Schweinepolka

Pigs in a Polka (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This Looney Tunes short takes the Three Little Pigs story and sets it to classical music.

Yeah, the additional of classical music is really the only thing that separates this from the countless other versions of the story. The Disney version is without a doubt the best that has ever been done and this one here really can't compete with it. With that said, the idea of having the story set to classical music was a rather clever idea but I just don't think it really paid off in regards to entertainment. This is far from a bad movie but at the same time there's really nothing good here or anything that would make you want to watch this over the more traditional versions.

Set to classical music, this is a retelling of the story of three little pigs who each go off and build their houses out of different types of material, only to each be set upon by a wolf who wants to `eat them all up'.

The film opens with a different and amusing little pre-story introduction by the wolf, but the rest of the film fails totally to live up to any early promise. The plot is, of course, the three little pigs but set in time to a piece of well known classical music. The film could be seen as a brave attempt to bring classic music to the masses, but it doesn't really work because the cartoon isn't good enough to reach `the masses'.

The immediate lack of good characters is a problem. The pigs are overly cute and speak with a horrid little squeaky voice. The wolf is OK but doesn't really say very much and doesn't impose his character onto the film – a shame, he is the most interesting one of the bunch.

A bigger problem is that the film isn't funny. Instead of coming up with jokes, the makers seem to have put all their energy into making the action match the music, than making the action funny in it's own right. The end result is the film constantly altering it's pace in time with the music, occasionally it's amusing but it is never consistent.

Overall this is a good attempt to bring classic music into a popular medium but it doesn't really work at all. The characters are no good and the action is more tailored to fit the music rather than generate laughs.

"This is our interpretation of the familiar tale of 'The Big Bad Wolf And The Three Little Pigs.'" An announcer is telling this to an audience, of which we are privy. He adds this story "is set to the delightful music of Joann Brahm's 'Hungarian Dances.'"

So that's what we get: this fairy tale set to music. The announcer, butchering Brahms' name, is funny, but not a lot of other things are in here. In fact, that might be it. What you mainly have here is a cartoon in which the actions of the people, from walking to dancing and prancing to the wolf chasing the pigs all is set to the music.

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer humor in my cartoons. This was not something I'd watch again.

Once again, the two shortsighted pigs manage to survive, only with the help of their smart and thoughtful brother. After the wolf announced what was going to happen, I expected him to be sitting down with a plate full of pork chops, the third brother watching from a distance. It is a well done but weak story. However, the animation is excellent. It is colorful and full of action.

I remember that I first heard Johannes Brahms's "Hungarian Dances" in "The Great Dictator", when Charlie Chaplin is shaving the guy to the tune of that song. For "Pigs in a Polka", the Termite Terrace crowd continues its tradition of mixing classical music with wacky images, and they do a great job with it. OK, so "Three Little Pigs" is one of the easiest stories to spoof (they later applied music to it again with "Three Little Bops"), but how can you not like how the cartoon came out here? Probably the most eye-opening aspect is how, far from being a triad of warm, cuddly brothers, the pigs have some conflicts. The smartest one - who built his house out of bricks - doesn't like how his siblings take an irresponsible attitude towards everything.

Among other things, we have to remember that these cartoons were not created for children. What they portray requires some knowledge of world history and culture. As it is, I've long considered it honorable that these cartoons could teach children about classical music (much like "What's Opera, Doc?" could).

All in all, a very enjoyable cartoon short.