This Week in Disney History: Feb. 25-March 3, 2019

There’s always a great, big, beautiful tomorrow at The Walt Disney Company, because every day is tied to a milestone in the heritage and rich history of a company that has been entertaining millions of people every year. Published every week, this interesting series features highlights from all the divisions of The Walt Disney Company. Let's see what happened this week:

This week: 85th anniversary of Playful Pluto

It lasts just a little more than a minute, but the famous “flypaper sequence” that concludes the Mickey Mouse cartoon Playful Pluto, which was released on March 3, 1934, remains one of the most influential animations of all time. The dazzling sequence, from the hand of William Norman “Norm” Ferguson, the primary animator of the witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as well as our capricious canine, shows a lithe, elastic and increasingly annoyed Pluto engaged in battle with a seemingly innocent sheet of floating flypaper that, despite Pluto’s hilarious protestations to the contrary, proceeds to alight on almost every part of the increasingly perturbed pooch’s body.

It’s a scene that caught the eyes of Disney Legends Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, who wrote in their classic 1981 book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, that the sequence represents a “milestone in personality animation. Through it all, [Pluto’s] reaction to his predicament and his thoughts of what to try next are shared with the audience. It was the first time a character seemed to be thinking on the screen, and, though it lasted only 65 seconds, it opened the way for animation of real characters with real problems.”

Feb. 25

1938 – Boat Builders (Mickey Mouse cartoon) debuts

1968 – The Young Loner (two-part television show) airs

2003 – “Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show” debuts at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World Resort

2014 – Disney Movies Anywhere digital movie streaming service launches

Feb. 26

1991 – Prairie Outpost & Supply opens in Magic Kingdom Park

2000 – The Weekenders (television show) debuts on One Saturday Morning on ABC

2002 – Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (direct-to-video animated movie) is released

Feb. 27

1959 – The Adventures of Chip ‘n’ Dale(television show) airs

1966 – Ballerina (two-part television show) airs

1995 – Alien Encounters from New Tomorrowland (syndicated television special) airs

2001 – Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (direct-to-video animated movie) is released

2007 – Muppet Mobile Lab is first tested at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort

2009 – Walt Disney Pictures releases Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience

2017 – When We Rise (8-part television mini-series) airs on ABC

Feb. 28

1942 – Pluto, Junior (Pluto cartoon) debuts

1993 – Bonkersdebuts on Disney Channel

1996 – The Walt Disney Company acquires Gorda Cay, a Bahamian island that will become Castaway Cay for Disney Cruise Line

March 1

1924 – Alice’s Day at Sea, the first Alice Comedy, debuts

1964 – The Legend of Two Gypsy Dogs (television show) airs

1970 – Menace on the Mountain (two-part television show) airs

1986 – Safari Outpost opens in Disneyland Park

1996 – Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort (a Disney Vacation Club resort) opens in Hilton Head, South Carolina

1998 – Bug Juice (18-episode documentary series) premieres on Disney Channel

1999 – Kali River Rapids and Maharajah Jungle Trek officially open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park

2012 – The Disney Fantasy cruise ship is christened in New York City

March 2

1951 – Dude Duck (Donald Duck cartoon) debuts

1955 – From Aesop to Hans Christian Andersen(television show) airs

1969 – Nature’s Better Built Homes (television show) airs

1976 – Magic Kingdom Park welcomes its 50 millionth Guest

2007 – Walt Disney Pictures releases Wild Hogs

2009 – Construction begins on the Disney Dream at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany

March 3

1934 – Playful Pluto (Mickey Mouse cartoon) debuts

1950 – The Brave Engineer (special cartoon) debuts

1963 – Square Peg in a Round Hole (television show) airs

1967 – Walt Disney Productions releases The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin

1974 – Ringo, the Refugee Raccoon (television show) airs

1984 – The Edison Twins (television series) debuts on Disney Channel

1995 – Indiana Jones Adventure opens at Disneyland Park

1995 – Walt Disney Pictures releases Man of the House

2015 – Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeastis released on video

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