Maxwell Dweeb is one of the main characters from the 1988 television special Totally Minnie. He is played by Robert Carradine.
Appearances
Totally Minnie
He first appears in his living room when he sees his dog wearing dark sunglasses while watching a music video. He attempts to grab the remote to change the channel but his dog grabs it. He then grabs his sax and plays really loud, causing his dog to take his paw off the remote so Max can use it. As he changes the channel, he sees Minnie Mouse in a commercial where she shows clips of Max as an example of someone who is embarrassing, acts like a nerd and has life pass them by. Having seen the commercial, Max is given the phone by his dog and decides to call the number, then heads towards Minnie Mouse Center for the Totally Unhip.
Later, he arrives at the Center where upon entering he encounters a women who raps a song to him and discovers that he has no rhythm, wears a pocket protector and needs a full crash course. She then introduces herself as the Director and takes him to begin to be hip.
On the way he sees Donald as a wardrobe manager, then meets Vanna White and Pluto in an indoor drive-thru room where she tells Pluto to watch the movie and he licks her.
Maxwell is then pulled away as the Director tells him that if he follows Minnie's instructions, his dull life will be upside down. Then he sees Goofy as a fitness instructor, who places him in a room with a lot of TV sets. Maxwell is all alone until he sees the owner of the center, Minnie Mouse, who keeps asking him if he wants to be hip, which frightens Maxwell at first. He says he doesn't want to be hip anymore, until the real Minnie Mouse shows up and kicks the screen, which surprises Maxwell as he is shown a flashback video from a time when Minnie wasn't hip. Having seen the video, the Director arrives and after seeing Maxwell falling on the ground, she shows him clips of her friends as clumsy as him, which makes him laugh.
Maxwell's next lesson is how to do the "Neutron Dance". Afterwards, as he is about to kiss the Director, Minnie appears and tells Maxwell that nasty boys are not hip, while showing clips of Peg-Leg Pete to the song "Nasty Boys". Maxwell laughs at first but then stops when clips of other Disney Characters at their worst are shown.
After being asked how he feels after seeing the video, Maxwell can't come up with the right words to explain how he feels, then is asked to sing but it turns out he can't sing, so Minnie and the Director told Maxwell he needs confidence. After seeing a brief clip of Minnie and Mickey singing, he is shown a music video of Minnie and Sir Elton John, and is told his next lesson is romance. The Director changes from her geeky self to an attractive look and takes him to the drive-in room, and Maxwell keeps talking about this being his first date, but the Director stops him and gives him instructions of how to act on a date, but he keeps ruining the course, until they watch more Disney clips about dating. He then asks if he could go out with her again, but she informs him that the policy of the Center is that Employees are not allowed to date clients. As Maxwell plans to give up on romance, the Director tells him to keep watching, as the best is yet to come. After seeing clips of couples getting back with the song "Jealousy & Making Up" (played in the beginning of the special), Maxwell calls the Director beautiful and says that she looks like Suzanne Somers (who she really is).
Later Maxwell comes out wearing the same clothing as Elton John while singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", saying he has a new look, but the Director disapproves, saying that it may work for Elton John, but not for Maxwell. She orders the female employees to give Maxwell the ultimate makeover, to the song 'Shopping'. After coming out looking like a new person, Maxwell realizes he's done with the lessons and is ready to start his new life, but admits that he's afraid to go because even though he looks hip, he's still the same nerd. But after seeing a video of Donald and Walt Disney, Maxwell now learns to be himself (after making a joke about talking like Donald). Afterwards, he receives his diploma and graduates as the Director, the female employees, and Maxwell dance to the song 'I'm so Excited' while more Disney clips play as he leaves the center to start his new life as a cool, hip guy.
Trivia
- This would be Robert Carradine's first Disney appearance until 2001, when he would play both Don Keeble from Max Keeble's Big Move and Sam McGuire from Lizzie McGuire.
- Many people believe that Maxwell Dweeb is based on Robert Carradine's character Lewis Skolnick from the Revenge of the Nerds film series due to their similar appearance and laughter.