Tag Archives: Pluto

December 27, 1940 – The Pluto Short Film Pantry Pirate is Released to Theaters

“You let me catch you messin’ around in my kitchen again, and I’m gonna bust all the hide off’n you!”

On December 27, 1940, the Pluto short film Pantry Pirate was released to theaters. The short has been cut when released on television, due the depiction of the cook as a somewhat stereotypical black servant, which was a normal depiction in films of this time period. The short was directed by Clyde Geronimi, and stars Lillian Randolph as the cook.

Pluto is thrown out of a kitchen by the scruff of his neck, with the cook tying him to his doghouse in the backyard. She warns him to stay, and Pluto lets one tear roll down his cheek. Inside, the cook pulls a roast from the oven, with the scent leaking through the screen door and wafting all the way to Pluto. He frees himself from the rope and sneaks into the kitchen once again, his mouth salivating at the thought of the roast.

Pluto traipses about happily in the house, thinking about how he can get the roast that the cook just made

Inside the house, Pluto slips on the polished floor, and is almost spotted by the cook. He has an idea to use the ironing board to get close to the roast, but immediately steps back to the wall when the board starts to buckle under his weight. He tentatively tries again, but he still isn’t close enough. Keeping his toes on the board, he is able to reach the handle of the oven, and is finally close enough to reach the roast, when he accidentally falls, pulling the oven door down and ending up in the oven himself. He flies out with a cry, and bumps into a box of soap, spilling its contents into a nearby bucket of water. The soap also fills the air, and Pluto sneezes from the irritation. Each sneeze sends out a stream of bubbles from his mouth. One bubble in particular sticks to his nose, and when he attempts to blow it away, the bubble only increases in size until it explodes.

Trying to return to his main mission of the roast, Pluto stalks his prey, until he sneezes and knocks into a table with china cups. None of the cups break, but the sound is enough to alert the cook, who has been upstairs. After she leaves, Pluto sneaks towards the roast again, this time bringing with him the tablecloth and cups without him noticing. When he does, he sneezes again, sending the cups flying into the air. Thinking he’s done for, he closes his eyes, but the cups neatly stack themselves on his backside, the handles slipping onto his tail. He breathes a sigh of relief, but not for long, as he keeps sneezing. All the cups finally break, with the cook racing downstairs to see what’s going on. As he races to the door, he keeps getting thrown back by his sneezes, but finally makes it outside and pretends he’s been asleep the entire time. The cook is fooled by his act, and Pluto smiles, bubbles still leaking from his mouth.

August 24, 1945 – The Pluto Short Film The Legend of Coyote Rock is Released to Theaters

“Now this here hombre had one weakness: lamb chop[s].”

On August 24, 1945, the Pluto short film The Legend of Coyote Rock was released to theaters. It was directed by Charles Nichols, with the story by Eric Gurney.

The short is set in the Old West, with a narrator introducing the legends of the rocks in the area, including a rock shaped like a coyote. The coyote in question was one named Bent Tail, who had a voice that “would turn an opera star green with envy.” Bent Tail’s one weakness, however, was lamp chops. He spies a farm with sheep guarded by none other than Pluto, who tends to fall asleep as he counts the sheep. One little black lamb likes to cause mischief, but Pluto warns him that there’s a coyote out there who loves to eat little lambs, and scares him back into the pen.

Bent Tail sneaks up on Pluto, tricking him into leaving his post, leaving the sheep vulnerable to attack

The coyote travels around the desert, hiding behind cacti and various other desert vegetation so he can get close to the sheep. He sneaks up on Pluto, who tries to chase the coyote away, although the coyote has many tricks up sleeve to fool the dog. Pluto is chased out into the desert, and when he realizes he’s left the lambs alone with the coyote, he hightails it back as fast as he can. Unfortunately, Bent Tail is already there, and tricks the lambs out of the pen by calling them out with a “baa” noise. He sends them traveling all the way to his hideout, but the black lamb is able to get free.

Pluto intercepts the coyote chasing the little black lamb, and chases the coyote all over the desert, causing many of the rock formations to collapse, and create Coyote Rock. Pluto falls from a perch and lands on the rock guarding Bent Tail’s hideout, freeing the lambs and they all run back to the pen at the farm, safe and sound once more.

July 19, 1948 – The Pluto Short Film The Purloined Pup is Released to Theaters

“Dog Stealer Takes Baby Pup! 10,000 Bones Ransom Asked”

On July 19, 1948, the Pluto short film The Purloined Pup was released to theaters. In this short, Pluto’s main antagonist (and sometimes rival for a female’s affections), Butch, plays the part of a dognapper. The short was directed by Charles Nichols, with the story by Harry Reeves and Jesse Marsh.

