Los Tres Cochinitos

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.

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.

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.

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.