The How-to Narrator is a character featured in various classic Goofy cartoons, in which he exists as a disembodied guide to instruct Goofy in his performance of various tasks and activities. The modern iteration of the How-to Narrator (voiced by Corey Burton) made his debut in the 1992 Disney Afternoon animated series Goof Troop, and later narrated once for Donald Duck in the 1996 Quack Pack episode "Duck Quake". He is also featured in various Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse shorts, but only in the Goofy and Goofy's Extreme Sports cartoons.
Background[]
The Narrator is the driving force behind many classic Goofy cartoons, often instructing Goofy on how to go about completing any given task. Since then, the How-to Narrator has been featured in various other media starring Goofy, especially in Goofy's modern cartoons in Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse.
The modern iteration of the How-to Narrator (voiced by Corey Burton), speaks with an air of superiority and slight snootiness, occasionally displaying little patience with Goofy's ineptitude. Other times, the How-to Narrator is completely oblivious to Goofy's shortcomings, congratulating him on completing his task despite evidence to the contrary.
Sometimes, Goofy may directly acknowledge the Narrator's presence, breaking the fourth wall in the process. In the Goof Troop episode "Major Goof", Goofy chuckles "There's that voice again," upon hearing the Narrator speak. In the episode "Goofin' Up the Social Ladder", the Narrator has direct interactions with all of the main characters when instructing each of them on proper etiquette and table manners, and Peg Pete even yells at the Narrator once.
In the House of Mouse episode "Super Goof", the Narrator returns, this time under the premise that Goofy needs a narrator if he's going to be a superhero, which Goofy rejects at first before accepting the Narrator's presence. This is also the only time the How-to Narrator ever speaks in House of Mouse outside of the cartoon shorts.
The Narrator returns in Disney Fairies' Pixie Preview, narrating all the winter-themed "How To" shorts which are themed around the fifth Tinker Bell movie Secret of the Wings. This marks the only time the Narrator narrates for a non-Mickey Mouse-related media.
He appeared in the 2021 short series "How to Stay at Home," where he explained the various methods of staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the How-to Narrator is only a disembodied voice, this makes him one of the few voiced Disney characters who has no visual appearance whatsoever.
In the "Binge Watching" episode of How to Stay at Home, his hand is briefly seen waving at Goofy to see if he's still alive.
In the Mickey Mouse Works double-length Mouse Tales cartoons, a different narrator (voiced by John Cleese) serves as the storyteller for those shorts. As he is a storyteller instead of an instructional guide, he is not to be considered the same as the How-to Narrator.
