John McLeish - The Narrator of the Goofy "How To" Cartoons

Q: Who does the voice of the sportscaster in the Goofy cartoons on football and basketball? I believe he also does the same thing in this short called Football Now and Then as well as in Moochie of Pop Warner Football. Do you know who the actor is?
Michael, Granite Bay, California 

A [Dave Smith]: The narrator of the Goofy "how to" cartoons was John McLeish, who was an animator and story man at Disney in the 1940s.

[Marcio Disney]

Here is a photo during the production of Disney’s The Reluctant Dragon on November 7, 1940. Actress Frances Gifford, who played a studio artist in the film, is the woman in the photo. Clockwise from Gifford: John McLeish, T. Hee, Ward Kimball, Fred Moore (back), Norm Ferguson (back) and Erdman Penner.

Dumbo was also narrated by John McLeish.

Goofy - How to Play Football (1944)

Goofy - How to Play Baseball (1944)

Goofy - How to Play Golf (1944)

Figaro, the Cat

Q: I recently watched one of Walt Disney's cartoons called Pluto's Sweater. Minnie had a cat in the cartoon, but I didn't listen carefully enough to hear the name. What is the cat's name? Did this cat appear in other cartoons?
Andrew, Seattle, Washington

A [Dave Smith]: The cat is Figaro, who first appeared in Pinocchio in 1940. Figaro appeared in several short cartoons after that, including Figaro and Cleo and Figaro and Frankie.

[Marcio Disney]

Clarabelle Cow & Clarice Chipmunk at Disneyland's Celebrate Parade

Q: In the current Celebrate parade at Disneyland, there is a female chipmunk character and a female cow character that performs as part of the parade. Who are these characters? I've asked many people and nobody seems to know where they originated. Also, why were they chosen to be used in this parade?
Jeff, Burbank, California 

A [Dave Smith]: The cow is Clarabelle Cow, who appeared in early Mickey Mouse cartoons. The female chipmunk is Clarice, who played a nightclub singer in the 1952 cartoon Two Chips and a Miss. We always like to bring back some of the lesser-known Disney characters for nostalgia's sake. 

[Marcio Disney]