Disney cartoon character
Fictional character
Pluto
is an American cartoon character created by
the Walt Disney Company
. He is a yellow-orange color, medium-sized, short-haired
dog
with black ears. Unlike most Disney characters, Pluto is not
anthropomorphic
beyond some characteristics such as facial expression.
[3]
He is
Mickey's
pet. Officially a
mixed-breed dog
,
[4]
he made his debut as a
bloodhound
in the Mickey Mouse cartoon
The Chain Gang
.
[5]
Together with
Mickey Mouse
,
Minnie Mouse
,
Donald Duck
,
Daisy Duck
, and
Goofy
, Pluto is one of the "Sensational Six"?the biggest stars in the
Disney
universe.
[6]
Though all six are non-human animals, Pluto alone is not dressed as a human.
[7]
Pluto debuted in
animated cartoons
and appeared in 24
Mickey Mouse
films before receiving his
own series
in 1937. All together Pluto appeared in 89 short films between 1930 and 1953. Several of these were nominated for an
Academy Award
, including
The Pointer
(1939),
Squatter's Rights
(1946),
Pluto's Blue Note
(1947), and
Mickey and the Seal
(1948). One film starring him,
Lend a Paw
(1941), won the award in 1942.
[Note 1]
Because Pluto does not speak, his films generally rely on physical humor. This made Pluto a pioneering figure in character animation, by expressing personality through animation rather than dialogue.
[8]
Like all of Pluto's co-stars, the dog has appeared extensively in comics over the years, first making an appearance in 1931.
[9]
He returned to theatrical animation in 1990 with
The Prince and the Pauper
and has also appeared in several direct-to-video films. Pluto also appears in the television series
Mickey Mouse Works
(1999?2000),
House of Mouse
(2001?2003),
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
(2006?2016),
Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures
(2017?2021),
Mickey Mouse
(2013?2019) and its successor
The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse
(2020?2023), and
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
(2021?present).
In 1998, Disney's copyright on Pluto, set to expire in 2003, was extended by the passage of the
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
. Disney, along with other studios, lobbied for passage of the act to preserve their copyrights on characters such as Pluto for 20 additional years.
[10]
Origin
[
edit
]
Pluto first appeared as a nameless
bloodhound
tracking the escaped convict Mickey in the film
The Chain Gang
,
which released on August 6, 1930.
[11]
On October 23 of that same year,
The Picnic
was released. Pluto was Minnie's dog and was named Rover.
The Moose Hunt
, which came out on May 3, 1931, Pluto appeared as Mickey's pet, and was given the name "Pluto".
[4]
Several months had passed between the naming of what was then classified as the ninth planet,
Pluto
, on May 1, 1930, and the attachment of that name to the dog character. Disney animator
Ben Sharpsteen
said "We thought the name [Rover] was too common, so we had to look for something else. ... We changed it to Pluto the Pup ... but I don't honestly remember why."
[12]
Some Disney animators reportedly believed that Walt Disney chose the name to capitalize on the sensation of the newly named planet.
[13]
Pluto was initially a minor character until 1934 when Disney animator
Norm Ferguson
gave the dog a key role in the cartoon
Playful Pluto
. Pluto becomes entangled with a sticky piece of flypaper, and Ferguson expanded the sequence significantly. The segment became a classic, demonstrating how Disney artists can take a simple circumstance and build humor through a character.
[14]
Characterization
[
edit
]
Unlike Mickey's other animal friends, such as
Goofy
(who is also a dog), Pluto is a relatively normal animal, with few anthropomorphic traits apart from his facial expressions. Pluto usually doesn't speak in English, walk upright or wear clothing. A significant departure from this was his speaking role in
The Moose Hunt
(1931), which was produced before Pluto's characterization had been clearly defined. As Pluto made more appearances, it became common that he would mostly speak in barks and grunts like most dogs. Other ways of communicating Pluto's thoughts occur through his facial expressions, and sometimes through the use of a
shoulder angel
/devil who speak directly to Pluto. (
Mickey's Elephant
,
Lend a Paw
).
Pluto is generally a cheerful and adventurous dog, although he can be given to sheer panic when confronted with something unknown. Common themes in Pluto's stories involve him becoming jealous of Mickey getting another pet (
Mickey's Elephant
,
Lend a Paw
,
Mickey and the Seal
), Pluto accidentally and unwittingly swallowing something and panicking when he realizes it (
Playful Pluto
,
Donald and Pluto
), Pluto getting entangled with something inanimate like a piece of
flypaper
(
Beach Picnic
,
Playful Pluto
), or Pluto being pestered by a smaller animal (
Private Pluto
,
Squatter's Rights
). In many of his appearances with Mickey, Pluto will get himself into trouble and cause Mickey to get angry at him. Mickey, however, often cheers up quickly, often telling Pluto "Aw, I can't be mad at ya.".
Pluto sometimes appears with other regular animal characters. His friends include
Fifi the Peke
,
Dinah the Dachshund
, and Ronnie the St. Bernard Puppy. Other animals he is less friendly with include
Salty the Seal
,
Butch the Bulldog
,
Figaro the Kitten
,
Chip 'n Dale
,
Peg Leg Pete
,
Spike the Bee
,
Bent-Tail the Coyote
,
Milton the Cat
, and other characters. In Disney's 1937 animated short
Pluto's Quin-puplets
, Pluto has five sons, one of them returning in the 1942 short
Pluto Junior
. In the 1946 animated short
Pluto's Kid Brother
, Pluto has a younger brother named K.B.
Appearances
[
edit
]
Pluto first and most often appears in the
Mickey Mouse
series of cartoons. On rare occasions, he is paired with
Donald Duck
("
Donald and Pluto
", "
Beach Picnic
", "
Window Cleaners
", "
The Eyes Have It
", "
Donald's Dog Laundry
", & "
Put-Put Troubles
").
