Cumulative rating:	(2 ratings submitted)

Synopsis

Hashtag(s)

#golf

Characters

Mickey Mouse (Voice: Walter Elias "Walt" Disney) Pluto

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Distributor(s)

RKO Radio Pictures

All Together (Pluto scratching)

On Vacation

The Spirit of Mickey

Mickey Mouse Tracks (Season 1, Episode 72)

United States

Mickey & the Gang

The Spirit of Mickey

On Vacation with Mickey and Friends

Germany

Pluto Ein Schlappohr Hetzt die Meute

Zeitungsjunge Pluto

France

Les Nouvelles Aventures de Pluto

Italy

Topolino and Co. : Avventure Tutte da Ridere

Le Nuove Avventure di Pluto

Qua la Zampa Pluto

Pluto Amico Quasi Perfetto

Japan

Mickey Mouse: A Star is Born

Mickey and the Gang

United States

The Spirit of Mickey

On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends

The Best of Roger Rabbit

Mickey and the Gang / Nuts About Chip 'n' Dale

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volume 2

Japan

Donald Duck and his Duckling Gang

More Tales of Pluto

United States

The Complete Pluto - Volume 1

Extreme Sports Fun

Germany

Sports Spass Superstars

Disney Treasures : The Complete Pluto Volume 1

Canada

Classic Cartoon Favorites : Volume 5 : Extreme Sports Fun

MPAA No.: 6643

Animation Type: Standard (Hand-drawn-Cel) Animation

Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Cinematographic Format: Spherical

Color Type: Technicolor

Negative Type: 35mm

Original Country: United States

Original Language: English

Print Type: 35mm

Sound Type: Mono: RCA Sound Recording

Reviews and Comments

From Jake Orgman :

I just watched this cartoon on "The Spirit of Mickey" and I think that out of those 11 cartoons on that tape that this is my favorite. The little run in with Pluto and the gopher was sweet and really kicked ass. While Mickey was trying to golf, Pluto chases the gopher and it chews holes in the hill, making it look like swiss cheese. "Aw you're just a mutt!" was all that Mickey could say at the end.

From Calvin Daprice :

I am normally not a fan of golf. In fact, I think watching golf games on TV is boring, but if all golf games were like this, well, I'd probably change my mind.

From Ryan :

This short was definitely one of my favorites. I loved the part where Pluto chases after the gopher while the gopher chews holes into the hill, making it look like swiss cheese. My middle school science teacher would probably love this short since he coaches golf.

From Baruch Weiss :

Mickey plays golf while his caddy Pluto plays another game; gopher chasing. Okay for a short but it is not one of my favorites.

From Matt :

The animation of Mickey at the beginning of this cartoon looks like Kenneth Muse's animation. He later worked at MGM on Tom and Jerry cartoons after 1941 (when he was apart of the Disney strike.)

From Jack Buckley :

I just recently viewed this cartoon again for the first time in many years and thoroughly enjoyed it. I can clearly recall seeing it in a downtown theater here as a child in the mid-60's. I think it was shown as a prelude to a Disney live-action feature, or possibly as part of a special Disney cartoon marathon. For some reason, it's always stuck in my mind. Upon my recent viewing, I found it as cute as I remembered it. For one thing, it was extremely pleasant to see Mickey Mouse again, the primary reason I wanted to watch it. He's presented at the top of his form here. He's seen as basically a "modern mouse", with his rarely seen three-dimensional ears, and occasional glimpses of 2 front teeth. I knew that Mickey had been drawn with three-dimensional ears for a limited period of time, but was caught off guard by the teeth. He's very human-like in all his movements, expressions, and mannerisms. He's extremely cute in this cartoon, with a very pleasing and likeable demeanor, accentuated by his oversize golf cap and comically disproportionate, and only, club. This short could be classified primarily as a Pluto cartoon, since the hapless hound occupies most of its running time, but since he's acting as Mickey's caddy, this is appropriate, as well as where most of the humor obviously lies. The funniest moment between Mickey and his faithful companion, probably is when Mickey shakily attempts to whack his golf ball off of a small pile-up of sand on Pluto's back. I especially liked Mickey's reaction after one golf shot, when he enthusiastically says, "Oh, boy, what a sock!" Such an old-fashioned or corny kind of exclamation as that seems to personify the mouse's good-natured, very American character. The scenes between Pluto and the gopher are delightful, with fast-moving action and great timing. The rodent's unique "voice" seems to suit the intruded-upon creature's temperament quite well. I wonder how these sounds were cr! eated. T he climax, of course, is when Pluto and his furry little enemy chase and gnaw there way through one of the course's hills that Mickey's about to take a shot from, causing it to collapse in a thunderous, dusty heap. Just when the viewer expects Mickey to severely scold Pluto for his carelessness, he laughs cheerfully, pets him, and says, "Aw, you're just a mutt!" It's a great Mickey line. I also have to applaud the short's artwork and musical score. There's beautiful color throughout, the golf course presented in a simple yet believable way. The music has a great, kind of old-fashioned-sounding, bounciness to it, subtly lending itself very well to the comical action taking place in the foreground. I was surprised to learn that Canine Caddy was made as long ago as 1941. As I watched it, I assumed it was from the very late 40's or very early 50's, but I was wrong. It nevertheless captures Mickey at his peak of likeability, and remains an exceptionally cute, creative, and just plain funny cartoon short!

From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project :

Mickey has been a secondary character in much of the late 30s and early 40s. Even his appearance in Fantasia was not as well received as Walt had hoped, and did not lead to a new renaissance for the character. So it’s interesting to see him in Canine Caddy with Pluto, a short that really doesn’t break new ground, and is more traditional than previous shorts.

The set up is Mickey coming to the golf course to play a round, with Pluto serving as his caddy. Simple enough, but there’s no real suspense or surprise to the short that makes it remarkable. What would you think will happen when Pluto is Mickey’s caddy? He chases a gopher, has issues with the game and ends up ruining things.

Now, just because a short is predictable doesn’t make it bad. Canine Caddy is well done, at least from a visual and artistic standpoint. Mickey’s animation here is very fluid, and his emotions and movements are fantastic. Pluto is the same, and the backgrounds are great, too.

Really, the problem I had with this short is that there’s not enough meat on the bones. You have the basic premise of Mickey playing golf, and there’s some cute gags with Pluto setting up the “tee” of dirt or Mickey having to hit the ball off Pluto’s backside. But there’s no conflict for Mickey, and Pluto is really only troubled by the gopher in the latter part of the short.

It’s no surprise to see Mickey sidelined for much of the short. After all, that’s what happens to him in most of his shorts, especially when Pluto is around. But even Pluto doesn’t step forward in this short and provide some truly funny moments. It’s good enough, but Canine Caddy doesn’t provide the laugh out loud gags that have been in recent Donald or Goofy shorts.

I think the issue is that the animators might be used to setting up situations for the other two characters. This short could easily have worked well with Donald or Goofy, but in different ways. Donald would have gotten increasingly frustrated with Pluto’s efforts and gotten funnier with his increasing frustration level, and Goofy would have tied himself in knots trying to play. But Mickey? What does he do?

That’s the problem facing Disney at this time in 1941. With animators unsure what to do with Mickey, he’s forced into situations that don’t fit him. Add the mounting pressures to increase production, the increase in feature films, the mounting war and the labor strife, and it was a rough time to be producing films at Disney.