Pluto (Disney)

Pluto
Mickey Mouse & Friends character
First appearance
  • The Chain Gang (September 5, 1930; 94 years ago (1930-09-05)) (unnamed)
  • The Picnic (October 9, 1930; 94 years ago (1930-10-09)) (as Rover)
  • The Moose Hunt (April 30, 1931; 93 years ago (1931-04-30)) (as Pluto)
Created by
Designed by
  • Walt Disney
  • Norm Ferguson
Voiced by
Developed by
In-universe information
Alias
  • Rover
  • Pluto the Pup
SpeciesDog
GenderMale
FamilyMickey Mouse (owner)
Significant other
Relatives

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), Mickey Mouse Funhouse (2021–present) and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ (2025–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]

  1. ^ a b c d Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
  2. ^ "Fred Flintstone Meets Jiminy Cricket: A Salute to Alan Reed -". CartoonResearch.com. August 25, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Farrell, Ken. Warman's Disney Collectibles Field Guide: Values and Identification. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011. p. 308.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference trivia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Smith, Dave. Disney A to Z: The Updated Official Encyclopedia. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Print. ISBN 0-7868-6391-9.
  6. ^ Stewart, James B. Disney War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. p. 5.
  7. ^ Griffin, Sean. Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out. New York: New York UP, 2000. p. 70.
  8. ^ "The Flypaper Sequence Mystery," essay by Michael Barrier
  9. ^ Pluto at INDUCKS
  10. ^ 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.


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