Pluto is a series of American animated comedy short films produced by Walt Disney Productions. The series started in 1937 with Pluto's Quin-puplets and ended in 1951 with Cold Turkey. The series stars the titular character Pluto, introduced in the Mickey Mouse film series as Mickey's pet dog, in addition to having recurring appearances by previously known characters such as Minnie Mouse, Figaro the Kitten, and Mickey Mouse, and also introduced well-known characters such as the chipmunk duo Chip 'n' Dale.
Production The short films were produced by Walt Disney Productions, and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures (later shorts being distributed by Buena Vista Distribution in re-releases). Like other Disney animated shorts in the golden age of American animation, the shorts begin with a starburst with a close-up of the star character's face (in this case Pluto), followed by the title "A Walt Disney Pluto".
Most of the shorts were directed by Charles Nichols. Another director of a considerable number of shorts in the series was Clyde Geronimi.
Being Pluto a dog and most of supporting characters being also animals without dialogue, the plot of most shorts is understood through their expressions, gestures, and actions. This made Pluto short films pioneering cartoons in animation, counting on characters who express personality through physical actions rather than dialogue.
List of films The following is a list of Pluto short films.
This list does not include shorts from other series in which Pluto appears, such as those from the Mickey Mouse series, the Donald Duck series, or other Disney short films that are not part of the Pluto series, nor shorts of Pluto made as part of the episodes of the television series Mickey Mouse Works.
Years:1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951
1937 #TitleDirectorRelease Pluto and Fifi are the parents of five puppies. When they see a man with some sausages on the street, Fifi goes for them, forcefully leaving Pluto in the care of his children. But the puppies escape from the dog house and begin to follow a caterpillar in the garden, until they end up falling into the basement, where they activate the hose of an air compressor, at which they begin to bark, drawing the attention of their father, who tries to stop the hose, but ends up on the ground and causing a liquor bottle to spill into his mouth. As the pups try to stop the hose, they and Pluto end up covered in paint. When Fifi arrives, she is angry to see the puppies painted and a drunken Pluto. As a result, she isolates herself from her family, with Pluto and the puppies being forced to spend the night in a nearby barrel.
Other appearances: Fifi the Peke, Pluto's Quin-puplets
Notes: Introduced as a "Pluto the Pup" short.
1940 #TitleDirectorRelease Running out of food, Pluto tries to steal the bone from his neighbor, Butch the Bulldog.
Other appearances: Butch the Bulldog (debut) Mammy Two Shoes punishes Pluto in the garden for eating the food from the pantry. But when Mammy cooks a roast ham, Pluto sneaks into the house to eat it, trying not to be found out by Mammy. Pluto tries to reach the ham by climbing on an ironing board, but has trouble keeping his balance. He ends up falling, and slides until he crashes into the bucket and mop soap, causing him to constantly sneeze bubbles. His sneezing ends up causing him to drop several cups on the ground, which gets Mammy's attention, but Pluto flees into the garden, clearing him of suspicion.
Other appearances: Mammy Two Shoes
1941 #TitleDirectorRelease While Pluto is playing on the beach with his ball, his toy ends up in the hands of a seal. While the seal plays with the ball, Pluto tries to get it back. He also tries to bury it so he doesn't take it away, but the seal retrieves it again. As the seal ends up swimming away with the ball, Pluto starts diving to get closer and retrieve the toy from him, ending up having trouble with an octopus along the way. When the seal sees the situation, he tries to help Pluto, until finally they are both pushed ashore, where Pluto is knocked unconscious. The seal revives him, and when he wakes up he returns the ball to the seal. Happily, Pluto and the seal end up playing with the ball together.
Other appearances: Salty the Seal, Octopus
1942 #TitleDirectorRelease Pluto Junior, Pluto's son, plays with a ball and ends up waking up his father, who scolds him. Later, Pluto Junior finds a balloon, which he also begins to play with, and with which he also ends up waking up his father. After that, Pluto Junior runs into a caterpillar, which he begins to chase through the garden, until they both climb a tree. There, a bird tries to eat the caterpillar, and mistaking Pluto Junior's tail for the caterpillar, the pup begins to chase it, ending up both flying away while the dog is attached to the bird. Pluto Junior ends up falling into a sock on the hanging laundry, and when he can't get down, he begins to bark for help from his father, who has trouble reaching him. When he manages to get to his son, they both end up falling into the laundry bucket, and Pluto ends up happily kissing his son.
Other appearances: Pluto Junior, Caterpillar, Bird Seeing how well the army mascots are fed at a camp, Pluto poses as Gunther, a goat, to get food while he sleeps. To his surprise, Gunther's food ends up being a bunch of cans. Gunther chases after Pluto and ends up teaching him a lesson. Later, seeing how the soldiers applaud Gunther's ability to chew tobacco, Pluto does the same to win their affection, but Gunther ends up giving Pluto a push, causing him to swallow the entire tobacco, and begins to feel sick. As Pluto ends up unconscious, Gunther tries to push him into an explosive warehouse, but when he runs for it, he misses on the spot and ends up blowing himself up in the warehouse. After that, Pluto ends up well fed as a new mascot in the army.
Other appearances: Gunther Goat, Butch the Bulldog (as "Winston"), Pancho the Chihuahua Sleepwalking, Pluto brings his bone to Dinah the Dachshund. And every time he wakes up, he thinks that Dinah has stolen his bone.
