Famous cartoon dogs: Pluto, Goofy, and Scooby-Doo's history

Part 1

What makes a cartoon dog iconic

A cartoon dog tends to stick around when a studio keeps bringing it back. Pluto starred in 48 of his own cartoons for Disney, and he also appeared in many Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck cartoons. Scooby-Doo has been in production for more than 50 years, which makes him the longest-running United States animated franchise produced for Saturday morning television. That kind of staying power means a dog can turn up in your childhood and in your parents' childhood too.

Reach beyond the screen matters too. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Scooby-Doo the fifth-greatest TV cartoon of all time. Scooby-Doo has also shown up in advertising outside animation, including a 2004 commercial in which footballer David Beckham impersonated him for Adidas. Recognition across generations may be the clearest sign of all: an iconic cartoon dog is one whose name you already know.

Part 2

Early animated dogs that set the template

Pluto's debut and role at Disney

Pluto's first appearance was not as Mickey Mouse's dog at all. He showed up unnamed as a bloodhound, one of the dogs tracking an escaped convict, in the 1930 short The Chain Gang. Later that year he appeared again as Minnie Mouse's dog, named Rover, in The Picnic. Only in 1931, in The Moose Hunt, did he become Mickey's dog and receive the name Pluto. That name is often linked to the planet Pluto, which astronomers had named only months earlier, though no one can say for certain that Walt Disney intended the connection. Pluto went on to star in 48 cartoons of his own, and one of them, Lend a Paw, won an Academy Award.

Goofy as an anthropomorphic dog

Pluto was created as an actual dog character with no speaking voice, while Goofy was created as a human character. That contrast gives you two ways a dog can become famous in cartoons: by acting like a real dog, or by acting like a person.

More Pluto facts worth sharing with your dog

• Pinto Colvig provided Pluto's barks in his early years.
• During World War II, Pluto appeared on roughly 45 Disney-designed military insignia for units that chose him as their mascot.
• Pluto gained a family in 1937's Pluto's Quin-Puplets, which was also the first short to star him officially.
• His 1943 short Private Pluto introduced Chip 'n' Dale to audiences, though they were unnamed at the time.

Part 3

Scooby-Doo's origin and growth

From Too Much to Scooby-Doo

Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the series for Hanna-Barbera, and an early version of the dog character was named Too Much. The dog was reworked into a cowardly Great Dane before the show was pitched to CBS in early 1969 as Who's S-S-Scared. The name Scooby-Doo came from an ad-lib in Frank Sinatra's recording of Strangers in the Night, according to the show's creators. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969.

Scooby-Doo through the decades

Scooby-Doo aired on CBS until 1976, then moved to ABC, where ABC aired various versions until canceling it in 1986. Two reboots aired on Kids' WB on The WB and The CW from 2002 to 2008, and further series aired on Cartoon Network starting in 2010. Don Messick voiced Scooby-Doo from the character's 1969 debut until his retirement in 1996, and Frank Welker has voiced Scooby since 2002.

Why these cartoon dogs still resonate

Watching your own dog can make these old cartoons feel closer to home. Scooby-Doo, by contrast, talks and solves mysteries alongside four teenage friends in the Mystery Machine van. Both approaches found lasting audiences, which is part of why their names are still recognized today.

A few extra details help round out the picture. Pluto is described as a mustard-colored, medium-sized, short-haired dog with black ears, and he is considered a mixed breed modeled on the English Pointer. According to an official magazine tied to the 2002 film, Scooby-Doo is canonically seven years old. Small details like these are part of what keeps longtime fans paying attention to the characters.

Pluto also appeared widely in Disney comics starting in 1931, extending his reach beyond the movie screen.