Puppy Love

A Mickey Mouse Cartoon

Release Date : September 2, 1933

Running Time : 8:11

Synopsis

Mickey and Pluto come to call on Minnie and Fifi, but when Pluto exchanges the chocolates Mickey was going to give as a gift with the bone he has for Fifi, Minnie thinks Mickey did it and a violent argument starts. Mickey and Minnie each vow to give up the opposite sex... but they don't keep those vows for long.

Characters

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Pluto

Fifi, the Pekinese

Credits

Director

Wilfred Jackson

Animation

Video

Laserdiscs

United States

Mickey Mouse in Black and White: Volume 1

Japan

Mickey Loves Minnie

Mickey's Family Album

Mickey Mouse : The Black and White Years

DVD

United States

Mickey Mouse in Black and White

Germany

Schmetterlinge in Bauch

Mickey Mouse in Black and White

Television

The Ink and Paint Club: Episode 12: The Many Loves of Pluto

Mickey's Mouse Tracks: Episode 5

The Mickey Mouse Club : December 2, 1955

Original Animator's Drafts

Technical Specification

Color Type: Black & White

Animation Type: Standard animation

Sound Mix: Mono

Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Negative Format: 35mm

Print Format: 35mm

Cinematographic Process: Spherical

Original Language: English

Released by United Artists Pictures

Comments

An excerpt from this short was used in the Republic Pictures release "Michael O'Halloran."

From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project : Poor Mickey. He has been attempting to woo Minnie for around six years as we reach today’s short, Puppy Love, and he still hasn’t figured out how to do it. I guess the problem continues to this day, since they are technically not married. Puppy Love demonstrates the problems that Mickey keeps running into when trying to win Minnie’s affections.

Mickey and Pluto turn up at Minnie’s door ready for love. The gags all around them support the flavor of amour in the air. We see a pair of birds cooing to each other, squirrels snuggling up and even a fountain of Cupid and his paramour. The scene is set quickly and efficiently for a romantic rendezvous.

Mickey arrives with chocolates and presents them to Minnie before we get the two of them involved in the short’s main theme, “Puppy Love.” I’m not sure if this was a popular song or an original composition, but it’s a catchy, jazzy tune, and Minnie takes the lead singing and dancing around.

You know that this cannot last, and that’s obvious from the set up. In past shorts, you might have seen the two simply get along and dance through the rest of the cartoon without any worries. But something is different about the Mickey shorts now, and conflict and story telling is paramount now.

The twist here is that Pluto is the one who gets things started. He steals the chocolates and presents them to Minnie’s dog Fifi. While Fifi loves them, Minnie is understandably upset when Mickey presents her with the package, and she sees a bone there instead of chocolates. Of course, Pluto had put the bone there, but that doesn’t stop everyone from getting upset and storming off.

Mickey, in a nice subtle gag, even gets so upset that he grabs Minnie’s hat by mistake. It makes for a nice juxtaposition as he slams the door on the way out, knocks over Minnie’s fence, and goes to pout on a trash can, Pluto by his side.

Of course, all gets resolved, and Minnie finds out that it was Pluto and Fifi who had the mix up, not Mickey. But in the meantime, after she was the one who got mad, she starts crying that Mickey is upset with her. It’s funny, because of the sudden mood shift, but also because it’s relatable.

Puppy Love isn’t perfect. The musical number goes on a bit too long, and the character of Fifi isn’t there for much other than a plot device. But those are very minor quibbles on what is a great short overall.

From Mac : I love this one! Great songs, a bouncy Mickey and Minnie, a load of gags and funny moments – what's not to like? The songs for this are indeed original to the cartoon.

The song "Puppy Love" is used so prominently I get the feeling that Disney were trying to pull another "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" and were hoping for another runaway hit.

It's nice to see the first appearance of Fifi who I think is a little unfairly treated in this short. The trouble was really Pluto's fault, but it's Fifi who gets all the blame. She doesn't seem to mind though – she's just happy all the arguing is over.

There are a lot of moments that make me laugh in this cartoon, but perhaps my favorite part is Minnie's hysterical reaction. "I hate him! I hate all men" has become something that me and my sister quote fairly regularly – and always at inappropriate moments!

From RJ : A very solid early Mickey + Minnie relationship short. One that actually shows real relationship and character from the two of them rather than the simplistic romance seen in the earlier shorts. Cute and endearing.

From Lee Suggs : Love is in the air! Mickey brings Minnie flowers and candy, and everyone, the birds, the statues, and of course the dogs, all have an amore. Mickey and Minnie play a nice piano duet. (It's pretty cool the backs of their head look like bouncing Mickey and Minnie Antenna balls. Of course, I really like those antenna balls!) Pluto wins Fifi (Minnie's dog) by giving her Minnie's candy. It's O.K. to do this, he puts his favorite thing in the box. When Mickey presents the candy to Minnie, ("This is what I think of you.") she flies into a rage. (The box contains Pluto's bone.) She throws him out, (wearing her hat!) and they both vow never to talk to the opposite sex for the rest of their lives. This lasts 30-40 seconds until Minnie discovers the dogs' misdeed, and they again swear their undying love for each other. This is a fun, cute short. (love those antenna balls) Just a note, Mickey and Minnie's passionate kissing was once quite controversial. The Disney studios received many letter claiming they were "destroying the morality of our youth". It must have been a bit more innocent time.

From Jerry Edwards : I find Mickey and Minnie's love spat mildly amusing, but this is just yet another "Mickey and Minnie singing" short to me.

From Ryan : This short was pretty good. I liked the scene where Pluto and Fifi eat all of Minnie's chocolates (I thought chocolate was toxic to dogs) and Pluto replaces them with a bone. Minnie gets pretty upset and dumps Mickey. One funny thing I noticed was that Mickey was wearing Minnie's hat when he walked out of the house.

From Michael P. : This is a great cartoon with excellent music. It is definitely one of Disney's greatest vintage cartoons ever.

From Bill : This was a cute short, just a nice storyline about how Mickey and Minnie feel about each other and a mix-up with Pluto giving the candy to Fifi to impress her with a gift. Again, I think the music that Walt put into Mickey's stories makes the cartoons. Not much action here, but the gags when Mickey storms out of the house, and all the things fall down around Minnie, and when he slams the gate and the pickets fall and Pluto drops the last one was funny. The ending was one that made you feel good because again, Mickey wins Minnie's heart!

From Gijs Grob : Like in Mickey Steps Out (1931), Mickey is visiting Minnie to court her. Pluto comes along and meets Minnie's dog Fifi for the first time. This is one of Mickey's shorts to feature a song-and-dance-routine half and a story half. This time Minnie and Mickey perform the title song on the piano. While they're playing it together, the plot unfolds, when Pluto gives Mickey's present, a box of candy, to Fifi. He replaces the candy with Fifi's bone, causing the misunderstanding and the break-up between Mickey and Minnie. Luckily everything is solved soon thereafter and they're all reunited. This cartoon makes the relation between Mickey and Minnie more interesting than usual, showing that even their ever cheerful relationship knows its downs, as well.

From Bryce : Pluto does the same thing as Mickey. He's furious with Fifi and blows her off and becomes fed up with her.