You're back on form, Jim.  Please keep it that way.  Very good "Why For."

Thank you, Jim :)

A good article in getting back to history and miscellanea...Admit it,  deep down this is the kind of Why For you like, isn't it?  :)
And personally, I'd always thought Pluto was indirectly named after Cerberus, but we'll never know.

(Although I also will have to disagree that although Disney thought they were on a roll with bigscreen-updating their Disney Channel shows for February School-Vacation Quickies after "Recess: the Movie", "Teacher's Pet" was a titanic marketing mistake that deserved what it got--
The same mistake that sunk Warner's attempt at a "Powerpuff Girls Movie":  The "art-school kitsch" style that works for "Brandy & Mr. Whiskers" on basic cult-cable just doesn't play in normal Peoria cineplexes; kids and parents in the audiences were baffled at the weird jokes, hyperactive gags and ugly animation, and rightly so...But that's a debate for other posts.)

Thanks for the great Why For!  That whole story about the origins of "Lady & the Tramp" is on the Platinum Edition DVD- I would recommend watching it!  That was a very cute press release by Disney; I'm impressed.  Also, I had no idea that Pluto's not a planet anymore, since I've been at school all week...thanks for keeping me informed.

Good stuff, Mr Hill. A real breath a fresh air from all the recent CARS articles.  This is the reason why I can't stop visiting this site.

This was an excellent Why For; I really enjoyed it! I agree with blackcauldron85, that press release about Pluto's name was very amusing. I think it's unfortunate that Pluto the planet is no longer an actual "planet" in astronomer's eyes...because it's one of the coolest! Oh, well...Pluto the dog will always be a superstar in my eyes.

I learned a lot from today's article and I found it all very informative, interesting, and entertaining. While I have to disagree with you about "Teacher's Pet," I still appreciate the screen grabs you provided. It's always great fun when animators poke fun at their own studio.

Keep up the good work!

Isnt there a heavenly body called a DOGSTAR?
Maybe now that poor Pluto isnt a planet anymore, it can be one of those?
I know nothing whatsoever about astronomy, but I love Mickeys dog.

Sirius is the dog star.  That's why Sirius satellite radio uses a dog for their logo.  Check it out!

Great Why For, Jim.  

And unlike my esteemed colleagues above, I agree wholeheartedly about Teacher's Pet.  It's a better movie--certainly a funnier one--than most of the stuff Feature Animation has foisted on us in the past few years.  It's quirky, low budget and has a very un-Disney art style, but you can tell that the creators really put everything they had into making it unique, intelligent, creative and entertaining, and without the accountaineers back-seat driving.  It's definitely not mere "product."  Which makes it just about the polar opposite of most of the cheapquels.  (And it has a 76 on Rotten Tomatoes and a 73 on Metacritic.  Not exactly cheapquel-type reviews.)

excellent article, Jim!!

I didn't know that about Joe Grant's family.  

I also highly recommend the "Lady and the Tramp" Platinum DVD. All of the extras on it are fantastic. Besides the backstory of "Tramp"'s creation, you get snippets from the original "Disneyland" show, a return to Marceline, MO, where Walt grew up, and a cool segment involving the voice of Peg, Peggy Lee. It is just superb!

I didn't like "Teacher's Pet" the TV show, so there was no way I was going to PAY to see that ugly thing at the theaters. There is an awful lot of ugly character design in TV toons right now. "Camp Lazlo", is probably the worst offender. Screw the "style" argument, those characters look slapdash and sloppy, which is neither sophisticated nor amusing. Toon characters don't have to look Disneyesque, but they could at least look like they weren't drawn by a five year old with palsy. Spongebob Squarepants is a good example of simple yet effective character design, where the designs fit perfectly with the characters' personalities. Anyway, nice article, Jim. I do appreciate your site and your work on it, FWIW.

It IS possible that Pluto could've been named after one of Walt's pets, since Mickey was essentially Walt's alter-ego. But in order for Walt to have had a dog named Pluto, especially around the time of the planet's discovery, he had to have known a great deal of ancient mythology as well.

I'm more than familiar with the story of Lady and the Tramp's real inspiration. Interestingly, the Tramp was originally named "Homer", then "Bozo". One very early episode of The Wonderful World of Disney (then-called Disneyland) even shows behind-the-scenes footage on the film's production, and some original character sketches of the Tramp.

I recall seeing some episodes of the Teacher's Pet TV show, but I never saw the movie. I do agree in part with the one observer; Disney should rethink how much energy they place into both their theatrical and television animation units. The fact is, Disney very rarely comes up with anything original in the TV animation market (in spite of what The Disney Channel makes you believe), and it would be better if the two areas just remained seperate (i.e. No more TV series spun-off from feature films, or vice-versa).

Great Artical Jim!
Tell me something, if Pluto is a dog, then what is Goofy?

Goofy's a dawg, of course. Looks like a dog, but walks and talks and dresses like a human.    Amyhow, that's the way I heard it. :)

Does this mean Sailor Pluto is now a dwarf Senshi?

Haha, as a total Moonie I totally got your joke, narkspud! Too bad Sailor Pluto is my favorite senshi...now she's going to be kicked around by fandoms everywhere!

Anyway, I just wanted to provide more evidence that of course Goofy is a dog, because not only is his head constructed in the same exact shape as Pluto's, but also his original name was Dippy Dawg. ;)

By the way, mawnck, you do make a very nice point about "Teacher's Pet" being a nice project in the sense that it didn't have a very corporate agenda and that the creators had control all the way, and that it did do a lot better than most projects of that fashion. I definitely respect that. I'll probably give it a chance in the future, but overall the show and the character designs just don't appeal to me.

>>overall the show and the character designs just don't appeal to me.<<

I was definitely the same way, in fact the character designs STILL don't appeal to me.  Fortunately I went to see it anyway.  It is a rather strange movie, and the storyline is definitely twisted, but still a fun watch, and LOADED with quick gags like Jim shows above.  At least give it a rental . . . all you got to lose is 4 bucks and 68 minutes.

Nice to see that there are still some fellow Moonatics out there!

Newcomer to the site (yeah, it was those business articles that pulled me in), but I gotta say articles like this are the REAL meat and potatoes that fascinate me. Great stuff. With all this hoopla regarding Pluto, wouldn't this be a great time for Disney Consumer Products to launch a "Dogs" line a la the dragons? Unite Pluto, Tramp, the Dalmations, Nana, Copper, Little Brother, Percy, maybe even the main character from the upcoming "American Dog"! And if we're going to continue the planet theme, why not pick 9 of em, and call it "Puppy Planets" or something? That way Pluto can stay as the 9th planet!

la_resistance28- in December, Disney is releasing 2 board games, one featuring Disney dogs...so, maybe it'll be the start of something...?  Here's the link:
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/gameworld/

blackcauldron85 said:
la_resistance28- in December, Disney is releasing 2 board games, one featuring Disney dogs...so, maybe it'll be the start of something...?  Here's the link:
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/gameworld/
---
Given the Disney Decade II (or "We can market it too!"), looks like they want a piece of Warner's "Scene It!" DVD-trivia marketing, as was already auditioned with that 3-D dog-trivia game on the "Lady and the Tramp" DVD.
We'll probably get the princess-game plug on the "Mermaid" DVD.

gosh darn, just when you think you have a good idea, you figure out that someone's already paid to come up with it, haha

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