The first cartoons to feature Pluto as a solo star were two
Silly Symphony
shorts,
Just Dogs
(1932) and
Mother Pluto
(1936). In 1937, Pluto appeared in
Pluto's Quin-Puplets
which was the first installment of his own film series, then headlined
Pluto the Pup
. However, they were not produced on a regular basis until 1940, by which time the name of the series was shortened to
Pluto
.
His first comics appearance was in the
Mickey Mouse
comic strip
in July 1931,
[15]
two months after the release of
The Moose Hunt
. In 1938, Pluto headlined in the
Silly Symphony
Sunday comic strip, in an adaptation of his
Silly Symphony
short,
Mother Pluto
.
[16]
Pluto was later featured in several sequences of the
Silly Symphony
strip in 1939 and 1940.
Pluto Saves the Ship
, a comic book published in 1942, was one of the first Disney comics prepared for publication outside newspaper strips. However, not counting a few cereal giveaway mini-comics in 1947 and 1951, he did not have his own comics title until 1952.
In 1936, Pluto was featured in the picture book
Mickey Mouse and Pluto the Pup
by
Whitman Publishing
.
Pluto ran his own neighborhood in
Disney's Toontown Online
until its closedown. It was called the Brrrgh and it was always snowing there except during Halloween. During April Toons Week, a weekly event that was very silly, Pluto switched playgrounds with Minnie (all other characters did this as well), and he actually talked in Minnie's Melodyland.
Pluto has also appeared in the television series
Mickey Mouse Works
(1999?2000),
House of Mouse
(2001?2003),
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
(2006?2016),
Mickey Mouse
(2013?2019),
Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures
(2017?2021), and
The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse
(2020-present) and
Mickey Mouse Funhouse
(2021?present). Curiously enough, however, Pluto was the only standard Disney character not included when the whole gang was reunited for the 1983 featurette
Mickey's Christmas Carol
, although he did return in
The Prince and the Pauper
(1990) and
Runaway Brain
(1995). He also had a cameo at the ending of
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(1988). In 1996, he made a cameo in the
Quack Pack
episode "The Really Mighty Ducks".
Short films
[
edit
]
Feature films
[
edit
]
Video games
[
edit
]
Pluto appeared as a non-playable character in
Mickey Mania
(1994).
Pluto also appears in
Disney Golf
for the
PlayStation 2
. In the event that the player's golf ball goes out of bounds or hits a water hazard, Pluto will come and look for the player's golf ball.
In the
Kingdom Hearts
video game series, Pluto is still Mickey's pet and acts as somewhat of a messenger, assisting in his master's plans. For most of
Kingdom Hearts II
, Pluto stays by
Kairi's
side (even when she has been kidnapped), as he has apparently taken a liking to her. Strangely, throughout the series, Pluto appears and disappears at random moments.
Pluto is a playable character in the world builder game
Disney Magic Kingdoms
, being a
premium character
to unlock in the main storyline of the game.
Disney parks
[
edit
]
In the various Disney theme park resorts around the world, Pluto is a meetable character just like many of his film co-stars.
[17]
Pluto, however, uncharacteristically walks on two legs in this capacity out of necessity. Adults and children are able to meet, play with, and get autographs and pictures with Pluto and his friends at all Disney parks. Shirts, hats, toys and other various types of merchandise featuring Pluto are available.
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022).
Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2
. BearManor Media.
- ^
"Fred Flintstone Meets Jiminy Cricket: A Salute to Alan Reed -"
.
cartoonresearch.com
. August 25, 2020
. Retrieved
November 11,
2020
.
- ^
Farrell, Ken.
Warman's Disney Collectibles Field Guide: Values and Identification
. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011. p. 308.
- ^
a
b
Smith, Dave.
Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered
. New York: Disney Editions, 2012.
- ^
Smith, Dave.
Disney A to Z: The Updated Official Encyclopedia
. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print.
ISBN
0-7868-6391-9
.
- ^
Stewart, James B.
Disney War
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. p. 5.
- ^
Griffin, Sean
.
Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out
. New York: New York UP, 2000. p. 70.
- ^
"
The Flypaper Sequence Mystery
," essay by Michael Barrier
- ^
Pluto
at
INDUCKS
- ^
Sprigman, Chris. FindLaw's Writ, March 5, 2002, "
THE MOUSE THAT ATE THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: Disney, The Copyright Term Extension Act, And eldred V. Ashcroft
Archived
October 30, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
". Accessed September 19, 2012.
- ^
Watts, Steven.
The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life
. Columbia, MO: U of Missouri, 2001. p. 132.
- ^
Brasch, Walter M. (1983).
Cartoon Monikers: An Insight into the Animation Industry
. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Popular Press. p. 69.
ISBN
0-87972-244-4
.
- ^
Boyle, Alan.
The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference
. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. p. 49.
- ^
Finch, Christopher, pages 71, 74, 91, 106, 111, and 230.
The Art of Walt Disney
, 2004
- ^
Gottfredson, Floyd (2011).
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse
, vol 1: Race to Death Valley
. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books. pp. 163?166.
ISBN
978-1-60699-441-2
.
- ^
Kaufman, J.B. (2016). "Introduction".
Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 2
. San Diego: IDW Publishing. pp. 7?8.
ISBN
978-1-63140-804-5
.
- ^
"Pluto"
.
External links
[
edit
]
Disney
core universe characters
|
---|
Sensational Six
| |
---|
Secondary
animated debuts
| |
---|
Secondary
printed debuts
| |
---|
Lists
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|
|
---|
Episodes
| |
---|
Films
| |
---|
Characters
| |
---|