Pluto, also called Pluto the Pup, is a cartoon character created in 1930 by Walt Disney Productions. He is a light brown (most recently yellow), medium-sized, short-haired dog. Unlike Goofy, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression. He is most often the companion of Mickey Mouse, although he first appeared as Minnie Mouse's dog Rover in the film The Picnic (1930). Officially a mixed-breed dog,[1] Pluto is clearly modelled on the English Pointer breed, most evident in the film "The Pointer". The prominent Disney artist Norm Ferguson owned an English Pointer. Pluto debuted in animated cartoons and appeared in 24 Mickey Mouse films before receiving his own series in 1937. All together Pluto appeared in 89 short films between 1930 and 1953. Several of these were nominated for an Academy Award, including The Pointer (1939), Squatter's Rights (1946), Pluto's Blue Note (1947), and Mickey and the Seal (1948). One of his films, Lend a Paw (1941), won the award in 1942.[3][4] Because Pluto does not speak, his films generally rely on physical humor. This made Pluto a pioneering figure in character animation, which is expressing personality through animation rather than dialogue. Like all of Pluto's co-stars, the dog has appeared extensively in comics over the years, first making an appearance in 1931. He returned to theatrical animation in 1990 with The Prince and the Pauper and has also appeared in several direct-to-video films. Pluto also appears in the television series Mickey Mouse Works (1999–2000), House of Mouse (2001–2003), and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. According to various sources, Pluto is based upon a pair of Bloodhounds from the film The Chain Gang (1930). The only observable difference between these dogs and the early Pluto are the ears, which on Pluto are black. A month and a half later, Minnie Mouse owns a dog named Rover who comes along with her and Mickey on a picnic. The dog is virtually identical to Pluto. The dog first appears as Mickey's companion the following year in The Moose Hunt where Pluto accompanies Mickey on a hunting trip. Several months had passed between the naming of what was believed to have been the ninth planet, Pluto, on March 24, 1930, and the attachment of that name to the dog character. Venetia Burney (later Venetia Phair), who as an eleven-year-old schoolgirl had suggested the name Pluto for the planet, remarked in 2006: “The name had nothing to do with the Disney cartoon. Mickey Mouse's dog was named after the planet, not the other way around.” Although it has been claimed that Disney named the dog after the planet, rather than after the mythical god of the underworld, this has not been verified. Disney animator Ben Sharpsteen said "We thought the name [Rover] was too common, so we had to look for something else. ... We changed it to Pluto the Pup ... but I don't honestly remember why." Pluto was initially a minor character until 1934, when Disney animator Norm Ferguson gave the dog a key role in the cartoon Playful Pluto. Pluto becomes entangled with a sticky piece of flypaper, and Ferguson expanded the sequence significantly. The segment became a classic, demonstrating how Disney artists can take a simple circumstance and build humor through a character.
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