Three Little Pigs

You know the basic story, the practical hardworking pig builds his house with bricks and mortar; one lazy buddy uses sticks and the other uses straw. Then when the time comes to keep out the Big Bad Wolf everyone heads to the brick house. It's an old fable and Disney wisely altered the original story where the wolf eats the two lazy pigs and is eaten by the remaining pig after falling into boiling water.

"The Three Little Pigs" was the 36th cartoon in Disney's "Silly Symphony" series and came just a year after "Flowers and Trees" forever changed the animation industry by introducing the first Technicolor cartoon. Technicolor was a process where three separate negatives (each a primary color) were combined to produce a color print. It took a while to perfect it for live action so it was first utilized for animation.

"The Three Little Pigs" was the most popular cartoon in history, on many theater marquees it was billed above the feature film. Disney had a two year exclusive on the use of the Technicolor process and had one animator work on giving each pig a distinct personality while another animator created the wolf. Frank Churchill wrote the "Big Bad Wolf" song, which unexpectedly became a monster hit-Disney's first published song. The wolf at the door was considered the symbol of the Depression and the song became a national rallying cry.

Disney would follow it up with three other attempts: "The Big Bad Wolf", "Three Little Wolves", and "The Practical Pig". None were nearly as successful as the original and Walt is said to have repeatedly stated: "You can't top pigs with pigs."

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Well, to start with, what do you say about a cartoon that somehow got its way into The Shining? Well, it's that damn iconic, simply put. I first saw this short many years back, so long ago it was when the Disney channel played, from time to time, 1930s and 40s Disney cartoons at certain times of the morning or day (when kids were at school so, you know, on sick days and such). It stuck with me for the simple reason that, hey, it's the 3 Little Pigs, what kid doesn't know the basic gist of it? The Big Bad Wolf will come to the door, you got to know how to defend against him from getting in.

"Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin," being one of those lines. But what's so much fun about the short, why I can remember it (and them, there was more than one short I think) was that it kept the song catchy throughout, the animated characters had strong, direct personalities, and I actually felt some danger for those little animated pigs from the Wolf. It's colorful, it's funny, it's a little terrifying in the strange way that a 30s cartoon can get in little moments, and it has persevered due to its message for young and old alike of facing against the odds and the "Big Other" that might try to come down. It's great to find out that the term 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf' was used as a line of optimism in the Depression too.

Academy Award-winning Disney short that brings to life the timeless fairy tale of the three little pigs who, as we all know, live in houses made of straw, sticks, and brick. The Big Bad Wolf comes by and does his thing, huffing and puffing. You know what happens next but it's still very entertaining to watch it unfold. It's a wonderful cartoon that was very popular with the Depression-era audience that first saw it and still holds up quite well today. Who doesn't love the classic song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" It's a beautiful-looking cartoon with rich colors and fluid animation. The voice work is terrific and the music score is delightful. It's the premier version of the three little pigs tale, which has been told in countless cartoons over the years. It's a fun short that everybody should see at least once, preferably when they're still young enough to truly appreciate its simple charms.

One of the most enduring of animated classics is Walt Disney's Three Little Pigs, taken from the old fairy tale about three juvenile little oinkers, only one of whom meets the challenge of the Big Bad Wolf.

Coming out as it did in 1933 it's both a metaphor for the Great Depression, the consequence of no financial planning for a rainy day and the steps we must take to reform the system as the New Deal attempted to do. A lot of people thought the same way as the Three Little Pigs did in poopooing the notion of a Big Bad Wolf, but only Practical Pig took practical steps in building his house of bricks so the wolf was kept from his door.

In Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse became the first of Walt Disney's animated creations, but in Three Little Pigs, the first of many songs identified with the Magic Kingdom was written and has certainly endured. Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf is probably sung by so many parents to their children in reciting this tale that they probably think it came with the fairy tale. It probably was what won Disney his Oscar for Best Short Subject for the cartoon.

It was a mega-hit during the Depression, not an easy thing when people weren't buying records. I happen to have a rollicking version by Thirties band-leader and entertainer Ben Bernie of the Frank Churchill- Ted Sears classic. It's still quite a hoot.

And as a lesson in planning ahead, Three Little Pigs for children and former children can't be beat.

I've seen the second version with the Wolf dressing as a fairy but it is in Japanese and was a gift from my in-laws (my wife is Japanese) to my daughter. It's weird in that it combines the stories of the three little pigs with Little Red Riding Hood with the practical Pig coming to Riding Hood's rescue. This version doesn't have the Jewish Peddler sequence in it. I recently rented another video version which sounds like the one most viewers are commenting on as it does not have the Red Riding Hood sequence. The animation, colour, are excellent and the Wolf is terrifying even as an adult. Something about how Disney drew predators in these early films is extremely effective even today.