El Árbol Navideño de Pluto

When the episode begins, Mickey and Pluto are out in the woods chopping down a tree for Christmas. What they don't realize, however, is that this was Chip 'n Dale's home....and the pair stow away in the car in order to stay with their purloined home. Soon Pluto discovers the pair and spends most of the show chasing them about...with the chipmunks consistently getting the upper hand on him.

This is a cute and funny cartoon. And, like so many of the Mickey cartoons of the 1950s, Mickey is barely in the thing and it's really more a Pluto short. Well worth your time...and a Christmas favorite.

A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon.

PLUTO'S CHRISTMAS TREE arrives in Mickey's living room with Chip 'n' Dale still living in it...

This enjoyable little Holiday film matches the frustrated Pup against the cunning Chipmunks, with all the props & paraphernalia of Christmas Eve adding extra interest. Mickey has only a supporting role; Goofy, Donald & Minnie have a quick cameo at the end of the cartoon as carolers singing `Deck The Halls.'

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off.

The Walt Disney cartoons have always been the best at creating atmosphere. The Looney Tunes shorts really lacked in this regard, as their backgrounds were usually somewhat more generic. So obviously the Xmas-themed Disney cartoons are perfect to get you in the mood. Pluto's Christmas Tree also has an even more vibrant detailed color pallet than usual.

This one has Mickey living in a mountain cabin with hyperactive Pluto. The go out one snowy night to find their Xmas tree. The tree that they just happen to pick is the one that is home to Chip and Dale.

Once inside Mickey's cabin the chipmunks play tricks on Pluto and taunt him, all while Mickey thinks it's just his imagination. In the end, Mickey decides to keep them because hey...it's Xmas.

Pluto's Christmas Tree is perfect for 10 minutes for silly fun. It features the ever lovable chipmunks Chip and Dale, who happen to be in the Christmas tree that Mickey cuts down. Most of the short sees Pluto pursuing Chip and Dale, and the scene when he dives into the Christmas Tree after them and the bit before that made me laugh so much. The animation here is beautiful, I loved how they animated the inside of the Christmas tree. I also loved the incidental music, with the lovely choral arrangement of Deck The Halls at the beginning. Here you have your favourite characters, Mickey who is more of a minor role, compared to the increasingly silly but funny antics of Pluto and the chipmunks, who i consider the stars of the show. Minnie, Donald and Goofy even do a cameo at the end, and I will say I loved the ending, when the chipmunks put a sticker on Pluto's mouth saying "Do not open until next Xmas." Great vocals from Edward Brophy, James McDonald and Ducky Nash. A hugely enjoyable short, that I still watch at 17 years old. It just shows you're never old to still love and appreciate Disney. 10/10 Bethany Cox.

Now, I admitted in my 'Pueblo Pluto' entry that I'm not a huge fan of Pluto (or Chip and Dale for that matter), but this animated short is a classic. The visuals are just great, like when Chip and Dale first notice their home has been transformed into a beautiful Christmas tree. Pluto loses his sanity for a moment and chases these chipmunks all over the place, destroying everything. It's just like a classic `cat and mouse' cartoon. Mickey also fits in nicely with a supporting role, and it's also interesting to see him wearing something other than his trademark red shorts and yellow shoes.

Finally to make this cartoon even more memorable, lovable Disney characters, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald make a cameo and sing 'Deck the Halls,' only to be joined by Pluto's ear-screeching rendition. If I were a rich guy, I'd love to get the original animation cel of the final scene of what Chip and Dale do to Pluto. It's just a classic!

My IMDb Rating: 9/10