Pluto (Disney)

Pluto (Disney)
Pluto is a 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. He is Mickey's pet. Officially a mixed-breed dog, he made his debut as a bloodhound in the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang. 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. Though all six are non-human animals, Pluto alone is not dressed as a human.
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. 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.
Like all of Pluto's co-stars, the dog has appeared extensively in comics over the years, first making an appearance in 1931. 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 (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.
Origin
Pluto first appeared as a nameless bloodhound tracking the escaped convict Mickey in the film The Chain Gang, which released on August 6, 1930. 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".
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." Some Disney animators reportedly believed that Walt Disney chose the name to capitalize on the sensation of the newly named planet.
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.
Characterization
Unlike Mickey's other animal friends, such as Goofy (who is also a dog), Pluto is a relatively normal animal, with a 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
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, 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. 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
The Chain Gang (1930) – Mickey Mouse short
The Picnic (1930) – Mickey Mouse short
Blue Rhythm (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
The Moose Hunt (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
The Delivery Boy (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey Steps Out (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
Fishin' Around (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
The Barnyard Broadcast (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
The Beach Party (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Orphans (1931) – Mickey Mouse short
The Duck Hunt (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
The Grocery Boy (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
The Mad Dog (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Revue (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
Just Dogs (1932) – Silly Symphony short
Mickey's Nightmare (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
Trader Mickey (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
The Wayward Canary (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
The Klondike Kid (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
Parade of the Award Nominees (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Good Deed (1932) – Mickey Mouse short
Building a Building (1933) – Mickey Mouse short
The Mad Doctor (1933) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Pal Pluto (1933) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Gala Premier (1933) – Mickey Mouse short
Puppy Love (1933) – Mickey Mouse short
Playful Pluto (1934) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey Plays Papa (1934) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Kangaroo (1935) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Garden (1935) – Mickey Mouse short
Pluto's Judgement Day (1935) – Mickey Mouse short
On Ice (1935) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Polo Team (1936) – Mickey Mouse short (cameo)
Mickey's Grand Opera (1936) – Mickey Mouse short
Alpine Climbers (1936) – Mickey Mouse short
Donald and Pluto (1936) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Elephant (1936) – Mickey Mouse short
Mother Pluto (1936) – Silly Symphony short
The Worm Turns (1937) – Mickey Mouse short
Hawaiian Holiday (1937) – Mickey Mouse short
Pluto's Quin-puplets (1937) – Pluto short
Mickey's Parrot (1938) – Mickey Mouse short
Society Dog Show (1939) – Mickey Mouse short
Mickey's Surprise Party (1939) – Mickey Mouse short
Beach Picnic (1939) – Donald Duck short
The Pointer (1939) – Mickey Mouse short
The Standard Parade (1939) – commercial short
Donald's Dog Laundry (1940) – Donald Duck short
Put-Put Troubles (1940) – Donald Duck short
Bone Trouble (1940) – Pluto short
Window Cleaners (1940) – Donald Duck short
Pluto's Dream House (1940) – Mickey Mouse short
Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940) – Mickey Mouse short
Pantry Pirate (1940) – Pluto short
Pluto's Playmate (1941) – Pluto short
A Gentleman's Gentleman (1941) – Mickey Mouse short
Baggage Buster (1941) – Goofy short (cameo)
Canine Caddy (1941) – Mickey Mouse short
Lend a Paw (1941) – Mickey Mouse short
Pluto Junior (1942) – Pluto short
The Army Mascot (1942) – Pluto short
The Sleepwalker (1942) – Pluto short
Out of the Frying Pan into the Firing Line (1942) – propaganda short
T-Bone for Two (1942) – Pluto short
Pluto at the Zoo (1942) – Pluto short
Pluto and the Armadillo (1943) – Mickey Mouse short
Private Pluto (1943) – Pluto short
Victory Vehicles (1943) – Goofy short (cameo)
Springtime for Pluto (1944) – Pluto short
First Aiders (1944) – Pluto short
Dog Watch (1945) – Pluto short
The Eyes Have It (1945) – Donald Duck short
Canine Casanova (1945) – Pluto short
The Legend of Coyote Rock (1945) – Pluto short
Canine Patrol (1945) – Pluto short
Pluto's Kid Brother (1946) – Pluto short
In Dutch (1946) – Pluto short
Squatter's Rights (1946) – Mickey Mouse short
The Purloined Pup (1946) – Pluto short
A Feather in His Collar (1946) – commercial short
Pluto's Housewarming (1947) – Pluto short
Rescue Dog (1947) – Pluto short
Mickey's Delayed Date (1947) – Mickey Mouse short
Mail Dog (1947) – Pluto short
Pluto's Blue Note (1947) – Pluto short
Bone Bandit (1948) – Pluto short
Mickey Down Under (1948) – Mickey Mouse short
Pluto's Purchase (1948) – Pluto short
Cat Nap Pluto (1948) – Pluto short
Mickey and the Seal (1948) – Mickey Mouse short
Pluto's Fledgling (1948) – Pluto short
Pueblo Pluto (1949) – Pluto short
Pluto's Surprise Package (1949) – Pluto short
Pluto's Sweater (1949) – Pluto short
Bubble Bee (1949) – Pluto short
Sheep Dog (1949) – Pluto short
Pluto's Heart Throb (1950) – Pluto short
Pluto and the Gopher (1950) – Pluto short
Wonder Dog (1950) – Pluto short
Primitive Pluto (1950) – Pluto short
Puss Cafe (1950) – Pluto short
Pests of the West (1950) – Pluto short
Food for Feudin' (1950) – Pluto short
Camp Dog (1950) – Pluto short
Cold Storage (1951) – Pluto short
R'coon Dawg (1951) – Mickey Mouse short
Plutopia (1951) – Pluto short
Cold Turkey (1951) – Pluto short
Pluto's Party (1952) – Mickey Mouse short
Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952) – Mickey Mouse short
The Simple Things (1953) – Mickey Mouse short
Runaway Brain (1995) – Mickey Mouse short
Once Upon a Studio (2023) – independent short (cameo)
Feature films
Totally Minnie (1988; TV special)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) – (cameo)
The Prince and the Pauper (1990; featurette)
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001)
Mickey's House of Villains (2002) – (archive footage)
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004)
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
Mickey's Tale of Two Witches (2021; TV special)
Mickey Saves Christmas (2022; TV special)
Video games
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 your 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
In the various Disney theme park resorts around the world, Pluto is a meetable character just like many of his film co-stars. 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
References
External links
Pluto on IMDb
Disney comics characters
Disney core universe characters
Fictional characters from Calisota
Film characters introduced in 1930
Comics characters introduced in 1930
Fictional dogs
Male characters in animation
Male characters in comics
Comedy film characters
Characters created by Walt Disney