But then something altogether unexpected happened: People started watching A Goofy Movie on home video. Slowly but surely, it became a sleeper hit.

“It started for me a couple of months after the movie had been released on videotape,” Lima remembered. “Because you’re absolutely right—it did not catch the world on fire. I had read an article where this family was talking about how they had a ritual every night in which they raised their glasses before they ate dinner and said, ‘To the open road.’ And I realized, Wow, this thing has outreaching arms in a way I never thought it possibly could.” Mo Shafeek, creative director of records for Mondo, fell for the film on VHS, even though he was a “petulant teen” when it was released: “I remember loving A Goofy Movie, loving that soundtrack. Through the years that took me through high school into becoming a cinephile, A Goofy Movie stood tall.”

As the years passed, the film’s improbable popularity grew. New merchandise inspired by the movie was produced and sold in major retailers like Target and Hot Topic. An anniversary Blu-ray was released exclusively to the Disney Movie Club. A Buzzfeed article suggested that Max was now a hot “lumbersexual.”

Then came a viral 2009 YouTube video that re-created A Goofy Movie’s opening musical number, “After Today,” in live action—and has amassed 5.7 million views to date. Creator Ted Sowards initially planned to tackle a musical number from a more obvious Disney classic, like Mulan or Hercules, before settling on “After Today,” largely for practical reasons. “I can’t remember who pointed it out, but they said, ‘This one is easiest, because it’s just a kid going to school. We don’t need any Greek costumes or anything like that,’” Sowards told me.

Six or seven years ago, while doing auditions for another animated movie, Lima was shocked to discover just how fiercely young actors loved the film: “When they found out that I had done A Goofy Movie, they went crazy.… They were quoting all the lines from the movie.… It was a little overwhelming to me, to be honest with you.”

But it wasn’t until the 2015 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, that the extent of A Goofy Movie’s continued popularity became really real. “They had a list on some Disney websites about 10 must-see panels at the D23 convention. We weren’t even listed in the top 10,” Farmer remembered. “But we were number one in attendance and audience satisfaction.”

The event pulsed with an energy palpable even in the filmed version that wound up on YouTube. “The place was mobbed. The auditorium held 500 people, and they had to turn away several hundred others. It was crazy,” Magon remembered. It was a revelatory moment for Farmer: “We had an almost three-minute standing ovation at the end. It was incredible. I felt like one of the Beatles.”

If anything, that enthusiasm has only grown over the past five years. In 2019, Disneyland held a ’90s throwback night; the line to meet Max, dressed as Powerline, was the longest of the night. While I was writing this article, a new TikTok dance craze emerged—this one in honor of Powerline’s “I 2 I” musical number. On Friday, Disney’s in-house fan club, D23, is hosting a virtual Disney+ viewing party to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, featuring Lima, Magon, and Farmer.

Why, though, has A Goofy Movie endured? Lima credits the movie’s surprising emotional heft. “I think at the core of anything that lasts is something that’s truthful,” he said. “And at some point or another, we all feel this way about our parents. We want to disconnect with our parents, only to realize years later that they were okay. They were doing their best. They loved me.” Magon said that fans frequently tell him that this is why the movie still resonates with them: “I have people come up to me all the time and say, ‘This is the only film that made me connect with my dad,’ that kind of stuff. I find it really touching.”