Sailor Moon Inspired Dog Names

In terms of animated characters, Sailor Moon and her companions are easily some of the most recognizable worldwide, not only thanks to their defined looks, but also because of their cosmically-influenced names. But there is certainly one animated character with a similarly space-themed name that rises far beyond their following and is only a decade away from his 100th birthday: Disney’s Pluto. 

Out of all cartoon characters that were developed during the time period, Pluto stands alone for a number of reasons. Although he is a part of the “Sensational Six”, Disney’s six most popular characters of all time, his features are much different than every other member. For starters, all of the other characters are not only anthropomorphic but are also able to speak in one form or another, whether it’s plain English or an animal-influenced version like Donald. All of the other characters were also given iconic outfits, whereas Pluto was merely given his collar, along with his characteristic smile and overall proportions/style. 

However, outside of Mickey and Minnie, Pluto was one of the first to hit the screen as well. While his character had been designed and used as early as 1929, just one year after the official debut of Mickey, he wasn’t technically employed as “Pluto” until 1931, previously being either unnamed or with a temporary name. But it also didn’t take long before Pluto was popular enough to be able to separate from his animated pals and stand on his own. Just six years later, he received his own show and continued to star in several shorts through 1953, including one titled “Lend a Paw” which won an Academy Award. 

After 1953, Disney changed direction and started to branch out in new directions, leaving a few of the stars to go on animated hiatus, including Pluto, but after nearly three decades, he returned to great fanfare, ramping up his popularity once again with a new generation in the 1980s with cameos in the feature films Totally Minnie and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. From there, he continued his trend back upwards, appearing time and time again in video games, films and even Disney parks. Over the years, although his character was never able to speak, his personality never failed to shine through, leading him to a heralded status as a standard-bearer of timeless canine characters.