What Kind of Dog is Pluto?
Officially, Pluto is a mixed-breed dog. However, when Pluto first appeared in the Mickey Mouse Cartoon The Chain Gang in 1930, he debuted as a nameless Bloodhound. Then, he appeared as Minnie Mouse’s pet where he was named Rover.
By the time he appeared in The Moose Hunt in 1931, he was Mickey’s pet and had officially taken on the name Pluto. Although there is no official breed announcement for Pluto aside from a mixed-breed, it’s safe to say he was designed with some sort of hound dog influence, especially since he was supposed to look like a Bloodhound during the character’s first appearance.
He wasn’t always known as Pluto, though. He was Minnie Mouse’s dog, Rover, in “The Picnic.” His name continued to be debated before he became Mickey Mouse’s pet in “The Moose Hunt” in 1931. Pluto has since become one of the most beloved cartoon characters in the world.
Even if he hadn’t risen to fame, Pluto was always intended to be a dog, and his popularity has made him the only pet among the “Sensational Six.” Goofy, on the other hand, is a human who just happens to look like a dog.
All dogs are known for their strong noses, but the Bloodhound truly rules over other breeds as the best sniffer. Also known as “sleuth hounds,” these dogs are recognized for their deep wrinkles and long floppy ears. Their natural talent for following scents and stamina means they’re frequently used by the police and search-and-rescue teams to track down criminals and hikers lost on a trail.
Walt Disney was inspired by the dogs at his childhood home in Marceline, Missouri, and so Pluto was created. In his debut role, he first appeared with a twin but later became a bigger Disney star.
When we consider Pluto’s debut role as a tracker in Disney’s “The Chain Gang,” his Bloodhound ancestry makes sense. After all, what other breed could be as well-loved for their tracking ability and adorable, floppy ears?
Pluto is a pantomime character; his animators express the pooch’s personality through pure action. However, audiences actually heard Pluto speak in The Moose Hunt (1931), wherein the pooch actually said, “Kiss me!” to Mickey. This one-off gag was not repeated, as it interfered with personality for the sake of an easy laugh. Another vocal experiment came in Mickey’s Kangaroo (1935), wherein the inner thoughts of the otherwise mute mutt are voiced. Pluto even crooned (with the help of a hidden record player) “You Belong to My Heart” from The Three Caballeros (1945) in Pluto’s Blue Note (1947). But overall, any Pluto dialogue has been mere doggerel, for as veteran Pluto animator Nick Nichols explained, “We’ve generally kept Pluto all dog…. He doesn’t speak, except for a breathy ‘Yeah! Yeah!’ and a panting, raspy kind of laugh.” Disney Legend Pinto Colvig, the original voice of Disney’s other dog star, Goofy, performed most of Pluto’s woofs, yaps, and yelps. Today, another Disney Legend, Bill Farmer, carries on the vocal tradition, speaking for Goofy and barking for Pluto.
The fun-loving fido starred in 48 official cartoons of his own, but Pluto is in a good number of Mickey Mouse cartoons in which the scene-stealing hound is actually the star, including Pluto’s Party (1952) and The Simple Things (1953). Additionally, Walt made pairing Pluto up with Donald Duck a pet project as he felt that Pluto’s pet’s-eye POV worked well with Donald’s bombastic temper. The first Duck-and-dog show was the aptly titled Donald and Pluto (1936), with other examples being Donald’s Dog Laundry (1940) and The Eyes Have It (1945). And the sometimes-foolhardy hound was the one and only member of Mickey’s gang to star in his very own Silly Symphony cartoon, Mother Pluto (1936).
“Back in the early ’30s, we were doing a story where Mickey Mouse escaped from a chain gang,” Walt Disney explained, referring to The Chain Gang (1930). “We needed a bloodhound. Pluto got the part and turned out so well, we used him twice.” Yes, there were two bloodhounds in what is considered to be Pluto’s first film. These “blood brothers” so pleased Walt that he decided to cast this canine as a fully licensed member for Mickey’s stable—make that kennel—of stars.
Early in the run of his weekly TV anthology series—in fact, it was the sixth episode of Disneyland—Walt presented “A Story of Dogs,” featuring a tribute to his first dog star. This was only the start of Mickey’s best pal on the small screen. The first Mousekartoon showcased on the Mickey Mouse Club television series, on October 3, 1955, was Pueblo Pluto (1949). Today, Pluto joins in the problem-solving fun in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Jr. and everyone’s playful pal has shone in such cartoons as “Dog Show” and “Doggone Biscuits” on Disney Channel’s Emmy® Award-winning series, Mickey Mouse. But wherever Pluto bow-wows his dog-loving fans—in movies, television, video, and computer games or on the printed page, it’s as Walt himself said of the lovable mutt: “Yet through all these great moments I think I can safely say Pluto hasn’t changed a bit. He’s still the same unaffected, simple-minded mutt he’s always been.”
An authentic dog star in the Disney galaxy, Pluto has been “best in show” ever since he first sniffed out stardom in 1930. Walt was inspired to create Disney’s top dog by remembering the personable pooches he met while living on the farm in his childhood home of Marceline, Missouri. Ever since Pluto has, as Walt put it, been “working hard and trying, but usually not succeeding, in staying out of trouble.” In celebration of Mickey’s pal Pluto during these dog days of summer, we’ve dug up ten fascinating facts about everyone’s favorite fido.
Remembering Pluto: Pandemic-famous pup passes in Que.
Officially a mixed-breed dog, he made his debut as a bloodhound in the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang. Together with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy, Pluto is one of the “Sensational Six”—the biggest stars in the Disney universe.