A newspaper flashes across the screen, with the news that a puppy named Ronnie has been dognapped. The police suspect Butch, a paroled dognapper seen in the vicinity, and put rookie police dog Pluto on the case. Pluto sniffs out the trail, and comes across Ronnie’s collar. Thinking he’s close, he sneaks past some heavy pipes and spies Butch in front of an abandoned mansion, viciously chewing on a bone.

Several times, Pluto is able to avoid detection by Butch while trying to rescue Ronnie

Pluto comes up with a plan of action, buries his capture kit, and slips into the nearby moat to swim past Butch. He makes his way into the house just as Butch returns, and pretends to be a lion-skin rug to avoid detection. Butch enters a room and closes the door, and Pluto peeks through the keyhole to see Ronnie weeping and tied to a column. Butch threatens to hurt the puppy for the noise he’s making and walks out of the room, leaving the door open. Pluto sneaks in, but the sound of the door closing alerts Butch, who tries to pick up the stranger’s scent. Pluto, fortunately, is once again able to avoid detection.

As Butch leaves again, Pluto frees the puppy, who barks happily, giving away the rescue. Butch pursues the two into the pipes near the mansion, and ends up thinking that Pluto is in one of the pipes, when he is actually tormenting himself thanks to a U-shaped pipe. Butch then spies the puppy coming out of its hiding place, but Pluto is able to pull the pup away before Butch can hurt him. During a chase across the pipe-filled yard, Pluto grabs his capture kit and sets it up, trapping Butch in a straight-jacket, muzzle, and handcuffs. Ronnie, now safe, leads Butch by the rope to his muzzle to the police station where he happily turns the criminal in.

June 24, 1949 – The Pluto Short Film Bubble Bee is Released to Theaters

On June 24, 1949, the Pluto short film Bubble Bee was released to theaters. It was directed by Charles Nichols, with story by Milt Schaffer and Eric Gurney. The short features Spike the Bee, who usually tormented Donald Duck in various short films.

Pluto is playing with a ball in the park, when the ball lands in a patch of flowers. As Pluto leaps in after the ball, it bounces out and rolls down a path. Pluto looks around for his toy, and spies it on the top of a tall hedge. He leaps after it, only to find that he’s leapt on a bubble gum machine that looks like the design of his ball. Smelling the sweet scent of gum, Pluto decides he wants some. He looks around sneakily, then tries to shake some out of the machine.

Pluto sees Spike successfully rig the machine to retrieve a gumball

As he tries and fails with many methods to get the gum, Spike the Bee appears, buzzing around the machine, and Pluto backs away in trepidation. He watches as Spike easily rigs the machine to produce a gumball. As Spike flies away, he is weighed down by his heavy prize, and Pluto is able to follow him closely. Pluto watches as Spike throws the gumball in his beehive and flies away. With a devilish grin, Pluto tries to bat the gumball from the hive, only to knock the hive down. It breaks open, revealing about twenty pieces of gum hidden inside.

Pluto looks hungrily at his prize, and greedily laps up each piece and begins to chew them all at once. When he tries to open his mouth, the chewed gum keeps his mouth closed, and he is unable to swallow it. He continues to chew, and it rather surprised when a bubble comes out of his mouth. When he sneezes, bubbles to blow through his teeth; they all pop and cover his face with gum, but he is able to get the gum back in his mouth and keeps chewing. He then blows out a bubble, lets it fly in the air, and plays with it as a new toy.

Spike uses the gum that trapped him as a tool to trap Pluto, wrapping him up in strands of chewed gum

Meanwhile, Spike returns with another gumball, only to discover that his house is gone. He finds the ruins on the ground, as well as the footprints of the guilty party, and follows the tracks. He spies Pluto blowing bubbles, and flies after the dog in a rage, kicking him. As Pluto tries to bark, he ends up blowing another bubble, trapping Spike in the gum. Pluto lets the bubble go free, then pops it, watching in amusement as the bee is helpless in midair. The gum lands on Pluto’s nose, and Spike uses it as a tool to attack the dog, wrapping the dog’s legs in chewed gum. Spike continues chasing Pluto, and Pluto ends up accidentally swallowing the bug, who is trapped in another gum bubble. Exhausted from their chase, Spike finally gets his in the end, stinging Pluto and sending him yelping from the park.

May 22, 1942 – The Pluto Short Film The Army Mascot Premieres in Theaters

“He’s better than Gunther!”

On May 22, 1942, the Pluto short The Army Mascot was released to theaters. This was released as one of the wartime shorts meant to boost morale and make audiences laugh. The short was directed by Clyde Geronimi, and written by Carl Barks and Jack Hannah.

