15 Facts about Disney's Big Baddie Pete

Pete’s one of Mickey’s oldest frenemies, one of the longest-running heels in animation history. Created by Disney (and the dude who actually created everything Disney made, Ub Iwerks), he’s had a weird, long history running through video games — even appearing as Maleficent’s second in command in Kingdom Hearts — card games, theme parks, and all of Mickey’s movies and shows. He’s the ineffectual Bower to Mickey’s pluckier Mario. 

He’s been a family man, a businessman, a big monster, and everything in between, going from Mickey’s adversary to friend to just annoying guy who hangs around near him to Goofy’s supporting character. He is defined only by those surrounding him. His evolution is a reflection of the fear that those he is juxtaposed against fear. He’s like a chubby Dementor, a nightmare of everyone but also sometimes he just really likes bowling.

But who is the cat behind the mask? Is he a cat? That’s always seemed confusing. Why do he and Goofy get along so well?