History Of Pluto

The famous animated Disney cartoon character, Pluto is considered as Mickey Mouse’s pet dog. He was one of the first cartoon characters that were actually shown to have thought processes, through the use of character animation. He is also considered as one of the first characters to break the “rubber hose and circle” formula style that the Disney studio had initially relied on. The design gave Pluto the appearance of actually being round, instead of flat. Unlike Goofy, who was created as a human character, Pluto was created as an actual dog, with no speaking voice. In the present times, such is the popularity of the character that he was awarded the No. 1 position in ‘The 100 Greatest Animated Pets of all Time’. Read on further to know some more interesting and amazing information on the history and origin of Pluto.

 

 

Pluto made his debut in the Mickey Mouse cartoon “The Chain Gang”, as a bloodhound, in the year 1930. At that point of time, he did not have any particular name. In the same year, he appeared with Minnie Mouse as well, as her pet dog named “Rover”, in “the Picnic”. Eventually in 1931, Pluto played Mickey Mouse’s dog Pluto in “The Moose Hunt”. Since then, he has been known as Mickey’s best pal and his dog. Until the year 1934, Pluto was a minor character. Then, Disney animator Norm Ferguson gave the dog a major role in “Playful Pluto”, in 1934.

 

In “Playful Pluto”, Pluto was shown to actually think, when he gets entangled in a sticky piece of paper and has to figure out how to free himself. Since then, he has appeared independently in 48 Disney shorts. In his own cartoons, Pluto is paired with his friends, which include Fifi the Peke, Dinah the Dachshund and Ronnie the St. Bernard Puppy. And his enemies include Black Pete, Donald Duck, Salty the Seal, Butch the Bulldog, Figaro the Kitten, Chip 'n Dale, Spike the Bee, Ol' Benttail the Coyote and other characters.

 

Pluto was also seen with his son named “Pluto Junior” in the 1937 animated short “Pluto’s Quinpuplets”. The 1946 animated short film “Pluto’s Kid Brother” showcased his younger brother named K.B. One can see Pluto communicating in a series of barks like "Grrr ...", "Snort!", "Sniff, sniff, sniff ..." and "Bark! Bark!" only. Apart from barking, his facial expressions and body movements are also notable. The only words Pluto has ever spoken are “Kiss Me”. Pluto has been listed as the fifth most popular Disney character, after Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse and Goofy.

 

The first Disney comic book with Pluto was published in 1942, titled “Pluto Saves the Ship”. He has appeared in various television series as well, such as “Mickey Mouse Works”, “Disney’s House of Mouse”, “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”, “The Prince and the Pauper”, “Runaway Brain”, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “the Really Mighty Ducks”. The original voice of Pluto was given by Pinto Colvig, from 1930 to 1939 and from 1941 till his death in 1967. The voice was followed by Lee Miller Sr. from 1939 to 1941, which was then followed by Clarence Nash and James MacDonald. The current voice of Pluto is that of Bill Farmer.