Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color "Pets Is Pets" (partially found production material of unfinished NBC anthology series episode; 1967)

A cel set-up showing a portrait of Mickey Mouse's commencement from Pet University.

Status: Partially Found

"Pets Is Pets" (also called "Reigning Cats and Dogs") is an animated episode of the anthology series, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, that was never finished. It would have combined new animation with older Disney cartoons themed around pets.^[1]

Plot

Professor Ludwig Von Drake is the headmaster of Pet University (P.U.), where animals are the teachers because, as Von Drake believes, it's people, not pets, that need to be trained. During the show, Von Drake lectures on the history of cats, explains the trouble that comes when guinea pigs multiply, and puts a spotlight on Mickey Mouse's faithful dog, Pluto.

Featured Cartoons

The Great Cat Family ("history of cats" sequence; 1956)
Pigs Is Pigs (1954)
R'coon Dawg (1951)
Lend a Paw (1941)
All in a Nutshell (1949)

Availability

While it's a mystery if the show was completed or not, various articles and production materials have surfaced revealing that it made it to the ink-and-paint and photography stages, and was announced by NBC as one of the Disney shows that would air during 1966-67 season.

A newspaper article from January 1967 teased Disney shows that would air on the Wonderful World of Color during the ongoing season, including "Willie and the Yank", "Atta Girl, Kelly!", "Man on Wheels", "A Salute to Alaska" and "Pets Is Pets".^[2]

At least one American newspaper cited "Pets Is Pets" as airing on April 9th, 1967, but a repeat of "Joker, the Amiable Ocelot" was shown on NBC instead.^[3] In Canada, the show was listed as airing the CBC network on both March 26th and April 9th, 1967.^[4]^[5]

Recently, Heritage Auctions has offered various materials featuring artwork from "Pets Is Pets", including storyboards and cels bearing the show's production number (#3254).