Private Pluto

A Walt Disney PLUTO Cartoon

PRIVATE PLUTO must guard a pillbox against saboteurs - but what he discovers instead are a couple of crafty chipmunks using it to hoard their nuts.

This humorous little wartime cartoon is notable chiefly as the film debut of those mischievous wee rodents, Chip 'n' Dale. (Their appearances would significantly alter, but they would remain, as here, largely unintelligible.) The pattern was immediately set, perhaps unknowingly, for all of their subsequent films in that no matter who their antagonist, Pluto or Donald Duck, the Chipmunks would always get the upper paw in the end.

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 storm of naysayers, 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 always pay off.

In this short, Pluto is in the army. He's given the job of guarding a cannon, which happens to be the home of two chipmunks. The early scenes of Pluto attempting to march make this worth a look. However, it's not a fantastic debut for Chip and Dale. Jokes with Pluto getting klunked by the cannon get old quick.

In this short, Pluto is assigned to guard the army base against potential invaders. This task he accepts with keen enthusiasm. But the invaders turn out to be Chip and Dale (before they became Rescue Rangers) and they play lots of pranks on poor old Pluto.

Basically, they are using the weight of a huge gun barrel to crack nuts. But when Pluto gets angry at this they use it, instead, to crack Pluto's head. Not very nice and the bulk of the 'humor' comes from this. I didn't find myself laughing so much, or at all. Pluto isn't really a strong enough character on his own. He works better when teamed with Mickey.

There's not much invention going on here and the short is rather simple-minded. Not a classic.

I love Disney, and have always been amused by Pluto and Chip 'n' Dale. I'll be honest in saying that I prefer Chip 'n' Dale with Donald Duck, but they are still entertaining with Pluto. Private Pluto is notable for being Chip 'n' Dale's debut, and their debut is up there with their best. The chipmunks are great, very cute and mischievous, and Pluto is a more than worthy foil, I even felt sorry for him at some points. The animation is beautiful, the music energetic and the gags amusing. The story is slightly routine but fun in its simplicity, elevated by the sprightly pace and the chemistry between Pluto and the chipmunks. There are some little things I enjoyed also such as Pluto saluting with his ear. Overall, entertaining with Chip 'n' Dale making an impression in their first appearance. 10/10 Bethany Cox