Los Tres Cochinitos

When Disney did the first The Three Little Pigs, I wonder if he knew he was starting a cottage industry at the very least and The Animators Lifetime Employment Act at most. I suspect more different animators have taken a turn at the Pigs than any other characters in the history of animation. There have been military takes (Blitz Wolf), Pigs as con artists (a meeting with Bugs Bunny) and musical takes, like this one. This is one of the better uses of classical music tied to animation (the best short to do so is Rhapsody in Rivets), with the action on screen fitted to the corresponding musical scoring. This was nominated for an Oscar and periodically plays on Cartoon Network. Recommended.

'Pigs In A Polka (1943)' is a 'Merrie Melodies' short set to the tune of 'Hungarian Dance no. 5' by Johannes Brahms, with each on-screen movement timed perfectly to the classic piece of music. Its story is that of the three little pigs, and it follows that well-established narrative pretty much to a tee. Although it's amusing to see the smooth animation speed up and slow down as dictated by the score, the film lacks strong comedic gags and feels a little bit standard when it comes to its slapstick. It's not bad, by any means, but it does feel a little bit lacking when compared to the zany freneticism usually associated with 'Merrie Melodies' and 'Looney Tunes'. It's a solid short overall, however, and its animation is consistently good.

Friz Freleng's 'Pigs in a Polka' is a terrific parody of both Disney's 'Fantasia' and Disney's Oscar winning Silly Symphony 'The Three Little Pigs'. Freleng, always a dab hand at the musical cartoons, sets the Three Little Pigs story to Brahms' Hungarian Rhapsody. On first viewing, I was disappointed in the comparative lack of gags in the cartoon but I was missing the point. The humour here comes from the characters' actions and how impeccably Freleng synchs them up with the music. The cartoon really comes to life the instant the high kicking Wolf makes his appearance. From here on in, there is no dialogue whatsoever, just beautifully choreographed sequences in which the Wolf tries to gain access to the brick house of the third pig. Like the cartoon it parodies, 'Pigs in a Polka' was nominated for an Oscar but unfortunately, unlike Disney's cartoon, it did not win. While it is less well known than it should be, 'Pigs in a Polka' still retains a high level of respect in animation fan circles and its cult reputation is richly deserved. You only have to look at the superb final moments in which the Wolf falls down an elevator shaft, collapses and the iris closes on his face all in perfect time to the music, to know that 'Pigs in a Polka' is a class act.

"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.

This is a decent Looney Tunes cartoon that somehow managed to be nominated for an Oscar. While this made little sense, there was some justice in life as the wonderful DER FUEHRER'S FACE from Disney took the actual award.

I think part of the reason I am less than thrilled with this cartoon is that I couldn't help think of two main problems. One, the 1933 Disney version of the Three Pigs was a much, much better tale--with better laughs and much better animation. The story here in PIGS IN A POLKA just seemed like a copy. Two, while this is a pleasant cartoon, compared to the other toons being made by Warner Brothers at the time, this is pretty limp. I'd much rather have seen Daffy Duck or the Studio's latest creation, Bugs Bunny, instead of seeing these pigs dancing to Brahms' "Hungarian Dances".

Overall, good but far from great. If you are looking for it yourself, I suggest you buy the Looney Tunes Golden Collection and avoid the version I saw. I saw it on a DVD entitled "Cartoon Crazys: And The Envelope Please". This is a rather poor compilation of supposedly award winning and nominated films. Poor because several of the films are very lame and are NOT award nominated, the prints are rather bad and parts of some of the cartoons are missing! In the case of PIGS IN A POLKA and THE DOVER BOYS cartoons, the entire opening and closing is missing--and you'd never know they were Looney Tunes cartoons! While these cartoons both have lapsed into the public domain, clipping the cartoons like this and not acknowledging the people who made this is just plain sleazy.