Poster

The Purloined Pup

A Pluto Cartoon

Release Date : July 19, 1946

Running Time : 6:58

Synopsis

Ronnie is kidnapped by Butch, so Pluto, as a policedog must come in to rescue her.

Characters

Pluto
Butch, the Bulldog
Ronnie

Credits

Director
Charles Nichols
Animation
George Nicholas
Jerry Hathcock
Robert Youngquist
Ernie Lynch
Backgrounds
Nino Carbe
Layout
Karl Karpe
Story
Harry Reeves
Jesse Marsh
Music
Oliver Wallace

Video

Germany
Käpt'n Donald
Pluto Ein Schlappohr Hetzt die Meute
France
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Pluto
Italy
Video Parade 15
Le Nuove Avventure di Pluto

Laserdiscs

Japan
More Tales of Pluto
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 32: Goin' to the Dogs
Donald's Quack Attack: Episode 62
The Mickey Mouse Club : January 23, 1958

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 : In my years (has it been that long?) of watching the Disney shorts, I’ve learned that Pluto needs a foil. When he has a chance to play off of someone, Pluto is a fun character who can be truly entertaining to watch. In Purloined Pup, Pluto gets to work against Butch, the bulldog character he has matched wits with before. That simple formula creates a fantastic short for Pluto.

Pluto enters the film as a police dog, on the trail of a missing dog heir. It’s immediately laid out in the old spinning newspaper gag that Butch is the one who kidnapped the dog. Our first shot of Pluto in the short comes with a police badge around his neck and it makes all the difference in the world.

Giving Pluto a purpose and a direction makes him so much more focused. Typically we see Pluto darting around from gag to gag with no real reason why. Giving the police dog angle to him was an inspired touch. It doesn’t hurt that the gags are so magnificent in this short, either. The combination of story and well done gags are so potent here that you wonder why there were not more stories of Pluto in this vein.

My favorite gag in the short is when Pluto is sneaking into the abandoned location where Butch is keeping the stolen puppy. He nearly gets caught by Butch but instead manages to dangle himself just above the bulldog, hanging by his teeth on a string. Watching him dangle there ups the stakes of the short while providing fantastic comedy.

When he ultimately is able to break the puppy out and the inevitable chase ensues, it picks up the pace and makes things feel more exciting. It’s really just another set up for running from gag to gag. There’s another great one that features both Butch and Pluto in a connected pipe running around.

Purloined Pup ends up being one of the better Pluto shorts because it allows Pluto to be both heroic and goofy at the same time. He’s doing something brave by taking on Butch, but still manages to be the silly, loveable Pluto we’ve come to know and love. It makes for a fun, fast moving and satisfying entry in the series.

From Ryan : Pluto portrays a police dog in this short. I enjoy the action that occurs when Pluto is trying to rescue Ronnie from Butch the bulldog.
From Baruch Weiss : This short shows how Pluto can be a hero. I enjoy this short and, like Ryan, the action that occurs when Pluto tries to rescue Ronnie from Butch.

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