Bone Trouble
title: "Bone Trouble" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1940s-disney-animated-short-films", "american-animated-short-films", "animated-films-without-speech", "films-directed-by-jack-kinney", "films-produced-by-walt-disney", "films-scored-by-oliver-wallace", "films-with-screenplays-by-carl-barks", "pluto-(disney)-short-films", "rko-pictures-animated-short-films", "1940-animated-short-films", "1940-american-animated-short-films"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_Trouble" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Bone Trouble |
| image | Bone Trouble.jpg |
| caption | Promotional poster |
| director | Jack Kinney |
| producer | Walt Disney |
| music | Oliver Wallace |
| story | Carl Barks |
| animator | John Lounsbery |
| Reuben Timmins | |
| Norm Ferguson | |
| Jack Gayek | |
| Art Fitzpatrick | |
| starring | Lee Millar |
| Clarence Nash | |
| studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| distributor | RKO Radio Pictures |
| released | |
| color_process | Technicolor |
| runtime | 8:44 |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| :: |
| name = Bone Trouble | image = Bone Trouble.jpg | caption = Promotional poster | director = Jack Kinney | producer = Walt Disney | music = Oliver Wallace | story = Carl Barks | animator = John Lounsbery Reuben Timmins Norm Ferguson Jack Gayek Art Fitzpatrick | starring = Lee Millar Clarence Nash | studio = Walt Disney Productions | distributor = RKO Radio Pictures | released = | color_process = Technicolor | runtime = 8:44 | country = United States | language = English
Bone Trouble is a 1940 animated short produced by Walt Disney, and directed by Jack Kinney. It stars Pluto and Butch the Bulldog, in the latter's first appearance.
Plot
The short begins with Pluto waking up in his dog house. Pluto is hungry, but birds have eaten his dish. He hears snoring over the nextdoor fence. Butch the Bulldog, who is sleeping nearby, has a bone which Pluto attempts to steal without awakening him. Pluto has to sneak past trees and tires to reach to the bone. After a couple of attempts, he successfully steals it. Before Pluto can enjoy the bone, an angry Butch shows up, having awoken some time before. A surprised Pluto takes the bone and Butch chases him.
Butch chases Pluto through town and into a deserted carnival. During the chase, they pass over posters of a strongman and belly dancer. They go through the Tunnel of Love ride where Pluto reverses the chase. Butch loses sight of Pluto when Pluto goes into a hall of mirrors. In each mirror, Pluto sees a reflection of himself shaped like a different animal. Pluto has fun with the mirrors until he sees Butch again. Pluto takes advantage of one set of mirrors to successfully scare Butch off. He winks at his reflections and goes off with the bone.
Production
The story was written by Carl Barks, who was soon to become a prolific and popular Disney comics artist and writer. This story partly inspired Barks' first Disney comics story, Pluto Saves the Ship, in 1942.
Cast
- Lee Millar as Pluto
- Clarence Nash as Butch
Releases
- 1940 – theatrical release
Home media
The short was released on December 7, 2004, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Complete Pluto: 1930–1947. It was released to Disney+ between September 5 and 8, 2023.
Additional releases include:
- 2002 – Old Yeller DVD
References
References
- Lenburg, Jeff. (1999). "The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons". Checkmark Books.
- (January 2024). "Bone Trouble (1940) – Pluto Theatrical Cartoon Series".
- Andrae, Thomas. (2006). "Carl Barks and the Disney Comic Book: Unmasking the Myth of Modernity". University Press of Mississippi.
- "The Complete Pluto Volume 1 DVD Review".
- The D23 Team. (June 19, 2023). "Disney+ to Debut 28 Restored Classic Walt Disney Animation Studios Shorts". D23.
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