Lend a Paw

Lend a Paw is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and released to theaters on October 3, 1941. Lend a Paw was directed by Clyde Geronimi and features original music by Leigh Harline. George Nicholas, Kenneth Muse, Nick Nichols, William Sturm, Eric Gurney, Norman Tate, Chick Otterstrom, Morey Reden, and Emery Hawkins animated the film. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey and Pinto Colvig as Pluto.

In the cartoon, which was largely a remake of the 1933 short Mickey's Pal Pluto, Pluto saves the life of a kitten, and later feels jealous towards the kitten after Mickey Mouse takes the kitten in. The film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the 14th Academy Awards in 1942.

Plot Summary
While out in the snow, Pluto hears meowing noises coming from a bag floating on a drifting ice floe. He saves it, only to lose interest when he finds an orange kitten inside. The kitten follows him home and Mickey immediately adopts it. Pluto becomes jealous of all the attention the kitten gets and is coerced by his shoulder devil to get it in trouble. Despite his shoulder angel's attempts to talk him out of it, Pluto tries to trick the kitten into attacking Mickey's goldfish Bianca, only for it to accidentally knock down the fishbowl. When Mickey demands answers from Bianca, she points to Pluto, knowing that he's the one trying to get the kitten into trouble in the first place. Mickey angrily kicks a guilty Pluto out of the house for the remainder of the day as punishment, and Pluto angrily blames his shoulder devil for getting him into trouble. 

Eventually, the kitten ends up being outside as well while chasing a ball, accidentally falling into a well. The angel tells Pluto to save it, but the devil furiously tells him to let it drown as retribution for getting him kicked out. Finally having enough, the angel chases off the devil by punching him into oblivion and convinces Pluto to do the right thing, only for him to fall in too. Hearing Pluto's cries, Mickey saves them both and comforts a near frozen Pluto, feeling very remorseful for kicking him out. After receiving a nice hot bath from Mickey and a thank you kiss from the kitten, Pluto is told by the angel "Kindness to animals, my friend, will be rewarded in the end".

Voice cast
 Mickey Mouse: Walt Disney
 Pluto and Pluto's angel: Pinto Colvig
 Kitten: unknown

Legacy
Pluto's angel and devil reappeared, played by Eric Idle and Penn Jillette respectively, in two episodes of Mickey Mouse Works -- "Pluto's Kittens" (1999) and "Minnie Takes Care of Pluto" (2000) -- as well as a 2002 episode of House of Mouse, "Pluto vs Figaro."

Releases
 1941 – theatrical release
 1954 – Disneyland, episode #1.6: "A Story of Dogs" (TV)
 c. 1972 – The Mouse Factory, episode #29: "Consciences" (TV)
 1981 – "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volume Three" (VHS)
 c. 1992 – Mickey's Mouse Tracks, episode #67 (TV)
 c. 1992 – Donald's Quack Attack, episode #15 (TV)
 1993 – The Adventures of Mickey and Donald, episode #1 (TV)
 1998 – "The Spirit of Mickey" (VHS)
 c. 2002 – Bonus on Oliver and Company (DVD/VHS)
 2004 – "The Complete Pluto" (DVD)
 2005 – "Classic Cartoon Favorites: Holiday Celebration with Mickey and Pals" (DVD)
 2006 – Bonus on The Fox and the Hound (25th anniversary edition DVD)
 2009 – Bonus on Oliver and Company (20th anniversary edition DVD)
 2013 – Bonus on Oliver and Company (25th anniversary edition Blu-ray)

See also
Mickey Mouse (film series)

References

External links
 
 

Category:1941 films
Category:1941 animated films
Category:1940s American animated films
Category:1940s comedy films
Category:1940s drama films
Category:American comedy-drama films
Category:American films
Category:Best Animated Short Academy Award winners
Category:Disney animated short films, 1940s
Category:Disney film remakes
Category:English-language films
Category:Films scored by Leigh Harline
Category:Films directed by Clyde Geronimi
Category:Films produced by Walt Disney
Category:Mickey Mouse short films
Category:Pluto (Disney) short films
Category:Short film remakes
Category:RKO Pictures animated short films