Pluto's primitive nature as a regular animal allowed for stories and animators to take a more creative route in various situations. The Pluto shorts here offer his adventures in the West, up in the mountains, and in the far northern reaches of the arctic. He adapts easily to each locale, but most frequently can be found in a backyard or walking the sidewalks of a nice suburban town. We're led to assume that Pluto's doghouse resides in Mickey's backyard, though the iconic mouse makes few appearances in this set. Somehow, I doubt that Mickey would approve of Pluto's long stretches away from home to deliver mail in the arctic or live in the mountains. Then again, in his cartoons, Mickey's place of residence often varied (a trailer, a house, even nothing at times), and wherever Mickey went, Pluto was sure to follow. Mickey and Minnie must have joint custody of Pluto because at times he's taken up residence with her and Figaro.

What distinguishes Pluto from his anthropomorphic mouse owners is the dog's realism. Within the animated world, Pluto may be as much a canine as Goofy, but he is always presented as just the dog, offering no human qualities that characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck have. He hardly ever stands on his hind legs, rarely speaks beyond a woof, and often finds co-stars in similarly "normal" creatures such as birds, turtles, and other dogs. At the same time, though, Pluto shares many human qualities with Mickey and Donald. He possesses an intelligent mind and can learn from examples and mimicry. Unlike other dogs, Pluto can devise and scheme plans that work. While I'm sure many a dog has guarded sheep, I have yet to see one disguise himself as one in order to catch a coyote like Pluto does in Sheep Dog. Also, how often do you see a dog impress another on a tightrope the way Pluto does in Wonder Dog? On occasion, the pooch's primitive nature and animal instincts kick in, and Pluto's actions reflect those of an ordinary dog. Often he'll display strong loyalty, a natural dislike of cats, and a sense of duty to his job (be it mail carrier, guard dog, etc.). At these times, he lets out barks and woofs in lieu of words.

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Some may expect that the lack of speech would hinder the storyline possibilities for Pluto. In fact, it offers a variety of sight gags and memorable stories that help strengthen what some could consider a weakness to the character. After all, how else can Pluto show anger than to arch his eyebrows, growl, and squint his eyes? Indeed, it's a testament to an animator's creativity as to how many facial expressions can be made for one emotion. Leonard Maltin mentions how some would consider these shorts as getting stale due to the lack of dialogue, but counters that claim with his own (and this reviewer's) marvels at how much can be said without words. Some emotions, however, would become trademark to Pluto. A haughty snort would commonly follow an angry fit, almost as if he was saying, "Okay, that's it!"

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Many shorts present themselves as a Pluto versus animal-of-the-week, a setup which allows for a wide range of gags and settings. This also gave animators opportunities to use several other recurring characters

As I mentioned earlier, there are a few shorts that are Pluto-centric but are no-shows in this set. Perhaps answering complaints of needless canon division that met The Complete Pluto, Volume One, a few of Mickey Mouse's 1950s shorts that heavily featured Pluto are not presented here. I personally would have loved to have seen R'Coon Dawg (1951) and Pluto's Party (1952) included. And the seasonal favorite Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952) has turned up on DVD a few times already, but is very much a Pluto vs. Chip 'n Dale story that Pluto fans would have loved seeing in this set. Their absence, however, should not keep Pluto fans from picking up this set. After all, this is the first time we've seen many of these shorts on DVD, and their own strengths make the missing ones a minor and easily forgivable gripe.

Similar to last year's wave of Walt Disney Treasures, the DVDs are housed in a dual-width black keepcase, with a slightly smaller gatefold page that has the two discs facing each other. Thankfully, Walt Disney Treasures discs are full color, and have been excluded from this year's Transparent-Discs-R-Us Club. The silver tin returns as well, complete with three measly dabs of glue holding the cardboard backing. Inside the case are three inserts. The certificate of authenticity confirms a disturbingly low print run of 65,000 sets while also sporting reproductions of Roy E. Disney and Leonard Maltin's signatures. A collectible card reprints poster art for 1947's Rescue Dog. The one constant of all Treasures sets is the 8-page booklet, which offers the same introduction pages about Walt Disney and the Treasures, as well as Leonard Maltin's own introduction about the specific set, and a list of disc contents.

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