Donne la patte

It took 115 cartoons to get the treasured Oscar, but Mickey Mouse finally received one during the 14th Academy Awards in Best Animated Short Film for his October 1941 "Lend a Paw." The win was a stunner for Mickey, although a well deserved one for the mouse that built the Disney empire. Mickey's voice was none other than Walt Disney's.

"Lend a Paw" was a remake of 1933 'Mickey's Pal Pluto.' In both cartoons, Mickey's dog Pluto has a split conscious in the form of a devil and an angel both vying for him to do either right or wrong in saving a kitten. It's winter time when Pluto rescued a kitten inside a bag floating on a river's ice flow. Pluto's none too happy with the kitten when it follows him home. The canine becomes upset when owner Mickey treats the newfound cat to his dog food. Things go completely off the rails for Pluto and the kitten when both end up inside an outdoor well.

The kitten in "Lend a Paw" was drawn similarly to the character Figaro in 1940's "Pinocchio." In the short's preface the cartoon is dedicated to a charity called "Tailwagger Foundation." This non-profit foundation, established in 1929, has helped save the lives of many sick and injured animals through life-saving treatments. It also assists rescue groups in their efforts to find homes for pets. Actress Bette Davis lent the organization a huge boost in publicity when she was elected president for the Southern California region. Also, huge donations from Howard Hughes and Walt Disney infused well-needed money to get the organization going into high gear.

This is my review of the tenth Oscar-nominated cartoon of 1941 having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas, Jack King's Truant Officer Donald, Dave Fleischer's Superman, Paul Fennell's When War Came, and Friz Freleng's Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt. This was also the eventual winner of Best Short Subject, Cartoon award. And it deserved it! Directed by Clyde Geronimi, it has pet dog Pluto finding a kitten in the river. He picks it up and lets it go on it's way but that creature decides to follow the dog home where master Mickey Mouse makes it his new pet leading Pluto to get jealous. That also results in his good side (an angel version of him) and bad side (devil, natch) to appear in front of him. I'll stop there and just say there's both laughs and touching drama throughout with Geronimi handling both parts well. This nearly marked the end of Walt Disney Studios' dominance in this particular category of the Academy Awards. Starting the following year after next, M-G-M takes over with the Tom & Jerry series. It's also the only time a short starring Mickey & Pluto got the win. Since it's still a few days before the actual Oscars, I'll next review an animated short in which Bugs Bunny campaigns for the award. It's called What's Cookin' Doc?

This Oscar winner is a rather sweet, gentle, charming cartoon that, from another studio, probably would not have won the Oscar. While it's a good cartoon, it certainly isn't my choice (of those I've seen, I prefer Rhapsody in Rivets myself). This is the best one that prominently features Pluto and it cetainly does not make you scratch your head and wonder what they were thinking. A good, but by no means great, cartoon. Like most of the shorts (with some lamentable exceptions), this shows periodically on The Ink and Paint Club. Recommended.

Every time kindness to animals is adressed I'm happy, and that's why I like this short.

I just think that it could have been stronger if they had put in two more minutes or so just to add more scenarios to increase the pathos driven message.

It delivers what is is supposed to with the devil and angel method which works very well with how they fight each other. It is amusing while also showing how Pluto handles situations when he feels threatened and making him a multidimensional character and relatable.

He is a good even though he can be a jerk sometimes. I love him.

Disney provides the voice of Mickey and gets the Oscar.A short that makes you laugh and maybe shed a tear that friendship and compassion are iportant in our lives.