Other appearances: Dinah the Dachshund (debut as a prototype of the character) Searching for food, Pluto finds a bone, but runs into Butch, who also wants the bone, causing Pluto to run away. As Butch enjoys the bone, Pluto begins to dig a huge bone-shaped hole near it, prompting Butch to push him aside to find the supposedly giant bone buried there. Pluto seizes the moment to get the bone, but when Butch realizes the deception, he begins to chase Pluto, until the latter hides in a junkyard. There, Pluto finds a horn, in which his bone ends up stuck and tries to get it out. When he does, Butch appears, who steals the bone, so Pluto uses the horn to distract Butch and get the bone back.
Other appearances: Butch the Bulldog Pluto walks down the street with a small bone in his mouth, until he passes by the zoo and sees a huge bone in a lion's cage. Pluto spits the small bone into a garbage can, and while the lion sleeps, Pluto takes the bone from him, but has a hard time getting it out through the bars of the cage. Trying not to wake the lion, Pluto digs a tunnel to another area, and when he goes back to take the bone, the lion has woken up. Pluto grabs the bone and narrowly avoids an attack from the enraged lion. Pluto ends up in a kangaroo cage, where her son has taken Pluto's bone and put it in his mother's bag. Retrieving it, Pluto wakes up the kangaroo, who kicks him out, ending up in the gorilla's cage. Pluto faints at the sight of the gorilla, who amuses himself by moving Pluto while he is unconscious. When Pluto gets out of the cage, he ends up in the crocodile area, and runs away at full speed, past several animals, until he ends up back in the lion's cage, who recovers his bone while Pluto escapes. On the street, Pluto retrieves the small bone from the can, and happily leaves with it.
Other appearances: Lion, Kangaroo, Joey, Crocodile, Gorilla
1943 #TitleDirectorRelease While Pluto stands guard at the military camp, he discovers two chipmunks stockpiling acorns in a cannon.
Other appearances: Chip 'n' Dale (debut as a prototype of the characters), Pete (voice)
1944 #TitleDirectorRelease When spring comes, Pluto enjoys observing the flora and fauna.
Other appearances: The Spirit of Spring, Caterpillar/Butterfly Reading a first aid book, Minnie practices bandaging. Asking Pluto and Figaro if either of them would like to help her, they are both willing to do so, but Pluto pushes Figaro away, and Minnie ends up asking the dog to hold the bandages for her. Figaro tries to bring the bandages to help as well, but Pluto pushes him away again. After practicing massages with Pluto, Minnie practices bandaging sprains with him, and the dog ends up bandaged and unable to move. As Minnie runs out of the house to get more bandages, Figaro takes the opportunity to annoy Pluto by not being able to move, taunting him in various ways. Later, getting loose, Pluto begins to chase Figaro around the house, until Pluto takes him down the stairs, really needing first aid from Minnie. Figaro laughs, but ends up falling down the stairs as well. Eventually, Minnie gets the two to stop fighting and make up.
Other appearances: Minnie Mouse, Figaro
1945 #TitleDirectorRelease Pluto is the watchdog on a ship, where the captain orders him to make sure there are no stowaways on board. After patrolling the deck, a rat boards the ship, and although Pluto tries to intimidate it, the rat turns out to be quite ferocious and has no problem taking on Pluto. The rat wanders around the ship while Pluto follows, until he finds the officers' mess, where he eats various foods, and though Pluto tries to shoo him away, the rat distracts him with food, tempting Pluto to eat as well. When the captain arrives and discovers Pluto, he thinks that the dog has eaten all the food, and punishes him in the brig. The rat walks away victorious, but leaning out of the hatch, Pluto moves the rope he is walking on, causing the rat to fall into the water and Pluto ends up laughing.
Other appearances: Rat, Captain Pluto crosses paths with Dinah, and falls in love at first sight with her. Pluto keeps trying to woo her in various ways, albeit to no avail. Finally, Dinah loses her patience and scolds Pluto, who leaves depressed, but when he gets separated from her, Dinah ends up being captured by the dog catcher. Pluto goes to rescue her from the dog pound, and take advantage of the fact that the dog catcher is asleep to rescue her, trying not to make noise when they pass in front of the dog catcher. But once they have managed to get out, the dog catcher's shotgun falls to the ground, waking him up, and he begins to chase both dogs in his van, until his tires end up flat. As a thank you, Dinah kisses Pluto and he walks her to her house, Pluto being happy until he discovers that Dinah is the mother of several puppies.
Other appearances: Dinah the Dachshund (character's debut with her permanent appearance), Dog Catcher; cameo of Butch the Bulldog A narrator tells a story about a coyote, Bent-Tail, who loved mutton chops. In a nearby flock watched over by Pluto, a lamb, Negrito, tried to leave, but Pluto made him turn around because of the danger of the coyote. Subsequently, Bent-Tail arrived, causing Pluto to chase him, until Pluto was away from the flock, allowing Bent-Tail to lead the lambs to his den. When Negrito is left out, Bent-Tail begins to chase him, bumping into Pluto on the way, who begins to chase Bent-Tail, until he falls down a rocky ravine, later forming a coyote-shaped rock. Pluto manages to save the flock, and makes the lambs return, now safe from the coyote.