The short opens at the U.S. Army base Camp Drafty, where Pluto is seen sniffing around the gate. He looks up when he hears trumpets sound, and sees the mascots of all the divisions stepping out of their doghouses. A truck from the Army field kitchen stops by, dropping off plates of roast beef and steak. A very hungry Pluto’s mouth waters; he then spies another mascot – a goat named Gunther – sound asleep in his pen.

Pluto disguises himself as Gunther the Goat

Thinking this is his chance to grab a juicy steak, Pluto sneaks into the base and peers around Gunther’s pen. Ever so quietly, Pluto closes Gunther’s door, and disguises himself as the mascot right before the truck stops by. Pluto opens his mouth in anticipation of a morsel of meat, only to be thrown an avalanche of tin cans.

Hearing the noise, Gunther pokes two holes in his door with his horns and peeks out at his surroundings. He sees Pluto angrily kicking the cans, and steps out to confront the dog. As he bears down on Pluto, the dog flees, trying desperately to keep away from the goat’s horns. The goat marks his target and gives Pluto a mighty headbutt into the fence; after knocking him there like a paddleball, he then sends Pluto flying out of the camp.

Pluto, to impress the soldiers, grabs the plug of tobacco left on the bench

Pluto is then seen limping around the camp, when a soldier calls out for Gunther to have some chewing tobacco. Pluto’s eyes literally turn green from jealousy, but he’s soon excited when he sees the leftover tobacco sitting on a bench after Gunther has walked away. He prances out in front of the soldiers, grabs the entire plug of tobacco, and chews, much to the amazement of the troops. When one cries out that Pluto is better than Gunther, the goat is startled awake and looks out angrily to see Pluto chewing calmly. Furious, the goat headbutts Pluto, who swallows the plug.

Poor Pluto begins to feel ill and stumbles around the camp, turning colors and patterns as he hiccups. The goat, not satisfied yet, props up Pluto, and gets ready to propel the pup into a tent full of explosives. Pluto drops at the last possible second with Gunther flying full speed ahead into the explosives tent. The blast sends Gunther sky high, where he holds tight to the front of a plane as it flies off into the distance. With Gunther heading overseas, this leaves an opening for a mascot, one that Pluto is happy to fill. Pluto steps out of his doghouse, saluting the officers, before receiving what he’d been craving: a nice, juicy ham. He tears into it eagerly, giving the audience a smile.

March 21, 1947 – The Pluto Short Film, Rescue Dog, is Released to Theaters

On March 21, 1947, the Pluto short, Rescue Dog, was released to theaters. It was directed by Charles Nichols, with the story by Eric Gurney and Bill de la Torre, and music by Oliver Wallace. It features Pluto interacting with a creature smaller than himself, with comical results.

It’s a blustery winter day, and Pluto is seen peeking his head out from the Rescue Dog Doghouse, when he excitedly puts up the sign, “Dog on Duty.” He looks around for any signs of trouble, before he falls into a thick patch of snow on the side of a cliff. He falls through and skids on the ice-covered pond below, stopping just before an open patch in the ice, where his rescue barrel is floating.

Pluto is shocked to see this strange creature rise out from under the ice

As Pluto reaches in to grab his barrel, it suddenly disappears into the water, before splashing back up and hitting him on the nose. It rises out of the water, being perched on the head of a seal. The seal turns and sees Pluto, who is suspicious of this new character. It barks at Pluto playfully, although Pluto runs away and ducks behind a rock. The seal returns the barrel to Pluto, but Pluto’s reaction is to bark angrily at the seal, causing it to duck into the water with fear. Pluto begins to march away, only to find that the seal is holding on to his tail.

The seal claps his fins, wishing to play with Pluto, but the dog just pushes the seal away, sending him flying back into the water. Pluto laughs, but just before he grabs his barrel to continue on his way, the seal sneaks in and steals it. Pluto chases after it, only to miss and get stuck in a snow bank. The seal returns the barrel to Pluto, but Pluto ends up walking way, wanting nothing to do with it. The seal, however, is not done playing with Pluto, and ends up walking underneath him, before stealing the barrel again.

The seal watches as Pluto falls through the ice

As Pluto chases the seal, the seal drops the barrel onto the ice, and Pluto chases it into a cave, which turns into a game of keep-away with the seal holding on to the barrel. The game takes a bad turn when Pluto falls off the side of a cliff and breaks the ice below, falling into the water. Pluto is seen stuck under the ice, and the seal dives down to rescue the poor pup. Using the barrel to break a patch of ice, the seal dives in and pulls out the frozen dog, and warms him up with the brandy in the barrel. Grateful for the seal’s help, Pluto makes the seal an honorary rescue dog, and they end with the seal giving Pluto a huge hug.