Pluto (Disney)

Pluto is an American cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Norm Ferguson. He is a yellow-orange color, medium-sized, short-haired dog with black ears. Unlike most of the Disney characters, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expressions. He is Mickey Mouse's pet. Officially a mixed-breed dog, he made his debut as a bloodhound in the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang. Together with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy, Pluto is one of the "Sensational Six"-the biggest stars in the Disney universe. Though all six are non-human animals, Pluto alone is not dressed as a human.

Pluto debuted in animated cartoons and appeared in 24 Mickey Mouse films before receiving his own series in 1937. All together Pluto appeared in 89 short films between 1930 and 1953. Several of these were nominated for an Academy Award, including The Pointer (1939), Squatter's Rights (1946), Pluto's Blue Note (1947), and Mickey and the Seal (1948). One film starring him, Lend a Paw (1941), won the award in 1942. Like all of Mickey Mouse's co-stars, Pluto appears extensively in comics, first in 1931. He returned to theatrical animation in 1990 with The Prince and the Pauper and is in several direct-to-video films. Pluto is in countless television series, video games, and all other Mickey Mouse media.

In 1998, Disney's copyright on Pluto, set to expire at the end of 2005, was extended by the passage of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. Disney, along with other rights holders, lobbied for passage of the act to preserve their copyrights on characters such as Pluto for 20 additional years. On January 1, 2026, the earliest appearances of Pluto entered the public domain, however (like all Disney characters) Pluto's name and image remains trademarked by The Walt Disney Company—and unlike copyrights—trademarks do not expire unless they ceased to be used.