Tag Archives: Pluto

January 28, 1932 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film The Duck Hunt is Released to Theaters

“Not a duck in sight!”

On January 28, the Mickey Mouse short film The Duck Hunt was released to theaters. It was directed by Burt Gillett.

Mickey and Pluto are out duck hunting in the woods, and all the ducks are playing in a nearby pond. When they hear Mickey’s whistling nearby, the quickly disguise themselves in the pond, leading Mickey to believe there are no ducks around. Mickey then calls Pluto over, but when Pluto shows up covered in mud and jumps on him, Mickey gets angry and orders Pluto to sit, then stand. Mickey is then amused that Pluto is able to walk on two legs, and whistles Yankee Doodle Dandy while Pluto marches like a soldier. Mickey then marches with Pluto right behind him, and Pluto is followed by a swarm of marching fleas. The fleas attract the ducks, who march out of the water and quack in time with the song while trying to eat the fleas. Mickey soon spots the ducks, the ducks fly away as Mickey chases after them.

Pluto hides in the pond with his disguise, hoping to lure enough ducks for Mickey to hunt

Pluto wears a wooden duck on his head and hides in the water to attract the ducks while Mickey watches from the reeds. Unfortunately, Mickey sneezes, giving up the ruse, and the ducks fly away. One duck returns to flirt with Pluto’s fake duck, and as Mickey takes aim, he realizes his gun isn’t working. As he checks it, the gun fires while pointed at the air, shooting off a tree branch that damages the gun, making the barrel point down. Mickey fires again, this time shooting a hole through his boat. As the boat sinks, Mickey calls out for help, and shoots the gun again, this time with the barrel flying off and landing on Pluto, destroying his outfit. The ducks then band together to attack the pair, picking Pluto up by the ears and taking him off into the air. Mickey grabs on to Pluto’s tail to pull him down, but he is no match for the ducks. They finally let Mickey and Pluto fall to the ground, landing in some long underwear left out on a laundry line.

December 17, 1932 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Mickey’s Good Deed is Released to Theaters

“Thank you! Merry Christmas!”

On December 17, 1932, the Mickey Mouse short film Mickey’s Good Deed was released to theaters. It was directed by Burt Gillett.

It’s a cold Christmas night, and Mickey is playing “O Come All Ye Faithful” on the cello while passersby throw him coins in his tin cup. Pluto howls along with Mickey’s playing, and the two are pleased that they have enough money to get something to eat. However, they find that people have been throwing them nuts and bolts instead of money, and are unable to buy any food. Mickey is discouraged, but cheers up quickly when he gets the idea to play outside of a rich person’s house. Inside the house, a spoiled piglet is loudly whining while his father and the butler try to entertain him. Suddenly, the piglet is distracted by Pluto’s howling outside, and demands that his father buy him the dog. The butler pursues Mickey and Pluto, but Mickey refuses to sell Pluto, as Pluto is his pal. Unfortunately, in the chase, Mickey’s cello is destroyed by a passing horse-drawn sled.

After seeing the poverty-stricken single mother and her several children, Mickey and Pluto are driven to tears

Mickey soon spies a woman crying in a dilapidated shack, and realizes that the money could help her and her several children for Christmas, and sells Pluto to the butler, provided that they give him a good home. Inside the home, the piglet starts abusing Pluto, hitting him with a hammer and chasing after him with a toy train. Meanwhile, Mickey uses the money to buy gifts for the children, and pretends to be Santa while packing their stockings. He wakes up the children as he leaves, and the children are delighted to find that Santa found them. Back at the hose, the piglet is causing even more havoc, with his father and the butler unable to stop him. The father is at his wits end, and decides to throw Pluto out. As the piglet whines, the father finally gives the piglet a long-overdue spanking. Pluto leaves the house and reunites with Mickey, and the two are pleased to find that the will have Christmas dinner, as the piglet tied a turkey to Pluto’s tail.

September 25, 1931 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Fishin’ Around is Released to Theaters

“I’m fishing! Ha ha ha ha!”

On September 25, 1931, the Mickey Mouse short film Fishin’ Around was released to theaters. It was directed by Burt Gillett.

Mickey and Pluto are out on a lake, with several fish jumping about and dancing on the boat’s oars. They run across a sign that says “No Fishing,” but Mickey weighs the sign down with horseshoes and sends it to the bottom of the lake, and the two enjoy their fishing expedition. One fish steals the worm from Mickey’s line and taunts him, and Mickey ends up hooking himself, sending his shorts flying into the lake. Two other fish trick Pluto by attaching an old corset to his line. Angered, Pluto dives into the water to catch a fish, except that the fish is easily able to slip from Pluto’s grasp.

Mickey chases the fish from his boat, but they have already eaten all of his bait

A group of fish sneak onto the boat and eat all of Mickey’s bait, dancing all the while. Mickey finally scares them all away, but they manage to steal all of the bait before they jump from the boat. Pluto, meanwhile, is underwater still searching for fish, and chases one into a cave, only to be chased out by a monster fish with large teeth. He escapes back tot he boat, and the pair tries once again to catch a fish. The fish hook Pluto’s and Mickey’s hooks together, and Mickey ends up hooking Pluto, who is able to catch a fish, but the fish quickly escapes. Finally, a policeman finds the pair, and is about to arrest them, when Mickey paddles away as fast as he can, tripping the policeman up. The chase continues across the water, but Pluto uses his tail to create a makeshift speedboat, and the two are able to evade the police.