Three Little Pigs

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.

Three Little Pigs (1933)

**** (out of 4)

Disney's adaptation of the Grimm fairly tale is certainly one of the highlights of their early animated films. The story is pretty simple as three pigs are building a house. The two who builds it out of straw and sticks are free to play around more but the one building with brick has to work even harder. The two lazy pigs think it's quite funny until a wolf shows up and their lack of work comes back to haunt them.

THREE LITTLE PIGS is certainly one of the best animated shorts from this era of Disney and it's amazing when you think of the fact that when people think of the story, their ideas come from this short and not the Grimm tale. That says quite a bit because the story itself was quite popular before this short but ever since it was released people think of this short when the idea of three little pigs come along. The animation is as great as you'd expect and there's no question that there's a certain flow in the story that just makes it irresistible. Fans of Disney and animation will certainly love and remember this one.

Three Little Pigs is a cheerful, fun and lovable little classic that I have loved ever since I was a child. While the pacing is a tad too quick in places it is still hugely enjoyable for a number of reasons.

When I was little, I marvelled at how good the animation was for its time. From a 17 year old perspective it is still very very good, with colourful backgrounds and beautiful colours.

I also remembered singing along to the song Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? That song has to be one of the most memorable songs ever in a Silly Symphony, it is ever so catchy and easy to sing along to.

The dialogue is great. The Big Bad Wolf has some classic lines, but I think the best of them come from Fifer and Fiddler. There is one funny part when the Wolf dresses up in the sheepskin, the dialogue Fifer and Fiddler say cracks me up every time.

The Wolf, like the Three Little Pigs, is a truly memorable character. Sinister and rapacious, he did scare me when I was little, not so much now but the animation and voice work is wonderfully impressive even by today's standards. I do think the Wolf from Peter and the Wolf is scarier, me and sister haven't got over how scared we used to be of him.

The voice work is excellent. Billy Bletcher is perfect as the Big Bad Wolf and Walt Disney I recognised immediately from his voicing of Mickey in cartoons like Boat Builders and Mickey's Good Deed. Pinto Colvig, the original voice of Goofy, also does a stellar job.

Overall, hugely enjoyable childhood favourite. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

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.

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.