigars: Goofy tries to get a cigar from a coworker who became a father, but it gets yanked away when the guy remembers he, Goofy, just quit smoking.
- Revised Ending: When this short was featured in "A Salute to Father", the closing narration, "Give a smoker enough rope, and... he'll hang onto his habit," is omitted, and when the cigar explodes, instead of showing Goofy continuing to enjoy what's left of the cigar, he is shown bemused by it and throwing the remains on the ground, claiming he's quit smoking for real.
- Sanity Slippage: Goofy basically goes mad as a result of people smoking everywhere while he himself has quit smoking. He then rushes out of his workplace desperately searching for a smoke.
- Shot at Dawn: One Goofy lookalike seems to be facing the firing squad, with one last cigarette in his mouth and a bandage over his eyes. The firing squad turns out to light the man's cigarette with their bullets.
- Sweeping the Table: Once Goofy decides to quit smoking, he starts by shoving all the tobacco-related items off his work desk and into the trash bin next to it.
- Wooden Ships and Iron Men: This short credits the introduction of tobacco to Europe to none other than Christopher Columbus.
