Best Pals: Mickey & Pluto (NR)

Several shorts from the 1940s and 1950s are included in BEST PALS: MICKEY & PLUTO, highlighting the unconditionally sweet relationship between dog and mouse. (Note that Mickey appears in half of the shorts, but only figures prominently in one.) The shorts include: "Pluto's Housewarming," focusing on his thwarted attempts to move into his new doghouse; "Pluto and the Armadillo," where he mistakes a long eye-lashed armadillo for his ball; "Cat Nap Pluto," where he wages war with a pesky kitten over sleeping privileges; "Pluto's Party," where all he wants is his piece of cake; "Pluto, Junior," with a pint-sized Pluto look-alike who keeps him from his much-needed nap; "Pluto's Fledgling," featuring a little bird who Pluto helps out; "Plutopia," which follows Pluto's strange dream as a butler; and "Pueblo Pluto," where Pluto is at odds with another pooch while on a trip to South America.

This DVD is a tribute to the old Disney that parents remember and love from their own childhood. These cartoons have lots of action but nothing that is scary like much of today's animation. Pluto is chased and chases other animals. Sometimes he gives large, exaggerated bites on an animal's back side. Other times he falls down from high places or gets hit on the head and sees stars and birdies. It's all make-believe, silly, and he's always okay in the end. Nevertheless, some younger kids may not be able to make the fantasy/real world distinction.

Older kids and adults will appreciate the humor, clever-for-its-time animation, and sweetness that is characteristic of these older Disney shorts. Parents may still be asked to buy a Pluto toy or Mickey slippers, but that's an unavoidable problem with any favorite children's characters.

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Milt Schaffer
Cast: James MacDonald, Pinto Colvig, Ruth Clifford
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 55 minutes
DVD release: April 11, 2006
MPAA Rating: NR
MPAA explanation: Not Rated