pluto demoted

Pluto Demoted

ORLANDO, FL, September 23, 2010 (OTB) — Executives at Disney today announced that Pluto will no longer be officially considered a Disney character, or at least a major Disney character. The media empire is weighing its options, but it might consider giving Pluto "dwarf character" status much like Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, or Doc, from an earlier Disney work. Whether this specific option is the one that will be taken is not final, however.

Pluto had a long run as a major Disney character. Created in the 1930s near the same time that the former planet with the same name was discovered, Pluto was an instantly popular character. Through the years Pluto appeared in numerous stories as a lovable dog. This fact never properly addressed the differences between Pluto and most of the other major Disney characters. Specifically, the other characters can talk and otherwise behave as a normal human would.

"Think about Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, or Donald Duck," noted cartoon enthusiast Greg Quimby, "Most of what makes them them is in how they talk and walk on two feet. Mostly how they talk, though. While Pluto is a fine character he should never have been considered a major character if he did not have the ability to speak in an iconic voice. Even Goofy, who is also a 'dog' character, can talk with voice characteristics that are instantly identifiable."

While most Disney fans agree, a very vocal minority believe that Pluto has not been given a fair shake. "When I heard the announcement it was like one of my children had died," said former Pluto animator and founder of the organization Respect Pluto Now John Haverly. "We are still weighing our legal and PR options. I can assure you that we are not giving up hope yet."

There was a time when it would have been unthinkable for Pluto to not be considered a major character, but that changed with the advent of Pixar and the slew of new characters brought onto the scene. Specifically, with the release of the Toy Story series it was obvious that some characters should be considered major characters and some should not. Many of the minor characters in the first movie did not survive to the third movie largely due to their lack of an instantly recognizable voice. "When we put the hockey puck and the Lite Brite in the first movie," explained former Pixar head Steve Jobs, "we knew that they probably would not be in subsequent movies because they did not interact with the audience anthropomorphically. This caused them to be received as simply minor characters."

This standard that was set in the Toy Story series has now seeped into the rest of Disney culture. If you cannot speak you cannot be considered a major character. Mickey had better hope he doesn't contract laryngitis or he could be next.

preschool

This past week NJ went to preschool for the first time, and I should probably make a note of it here. Unlike what one might expect, I am not overly concerned with the academics that the preschool offers or really that the elementary schools that NJ and CD will attend offer. I have just always assumed that academic strengths are determined more at home than in the classroom, so as long as the basics are covered in school we can assure that the kids are where they should be academically.

I figure that NJ will benefit most from the social interaction that preschool offers. Also, I am interested in insight as to whether we should hold NJ back a year in school since his birthday is in July. Again, I am not thinking in terms of academics because he will do fine academically, but there social advantages for boys to being held back largely tied to physical size.

When CD gets to be preschool age we will probably put her in for her own enjoyment more than anything else. She is easily the most social person in our family and she is not even two yet. I know that girls bring with them their own set of issues, but I have confidence that she will do fine socially.

When I was a kid I did not go to preschool, but my sister did. She has always been more social than I have been, so perhaps preschool played a role in how that played out. If so, maybe NJ and CD will be able to teach their dad a thing or two once they get through preschool.