Although often cited as the animated debut of Mickey's modern character design, this actually occurred five months earlier in "Mickey's Surprise Party". Nevertheless, "The Pointer" is still considered a milestone Mickey Mouse film for its background art and Mickey's acting which was personally staged by Walt Disney. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 12th Academy Awards in 1940, but untimely lost to Disney's own "The Ugly Duckling", the final installment of the "Silly Symphony" series.