Poster

Pluto, Junior

A Pluto Cartoon

Release Date : February 28, 1942

Running Time : 7:08

Synopsis

Pluto's young son wants to play and fight to the exasperation of Pluto who only wants to take a nap.

Characters

Pluto
Pluto Junior
Bird II (unnamed)
Caterpillar III (unnamed)

Credits

Director
Gerry "Clyde" Geronomi

Bloopers

When Pluto, Jr is in the sock high up on the laundry line, there are other socks on the line (especially one to his immediate right). But when Pluto Sr. gets jarred awake from Junior's barking, he looks up to see ONLY the sock which contains Junior. All of the other items have disappeared from the clothes line.

Video

United States
Cartoon Classics : Limited Gold Editions I : Pluto
Germany
Pluto's Größte Hits
Pluto Ein Schlappohr Hetzt die Meute
Plutos Größte Hits
France
La Collection en Or des Studios Disney Volume 3
Le Meilleur de Pluto
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Pluto
Italy
Video Parade 11
Le Nuove Avventure di Pluto
Pluto
Cartoon Classics : Limited Gold Editions I : Pluto
I Capolavori di Pluto

CED

United States
Limited Gold Editions - Pluto

Laserdiscs

Japan
Pluto : Limited Gold Editions
Minnie's Greatest Hits / Pluto's Greatest Hits

DVD

United States
Classic Cartoon Favorites : Volume 11 : Best Pals : Mickey and Pluto
Lady and the Tramp II : Scamp's Adventure
Disney Treasures : The Complete Pluto Volume 1
Germany
Disney Treasures : The Complete Pluto Volume 1
Susi und Strolch 2
Italy
Lilli e il Vagobondo 2
Canada
Classic Cartoon Favorites : Volume 12 : Best Pals : Mickey and Pluto

Television

The Ink and Paint Club: Episode 37: Mickey's Pal Pluto
Donald's Quack Attack: Episode 17

Technical Specification

Color Type: Technicolor
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 RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Comments

From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project : It’s very interesting to see a lot of the classic style cartoons in early 1942, knowing all that was going on behind the scenes at the time. Disney was moving more and more into World War II shorts, was working on completing the Good Neighbor shorts and finishing up Bambi. Perhaps it should be no surprise that the studio was churning out some familiar subjects like Pluto shorts.

Pluto, Junior is the first Pluto short in a while, and it follows the similar formula, with a twist. The formula is a dog getting into all sorts of fun and interesting situations around the house, without dialogue. The twist is that the dog is Pluto’s son, not Pluto himself. That casts Pluto in a secondary role for one of the first times.

Pluto’s role in this short is more of a foil for his son. When the little pup wakes up, he keeps Pluto from sleeping by doing all sorts of crazy things, interacting with his environment and getting into trouble, just like his father was famous for doing.

It’s an interesting idea, but I have to say that Pluto’s son is not the most compelling character. He is just a little version of Pluto, which makes him less than unique. That’s not to say that there isn’t some funny stuff in this short, it’s just not that original.

Pluto, Junior gets into things right away, as his father is blowing a ball back and forth with his snores. Junior gets the ball and ends up getting it stuck in his dad’s mouth. Then, he finds a balloon that ends up in Pluto’s mouth, before Junior pops it.

The most interesting part of the short, though, comes when Junior ends up chasing a worm up a tree. He starts chasing a bird, which ends badly as he gets stuck in a sock on a clothesline up in the air. This leads to Pluto trying to come and rescue his boy, providing some of the funniest stuff in the short.

Pluto tries to balance on the two clotheslines, wraps his tail around one to stay up, and tries to make his way to his little boy. It’s the kind of thing we’ve come to expect from Pluto, and it’s quite good. The end sees them both fall of course, ending up in a bath tub.

It’s the end to a funny bit, but the short as a whole falls a bit flat. It really just seems like an attempt to create a foil for Pluto, but as usual, he ends up stealing the show.

From Stephen : I can't say this is one of my favorite Pluto shorts, cause I never really remembered him having a son. It is a little entertaining, though, so I recommend watching it once in a while.
From Julie Arsenault : I love Pluto, along with his pal/master Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck; It's kind of queer because, usually I am a cat-lover, but Pluto is SO cute, playful and funny (like his cartoons). I have never seen this cartoon, but l have watched online, and now it is one of my favorite Pluto cartoons on my list (if I HAD one that is); and you know, I never would have guess, that Pluto had a son in this cartoon.

Pluto, Jr. is SO like his daddy with his curiosity; and also the knack for getting into trouble. I love the scene with the balloon (it was hilarious). And like most little kids, Jr. wants to play with Dad; But Dad just want to relax and nap.

From Baruch Weiss : I have this short on The Complete Pluto: Volume 1. I saw it recently and it was pretty good. I thought that Pluto Junior was cute and the music was nice!

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