Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Pluto, Volume Two
Unlike the other animal characters in Disney's cartoon repertory company who served as substitute humans, Pluto remained a dog. Although he began as Mickey Mouse's companion, he was soon given films of his own: Mickey and Minnie appear in only a few of these cartoons from the late '40s and early '50s. Most of the stories follow the pattern animator Norm Ferguson set in "Playful Pluto" (1934). The hectored hound has to cope with either a recalcitrant object or an adorable but problematic animal: a little bird in "Pluto's Fledgling," the embarrassing pink sweater Minnie knits in "Pluto's Sweater," Chip an' Dale in "Food for Feudin'." The animation in these shorts is polished and subtle: the animators capture the nuances of a change in expression as skillfully as the rhythm of a run. But the humor feels very tame. While director Charles Nichols and his staff made beautiful, amusing films, the artists at Warner Bros. and MGM were pioneering a brasher, faster-paced style of cartoon that was much funnier.The extras are generally interesting but some of the choices are odd: Pluto doesn't appear in some cartoons. Animator Andreas Deja offers an interesting commentary on "Hawaiian Holiday" (1937), but the film isn't shown in its entirety. Similarly, the pencil test from "Pluto's Judgment Day" (1935) provides a rare look at the animators' drawing, but the finished film isn't included.The Complete Pluto, Volume Twois well worth having, but it's not likely to provide many belly laughs. (Rated G, suitable for ages 5 and older: cartoon violence, minor ethnic stereotypes)--Charles Solomon