First cartoon in which Mickey Mouse has eyes with pupils (altough storyboard sketches, as well as the theatrical release poster, still used his original design). The new design was made for The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which was produced first but shelved for inclusion in Fantasia (1940). Also features shading on Mickey's cheeks and Pluto's body, additions too expensive to use again.
Walt Disney was filmed recording Mickey's voice as reference for the animators. During the session, Disney held his hand out, palm down, on the line "I'm Mickey Mouse. You know, Mickey Mouse?" estimating how tall he thought Mickey was. The gesture was incorporated into the animation. Walt wore his felt hat for this performance. Walt was very enthusiastic when he'd talk about a Cartoon he would ask his team to work on, often moving and acting the character's personalities and mannerisms. When he described "The Pointer" from 1939 he would physically emulate how Mickey would act when facing a bear. The Animation team found him "so funny acting out [his] confusion that [they] asked if [they] could shoot a film of him as he recorded the lines." Disney reluctantly agreed, but only if the camera was far away and without the animators looking like they were staring at him, as he was understandably embarrassed. The camera was so far away that Disney was reduced to a tiny figure on film, but his performance, dressed in baggy clothes and his felt hat, was strong enough to use as a good reference for the Cartoon's scene. Notably, when Disney was on stage, he instinctively indicated with his hand that Mickey Mouse was the size of a small child. Disney refused to ever repeat the experience, and when the Animators tried to look for the footage film years later, it was gone, without explanation. To this day, it is still lost.
Lee Millar voiced Pluto in "The Pointer" from 1939 instead of Pinto Colvig, because of his departure from the studio due to his falling out with Walt Disney.
"The Pointer" from 1939 was put on the list of "Other Great Cartoons" and was nominated for the main list of the "50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals", a book by Jerry Beck from 1994.
The second official voice Actor for Mickey Mouse, James MacDonald, after Walt Disney, voiced the bear in "The Pointer" from 1939.