Poster

Squatter's Rights

A Mickey Mouse Cartoon

Release Date : June 7, 1946

Running Time : 7:06

Synopsis

Chip 'n' Dale take up residence in Mickey's stove while Pluto vainly attempts to chase them out.

Characters

Mickey Mouse
Pluto
Chip 'n' Dale

Credits

Director
Jack Hannah
Story
Rex Cox

Awards

Nominated for an Academy Award (Short Subjects - Cartoons)

Cut Scenes

Some scenes with Pluto's nose stuck in a rifle, and the resulting gunshot, have been cut.

Video

United States
Cartoon Classics : First Series : Volume 7 : More of Disney's Best 1932-1946
France
Les Aventures de Mickey et Minnie
Italy
Video Parade 16

Laserdiscs

Japan
Cartoon Carousel
Mickey and His All Stars

DVD

United States
Disney Treasures : The Complete Pluto Volume 1
Germany
Disney Treasures : The Complete Pluto Volume 1

Television

The Ink and Paint Club: Episode 5: Chip 'n' Dale
Mickey's Mouse Tracks: Episode 72
Walt Disney Presents: Adventures of Mickey Mouse

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 : Can you believe it? After years of neglect, Mickey returns to the Disney shorts with Squatter’s Rights. Perhaps it is a stretch to say that he returns, however, because Mickey is merely the catalyst for this short, which really focuses on Pluto’s quest to rid their stove of Chip and Dale. As is usually the case in these later years, Mickey is merely window dressing.

Chip and Dale made a previous appearance to menace Pluto and now have returned to cause more mischief. The characters are back and will continue to become more a part of the Disney landscape in years to come, mostly as foils for Donald Duck. Pluto, though, always works best with a smaller or less menacing foe, and this plays to his strengths.

Chip and Dale have been camping out in Mickey’s log cabin, specifically in the stove. When Mickey and Pluto return to the cabin for what appears to be a hunting trip, the chipmunks are in a bit of trouble, since Mickey will want to cook things. Pluto sniffs out the interlopers when he goes to load the stove, and the first 2/3 of the short are about them defending their adopted home.

It’s sort of a “Home Alone” style plot, as the chipmunks come up with several different schemes to keep Pluto out. I enjoyed the slapstick humor of this part of the short, but it does tend to drag on a bit. Chip and Dale are entertaining enough, but you don’t get much personality out of them, or any kind of special gag.

Once they leave the stove, though, and Pluto begins chasing them through the cabin, things pick up a little bit. The chases and chaos you would expect from Pluto taking on Chip and Dale occur in this part of the short. It’s that fast moving action and chaos that makes Pluto his best. Adding Chip and Dale to the mix makes it that much more compelling.

The gag that tops them all, though, is Pluto getting his nose stuck in a rifle over the mantle. If he pulls to hard to get out then the gun will go off and shoot him. The delicate dance of Pluto getting out and Chip and Dale egging him on ends with a funny little bit that solves the problem of where the chipmunks will live. It’s an inventive solution that is a credit to the story team, and makes this a short worth watching, despite its low Mickey content.

From J. D. Weil : A changeover is marked with this short, Squatter's Rights is the first cartoon that features Jimmy MacDonald as the voice for Mickey. The last time that Walt would speak for the Mouse would be in the Mickey and the Beanstalk segment from "Fun and Fancy Free" which was also in production at this time.
From Ryan : This short was okay, but I wouldn't call it one of my favorites. It really makes me feel sorry for poor Pluto whom Chip and Dale torture so much. The scene that is frequently shown censored where Pluto has his nose in the rifle and the gunshot goes off adds a little suspense to the story. Mickey hears the gunshot and comes back to the cabin shortly after Chip and Dale dump ketchup on Pluto. Mickey comes inside and of course thinks it's blood so he rushes Pluto to the animal hospital. Isn't it odd that the Disney Company didn't censor the scene with ketchup on Pluto? Chip and Dale could not yet be distinguished from each other so I just don't know who is who.
From Grace : The short was well okay, but I kinda felt sorry for Pluto because he got punished, teased and has to chase Chip and Dale. Same goes for Mickey. I kinda laughed on the scene when Mickey's foot got burned, but I knew it was a mean trick for Chip and Dale to do.
From Dino Cencia : This Mickey and Pluto cartoon is okay, but is almost my favorite. I didn't like the part when Pluto got his nose stuck in the gun rifle and he pulled the trigger but he didn't get shot. And the part when Chip and Dale put ketchup on Pluto, Mickey comes in and thinks that Pluto got shot by a gun. Also, the image with Mickey and Pluto with ketchup and the gun it's kinda a sad picture to look at. I give this cartoon a 10.
From Baruch Weiss : I'm surprised that this cartoon won an Academy Award. It was another Pluto vs Chip and Dale cartoon with the chipmunks getting the upper hand. Anyway as mentioned by J.D. Weil Jimmy MacDonald starts doing the voice for Mickey in this cartoon even though there is one line that was recycled from the 1939 short The Pointer where Mickey says "Aw shucks Pluto, heh I can't be mad at ya!"

When the Disney Channel was playing the old cartoons on TV this one was missing the scenes where Pluto's nose gets stuck in a rifle (to say nothing of the part where he envisions his head mounded on the wall in place of a moose which really is extreme) is deleted. Like Ryan these edits don't make any sense to me either. Are children really that stupid? As Leonard Maltin says "They were never meant to be taken as encouragement to use firearms." Which implies that this short was not trying to tell kids that they should stick their noses in guns!

From Trae Robinson : I got this cartoon and the cartoon has no credits on it! 1944 was the year Disney started to make cartoons with credits. I wonder what's up with that. And Pluto's theme music sounds different in this short. It was used in Springtime For Pluto and In Dutch.

Submit Your Comments

(Note: you must be logged in to submit comments)

Referenced Comments