Pete

**Pete** (commonly known as **Peg-Leg Pete**) is a villainous anthropomorphic cat created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He is the arch-nemesis of Mickey Mouse, normally characterized as a brutish criminal with an affinity for smoking, money, and power. Nicknamed after the peg replacing his missing left leg, Pete first appeared in Disney's early cartoon series the *Alice Comedies* in 1925, three years before the first appearance of Mickey, which makes him Disney's oldest recurring character and the first villain to be conceived by the studio.

*Alice Solves the Puzzle* introduced Pete as **Bootleg Pete**, a peg-legged animal resembling a bear that was a frequent troublemaker for Alice. In 1927, Pete was adopted into Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's series of cartoons, playing the role of Oswald's recurring rival. By 1928, the *Alice* series had ended, while the rights to Oswald were lost. This led to the advent of Mickey Mouse. In Mickey's first cartoon, *Steamboat Willie*, Pete appeared as the captain of the titular steamboat and Mickey's overbearing boss. Inspired by the ancient "cat and mouse" rivalry, Pete was redefined as a large, black cat and would serve as Mickey's nemesis from then on.

In his earliest cartoons, Pete played the role of an archetypical villain; most of his schemes revolved around kidnapping Minnie Mouse and forcing her into courtship, only to be foiled by the gallant Mickey. In other stories, he served as a neutral, yet imposing law-enforcer that carried out his duties in a brash manner. In the 1990's animated television series, *Goof Troop*, Pete was cast as the hot-headed neighbor and foil of Goofy. The series redefined Pete as a suburban husband and father, while his personality was portrayed as more mischievous than villainous. This iteration of Pete proved popular, and has reappeared again in feature films such as 1995's *A Goofy Movie*.

Over 90 years after his debut, Pete endures as one of Disney's most active characters. He regularly features as the quintessential antagonist to Mickey Mouse and his friends, with the severity of his schemes and wickedness greatly dependent of the story—even serving as an ally on some occasions (particularly in the preschool shows).

## Background

### Personality

Pete is an overbearing, authoritative, loud-mouthed bully who constantly wreaks havoc on those around him. As the definitive foil to Mickey Mouse, Pete encompasses a variety of traits typically associated with a classic, thuggish villain, including an excessive use of cigars, a deep, commanding voice, and a dangerously short temper. Self-serving and arrogant, Pete's villainous acts have varied in scale and depth over the years, and generally depend on the story he's participating in; at times, Pete can be a simple, yet greedy crook looking to become rich beyond belief, a tyrant seeking power and control or a trigger-happy sadist that causes harm for mere pleasure. In some roles, Pete has a legitimate profession, but tends to carry his business in a ruthless and intimidating manner. Whatever the case, Pete is always up to trouble.

Within the *Mickey Mouse* universe, Pete is notorious for his monstrous nature, though he takes great pride in this reputation and the reactions it evokes. In recent years, Pete's character has been fleshed out to explain why he acts in such a cruel manner; he believes that those who cannot be loved, should be feared, and that kindness is weakness that will lead to your downfall. In relation to this, some of Pete's ambitions are motivated by his underlying insecurity and a need for attention/validation, and this seems to play a part in his rivalry with Mickey Mouse, a figure with all the success and popularity Pete longs to have.

Aside from his truly villainous nature, there has been a softer side to Pete's character, notably in *Goof Troop*, which depicted Pete more as a mischievous schemer, rather than a villain. Though he was rather cruel and abusive to his son P.J. (who'd rather "eat glass than go fishing with his father"), he spoiled and doted on his daughter, Pistol and made effort to ensure that his wife Peg Pete was happy and content (though this was partially out of fear). Despite this, Pete was still antagonistic, and at times to a fault. In *A Goofy Movie*, Pete and Goofy were portrayed as best friends, albeit with opposing viewpoints on parenting. While Goofy cherishes the idea of being both a parent and a friend to his son, Max, Pete believes children should be kept "under your thumb", and by asserting your authority in an overbearing manner, you'd become feared (or "respected" as Pete sees it), and keep them from becoming delinquents. As a result of this, Pete has, on various occasions, treated P.J. more as his servant than his son. Additionally, Pete was unwilling to accept that a relationship between a father and son could work any differently. After Goofy debunked his parenting advice, Pete became rather spiteful and vindictive, as he later relished in having the chance to prove that Max (as a result of Goofy's attempts to form a friendly bond) was a manipulative "bad kid". When revealing this news to Goofy, Pete did so with false sympathy. Even as a suburban family man with a tamer lifestyle, Pete still has the tendency to cause trouble, be it due to his own greed, narcissism or simply due to his unyielding opinions, even ones that are fairly understandable.

## Trivia

* Despite officially being a cat, Pete is sometimes mistaken for a dog (specifically a bulldog). He was originally conceived as a bear and in fact remained so as recently as Universal's Oswald shorts; in the latter he eventually also became a rabbit.
* Pete and Goofy are the only characters from the classic Disney shorts to have a biological child, instead of a traditional niece or nephew. Pete has P.J. and Pistol, and Goofy has Max.
* In *Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip*, Pete claims that he had a cat once. Pete says, "MEOW!" and behaves like a real cat (with fangs and whiskers) to outsmart Pluto.
* Ironically, while Pete is the taller half of the duo consisting of himself and Mickey, Billy Bletcher and Walt Disney were completely the opposite (with Walt being much taller than Billy).
* Jim Cummings has noted in several interviews that he does not consider Pete a true villain.
* Although Pete had antagonized Mickey and the other major Disney cast such as Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto in the classic shorts, however for some reason Pete never antagonized Daisy in the classic shorts. Pete, however, did antagonize Daisy in some modern media such as the TV series *House of Mouse* and the movie *Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers.*
* Pete become Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's enemy and guest star in Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's Adventures Series to do evil plots and get revenge on them and their friends for defeating him.

## Gallery

Pete as "The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come" in Mickey's Christmas Carol.Pete and his family as seen in Goof Troop.Pete in A Goofy Movie.Pete in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas.Pete in An Extremely Goofy Movie.Pete in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers.Pete as he appeared in DuckTales, particularly as the character named "Sharkey" from "Pearl of Wisdom".Pete in Goof Troop.Pete in Mickey Mouse Works.Pete in House of Mouse.Pete in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.Pete in Mickey Mouse.Pete in The Prince and the PauperPete's defeatPete with the Beagle BoysPete in battle with Mickey MousePete's incarcerated motherPete facepalmingPete's defeat in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three MusketeersPete as Santa Claus in House of MousePete in House of MousePete with The Witch in House of MousePete with Mushu & Cri-Kee at the House of MousePete inside Kanga's pouch in House of MousePete firing UrsulaPete turned into a polyp by UrsulaPete in the computer animated TV show Mickey and the Roadster RacersPete in Legend of the Three Caballeros