In this landmark Disney short, Pluto plays a private who’s been assigned to guard an Army pillbox. But as his guard dog duties begin, two chipmunks using the pillbox’s cannon to store their acorns harry poor Pluto. The short marks the first time Chip and Dale — yet unnamed at the time of this cartoon — made their scampering appearance on screen. Here, both characters look pretty much identical. It wasn’t until later that they would receive their defining characteristics — Chip’s small black nose and Dale’s distinguishing big red nose, unkempt hair and exposed, separated teeth. But those aren’t the only traits that set these two apart. Each has a very distinct personality. Chip tends to be the more logical of the two and Dale is usually portrayed as a bit dim-witted. Private Pluto also marked the first of many more shorts to come where Pluto comes face-to-face with these two rambunctious chipmunks.
