A Tribute to Pluto’s Playmate

        Pluto the dog is primarily remembered for being Mickey Mouse’s dog. He made his debut in the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang (1930), though he didn’t have a name at the time. He briefly appeared as a Minnie Mouse’s pet dog, Rover, in the short film The Picnic (1930), and his third appearance was in the short The Moose Hunt (1931) in which he became Mickey’s full-time pet bloodhound, Pluto. Named by Walt Disney himself after the just-named “planet at-the-time,” officially named on March 24th, 1930. He briefly spoke like a human, just like Goofy, in “Moose Hunt,” but after that short it was decided by the Disney animators that he would behave like a normal dog in general, but on occasion make human-like facial expressions. On January 24th, 1941, Pluto appeared in a short film called Pluto’s Playmate, and in honor of its 80th anniversary today, let’s explore it together.

Beginning with a brief synopsis: Pluto’s Playmate begins with Pluto playing with a red ball on the beach. At one point the ball falls into the water, and is retrieved by a baby seal named Salty, who wants to play with Pluto. Pluto rebuffs him, but Salty persists. When Pluto is later attacked by an octopus, Salty rescues and saves his life and Pluto finally agrees to share the ball with his new-found friend. 

Pluto was voiced by Lee Millar Sr. in this short film. Pinto Colvig who originated the voices of both Goofy and Pluto voiced Salty the Seal. (Colvig had briefly retired from Goofy and Pluto at the time this short was produced but he returned to both that same year.) The short was co-written written by Frank Tashlin and Earl Hurd, who both helped write other Disney classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Fun and Fancy Free (1947), and Cinderella (1950). It was directed by Norm Ferguson, who was an animator at Disney for nearly 30 years, contributing to both shorts and feature length movies, beginning with Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929) and ending with an episode of The Magical World of Disney in 1956. The short also featured the animation of John Lounsbery who was known at Disney for being one of the top animators at the studio, also known as one of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men.”

Throughout the the ‘40s and the ‘50s, Pluto continued appearing in short films. Though as the studio became more preoccupied with the production of films such as “Cinderella,” Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953)—as well as Disney’s introduction into television and Disneyland—Pluto’s appearances in short films stopped for a very long time. His last short was The Simple Things (1953), and from then on he was only seen in Disney comic books until the short film Mickey’s Christmas Carol thirty years later. His first feature-length film appearance was in the direct-to-video film Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999). The “Pluto’s Playmate,” short was remade for the Disney Junior Television Series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006-2016) which aired on television in 2009. Pluto also was in Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004) and he even had a cameo in the Disney-produced biopic on the production of Mary Poppins (1964), Saving Mr. Banks (2013).

Pluto is always loyal to Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy—he always has their backs. The adventure he experiences in “Pluto’s Playmate,” is inspiring because it inspires kids and adults to be open to making new friends. Friends often surprise us in unique ways. It encourages us not to underestimate someone’s capabilities just because they may seem different from us.