''Mickey and the Seal'' is a cartoon short created by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

in 1948. It was nominated for

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

, but lost to MGM's

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the ...

cartoon ''

The Little Orphan ''The Little Orphan'' is a 1949 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 40th ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoon, released in theaters on April 30, 1949 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barb ...

'', which shared one of seven Oscars for the Tom and Jerry series. It was the 122nd short in the ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

'' film series to be released, and the second produced that year.

Plot

visits the

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

exhibit at a zoo. He makes the seals perform tricks by feeding them fish. One young seal escapes from the exhibit to get more fish and ends up inside Mickey's basket. Mickey takes the basket home, where

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

is begging for food. When Mickey puts the basket down, Pluto goes to investigate, but is hit on the nose by the seal's flippers. Pluto tries to tell Mickey what happened, but Mickey can't understand him. While this is happening, the seal escapes from the basket and Pluto chases it, only to get his head stuck inside the basket. He blunders around and, in the process, makes a mess of the kitchen, alerting Mickey. He angrily orders Pluto out of the house, despite Pluto's attempts to tell him what he was chasing. When Mickey goes to the bathroom to take a bath, he doesn't notice the seal hop into the tank just before him. Completely unaware of what's around him, Mickey ends up scrubbing the seal's head with his brush instead of his back, which he intended to clean. Mickey eventually realizes that he's not scrubbing himself, but still can't see the seal behind him. The seal then begins scrubbing Mickey's head, which makes Mickey puzzled. Pluto later comes to the window and tries to tell Mickey again, but Mickey shuts the shade. When the seal takes his scrubbing brush, Mickey tries to get it back, only to grab the seal by mistake; he yells with fright upon seeing it. After jumping out of the tub, Mickey grabs a stool to nab the intruder, drains the water, and only then does he realize there is a seal in the tub. Despite Mickey's orders to stay outside, an angry Pluto storms in and crashes into the tub, and then tries to attack the seal after Mickey introduces him to it. After Pluto becomes alarmed and angry when Mickey says he decides to keep it as a pet, Mickey changes his mind, understanding that Pluto won't like it and that having a wild animal for a pet is a bad idea, and eventually decides to take the seal back to the zoo, and Pluto smiles in reply (taking a liking to that idea) before bringing over Mickey's basket. After Mickey and Pluto drop it off, the seal shows the other seals the things it learned about bathtime from Mickey and Pluto. When Mickey comes home, he and Pluto find that all the seals have moved into their house and are using the bathroom and bathtub as their personal exhibit and pool, respectively, and using an ironing board as a diving board. The young seal then waves goodbye from the shower, which concludes the cartoon.

Cast

*Ford Banes as Mickey Mouse * James MacDonald as Pluto *

Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. C ...

as Pluto

Releases

* 1948 – theatrical release * 1956 – ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

'', episode #3.11: "At Home with Donald Duck" (TV) * 1968 – '' Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'', episode #15.11: "The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show" * c. 1983 – '' Good Morning, Mickey!'', episode #38 (TV) * c. 1989 – ''

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

'', re-release * c. 1992 – ''

Mickey's Mouse Tracks ''Mickey's Mouse Tracks'' is an American animated television series on The Disney Channel which ran from 1992 to 1995, and featured Disney cartoons and animated short films, dating from before the advent of The Disney Channel. A similar show was ...

'', episode #45 (TV) * c. 1992 – '' Donald's Quack Attack'', episode #36 (TV) * c. 2000 –

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

TVs (TV) * 2002 – ''

House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired for three seasons on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to its final ...

'', episode #2.9: "King Larry Swings In" (TV) * 2009 – '' Have a Laugh!'', episode #1 (TV)

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two: 1939-Today''. Additional releases include: * 1983 – "Cartoon Classics: Disney's Best of 1931-1948" (VHS) * 1988 – "Cartoon Classics: Special Edition" (VHS) * 1998 – "

The Spirit of Mickey ''The Spirit of Mickey'' is a 1998 American animated direct-to-video anthology film, produced and released by Walt Disney Home Video on July 14, 1998. It features clips from ''The Mickey Mouse Club'', ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', and ''A ...

" (VHS) * 2006 – " Funny Factory with Mickey" (DVD) * 2010 – " Have a Laugh! Volume One" (DVD)

References

External links