Goliath I is Goliath II's father. He dislikes his son because he has a diminutive size. However, when his son wins a fight against a mouse, he underestimates his son and allows him to ride on his head.
Role in the short
Goliath I is first seen enjoying a meal until he stops to trumpet. When his diminutive son, Goliath II, tries to act like but with little success, he appears disappointed. After breaking down a tree, he seems flattered by his son's enthusiasm and compliment but when his son fails to break down a flower, he simply blows him away in rejection and ignores his wife's reprimands while turning and walking away until he turns momentarily facing her in anger after calling "a big, overstuffed blimp" and then proceeds to walk away.
The next day, Goliath I leads his herd on a march in the jungle until he is told by his wife to stop, which results in an elephant herd crash, when their son suddenly vanishes. After his wife saves their son from a tiger named Raja, she, Goliath I, and the rest of the members of the herd are disappointed by Goliath II's irresponsibility, carelessness, and immaturity.
The next morning, after Goliath II's failed attempted deserting the herd and final rescue from Raja, Goliath I watches his son get spanked in the rear by his mother for deserting the herd because according to elephant law, such an act is considered a major offense and the deserter is branded a scoundrel, a rogue elephant, and a traitor to the high and imperial order of pompous pachyderms, thus, disgracing his great father. Then, the elephants continue with their march in the jungle until they come across a mouse. Goliath I is the first one to notice the mouse and get scared; resulting in another elephant herd crash. Then, all the elephants run away scared without paying attention to where they're going (even so much as close as to running over Goliath II) until they take refuge under water in a nearby river with their trunks stuck up the surface and Goliath II's mother hanging on a tree except for Goliath II who doesn't appear to be scared of the mouse at all; given their exact sizes.
Goliath I is the first and only one seen sticking his head out of the water momentarily to see what is going on, only to find the mouse threatening to hurt Goliath II if he doesn't run away and a fight ensuing, thus, terrifying and making him dive back in the water in horror.
After Goliath II triumphs over the mouse, Goliath I is so proud of his son that he finally accepts him as his own son and gives him the highest position in the herd while letting him ride on top of his head as a place of honor while leading the herd on another march in the jungle. With Goliath I and the rest of the herd now more than willing to look out for Goliath II no matter what, Goliath II's mother's worries are finally over.
Trivia
- Goliath I was a character whose design inspired people to create another elephant character exactly like him named Colonel Hathi in The Jungle Book (who was also voiced by J. Pat O'Malley).
- Goliath I was named after Goliath, the giant Philistine warrior defeated by the young David, the future king of Israel, in Bible's Books of Samuel (1 Samuel 17).
- Goliath I only spoke once in the short; his only lines of dialogue were: "Mouse! Run for your lives!"
- Like Hathi, Goliath I appears to be the leader of his herd, but in real life, elephant herds are led by a dominant female called a matriarch. The only time an elephant herd was ever seen being correctly led by a female, like in real life, was in Dumbo. Although Mrs. Goliath may in fact be the real leader of the herd, considering her and Goliath I's relationship.
- At the end of the short, Goliath I makes his son the new leader of his herd and lets Goliath II ride on his head while his father fans him with a leaf held by his trunk. However, when we see Goliath I and his herd approaching the camera one last time, Goliath I's trunk is down, and Goliath II is nowhere to be seen.
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