Poster

Pluto's Blue Note

A Pluto Cartoon

Release Date : December 26, 1947

Running Time : 6:49

Synopsis

Pluto loves to sing, but no one, not even the radio will sing along with him. But success comes when he finds that his tail makes an excellent phonograph needle.

Characters

Pluto
Fifi, the Pekinese

Credits

Director
Charles Nichols
Animation
Jerry Hathcock
George Nicholas
George Kreisl
Dan MacManus
Backgrounds
Art Landy
Layout
Karl Karpe
Story
Milt Schaffer
Jack Huber
Music
Oliver Wallace
Voices
John Woodbury

Awards

Nominated for an Academy Award (Short Subjects - Cartoons)

Video

United States
Starring Pluto and Fifi
Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volume 2
Germany
Pluto's Größte Hits
Happy Birthday, Pluto!
Pluto Präsentiert
Das Große Micky Maus Festival
Plutos Größte Hits
Bum, Bum, Bumerang
France
Le Meilleur de Pluto
Disney Parade 2
Italy
Video Parade 19
Sono Io ... Pluto
Cartoons Disney 5
I Capolavori di Pluto

CED

United States
Disney Cartoon Parade Volume 4
Disney Cartoon Parade Volume 2

Laserdiscs

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volume 1
At Home with Donald Duck
Starring Donald and Daisy / Starring Pluto and Fifi
Japan
Mickey and His All Stars
Disney Cartoon Festival 2
Minnie's Greatest Hits / Pluto's Greatest Hits

DVD

United States
Disney Treasures : The Complete Pluto Volume 2
Classic Cartoon Favorites : Volume 6 : Extreme Music Fun
Germany
Musik Spass Superstars
Italy
Extreme Music Fun
Canada
Classic Cartoon Favorites : Volume 6 : Extreme Music Fun

Television

The Ink and Paint Club: Episode 12: The Many Loves of Pluto
Donald's Quack Attack: Episode 29
Walt Disney Presents: At Home with Donald Duck

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

  • The song "You Belong To My Heart" which Pluto "sings" at the end was originally written and used in the feature film "The Three Caballeros."
From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project : We’re wrapping up 1947 in the Disney canon with a Pluto short. I’ve said before that my feeling on Pluto is that he is a difficult character to do well. Doing Pluto correctly leads to some great gags and animation, as he is able to stretch and contort unlike many of the other characters. When this doesn’t happen, though, it’s a little more routine, and that’s the case with Pluto’s Blue Note.

There are two basic gags in the short, and they each do the work in approximately half of the short. The first one is Pluto’s desire to sing like the birdies sing, so to speak. He wakes up in the morning, hears the birds chirping and attempts to join in, much to the chagrin of the birds. The gag here is that Pluto, a dog, cannot sing as well as a bird. Do you see the funny?

The problem with this gag is that it doesn’t take advantage of one of Pluto’s best assets, which is his physicality. The movements and slapstick comedy of Pluto makes him funny, so if he’s standing still trying to sing, it takes some of the fun out of things. However, he does get some action going when he tries to imitate the bees (flapping his ears like wings) or the grasshoppers (rubbing his legs together). Those are decent pieces, but not Pluto’s full potential.

The second half of the short deals with Pluto’s revelation that he can use his tail and mouth to create a record player of sorts. After wandering into a music shop when trying to sing like the radio, our favorite dog discovers that if he places his tail on the record, then the sounds come out of his mouth. While it’s a decent gag, it again relies on Pluto being still to work.

The coda to this gag is when Pluto installs the record player into his dog house, and woos the lady dogs of the neighborhood with his crooning. I’ll be honest, I expected a gag to come out of this, like the record skipping (which it does) and a revolt among the animals. But for the most part, Pluto sings the whole song, winks at the camera, and ends the short. It’s a slow, disappointing ending to the short, and honestly not that funny. Pluto’s Blue Note serves as an example of paint by numbers style filmmaking, and it suffers in comparison to most of the earlier Pluto shorts.

From Ryan : When I first saw this short as a kid, I thought Pluto was actually singing. I later found out that it was just the record and that Pluto was just mouthing the words. Yet, Pluto has spoken in at least two shorts. There is the usually censored scene in "Mickey Steps Out" where Pluto shouts "Mammy!" after popping out of the pot-bellied stove and there is "The Moose Hunt" where he says "Kiss me!" So I guess it wouldn't surprise me if he did speak in this short.
From Baruch Weiss : I think that this short is OK.
From Denise Santschi : The background was drawn by my late grandfather, Art Landy. Growing up with Pluto was a godsend to all those less then perfect people in the world. He makes me laugh because he has a heart of gold .
From Michelle I. : This never was one of my favorite Pluto cartoons, but it's certainly not bad. The end is quite funny.
From Grace : That was the sweetest Pluto cartoon ever! It really made me dream every single night that my idol Mickey singing " You Belong To My Heart" to me and dressed as the god of the sun.
From Gabe Bennett : Trivia: the name of the bouncy song that is heard when Pluto first figures out he can use his tail as phonograph needle in the music store is called "Escravos de Jo" ("Slaves of Job"). From what I've been able to find out about it, it's a traditional Brazillian melody.
From Dino Cencia : I loved the part when Pluto was singing at the end lip-syncing the words of the song. His tail becomes a record player needle. "You Belong To My Heart" is a great love song for Pluto's sweethearts. I give this cartoon a 600.
From Mike : I always liked this cartoon. I really liked it for the song at the end but I always wondered who that singer was.
From Bryan Hensley : Some of the music in this short was from Disney works earlier in the 40's; The Three Caballeros and South of The Border With Walt Disney. When Pluto listened to the radio in front of a music shop, the music playing from the radio was background music from the South of The Border documentary! Near the end, the song "You Belong To My Heart" was from The Three Caballeros! I bet this short inspired what Experiment 626 (Stitch) would do with record-players. Pluto's tail is a good record needle as well as Stitch's index fingers! Both of them had music coming from their mouths like a stereo system! Pluto never actually speaks or sings like a human in this short; he just lip-sync's really well! I hope you enjoy this wonderful Oscar-nominated short that's somehow from south of the border!
From Diana Netland : My grandfather , Art Landy, aka Arthur Landmesser did the background on the Disney films some of the animation but did not get the credit . It was an honor to be raised knowing my grandfather spread so much laughter in the world.

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