The unnamed armadillo is Pluto's surprise friend who resembles his ball when he tries to protect himself in the 1943 animated short, Pluto and the Armadillo.
Background[]
Development[]
The armadillo featured in Pluto and the Armadillo was inspired by South American armadillos. The artists used an illustration of South American animals featuring armadillos in it while drawing a cartoon armadillo while developing a short focusing on a Pluto cartoon, which they thought the armadillo would be a perfect pal for him[1].
Appearances[]
Pluto and the Armadillo[]
The armadillo is seen hanging on a branch where the narrator mistakes him for a basket, irritating the armadillo for a while. He then zips and lands on flat ground and as he continues walking, the narrator continues describing the armadillo just before continuing his way. However, when Pluto and Mickey are playing ball, Pluto's ball accidentally hits the armadillo, which Pluto mistakes him for his ball.
Seeing two round objects, Pluto tries to discover what the unusual "ball" is to him, unaware that the "ball" is an armadillo. Pluto, however, began interacting with the armadillo, across the jungles of Brazil. The armadillo later laughs at Pluto wearing a "hat" containing plants and berries in it, much to Pluto's furious reaction as he chases him, unaware of the ball he ripped. Pluto began to think that the armadillo was "dead"; however, it turns out that it was the ball he accidentally ripped as the real armadillo emerges from his burrow playing with the armadillo. However, Mickey brings Pluto the airport with the armadillo, which Mickey reacts in shock, just as Mickey, Pluto, and the armadillo make friends together in the plane.
Other appearances[]
A walk cycle of the armadillo was featured in the featurette South of the Border with Disney where artists used illustrations of armadillos as a reference when drawing the cartoon armadillo during production of Pluto and the Armadillo, beginning a walk cycle animation of him.