The Big Bad Wolf

This film is a follow-up to Disney's enormously successful short "The Three Little Pigs". Since the film won the Oscar and was adored by audiences, it's not at all surprising that the company would bring back these characters.

The plot of "The Big Bad Wolf" is an odd mash-up--mixing the story of "Little Red Riding Hood" with "The Three Little Pigs". When the film begins, Red is on her way to Grandma's house and she stops by to see her friends the Pigs. Unfortunately, the two dumb pigs from the previous film are STILL very stupid and they advise Red to take the shortcut through the dangerous forest. They vow to protect Red in case the Wolf shows--and when he does, they are no help whatsoever. So, it's up to the industrious brother to come to their rescue--with predictable results.

While the film clearly lacks the originality and charm of the first film, it is a worthy follow-up and worth seeing.

I love Three Little Pigs, it is a childhood favourite with an irresistibly catchy title song. The Big Bad Wolf is a solid if slightly inferior sequel to Three Little Pigs. Compared to Three Little Pigs, it isn't exactly funny and not much happens until the Wolf gets to the grandmother's cottage. Also while Little Red Riding Hood is cute as a button and like a doll in appearance, I did notice her mouth was too stiff and puckered up at times. That said though, the animation was great, and the irresistibly catchy title theme is back and not irritating surprisingly. The Three Pigs are entertaining and The Wolf delights as the "villain of the piece". Also impressive are the vocal talents, the standout being Billy Bletcher as the Wolf. Overall, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is a Disney retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood story. It is a sequel to the famous Three Little Pigs short they made a year earlier (Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?). In it, Little Red Riding Hood is trying to get to her grandmother's house, and the two irresponsible little pigs offer to walk her through the woods, although their older brother, the practical pig, warns them to go the long route to avoid the wolf. The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf would appear in two more sequels, The Three Little Wolves and The Practical Pig, which are quite better than this one. 7/10.

The Big Bad Wolf (1934)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Sequel to THREE LITTLE PIGS isn't quite as good but this is certainly still a charmer. The hard working pig is building a bigger brick house while the two lazier ones just play around. Little Red Riding Hood stops by to ask for directions and she decides to take the short cut through the woods even though she was warned. We all know what happens next. This is certainly a charming little gem from Disney who certainly knew how to handle these subjects without any problem. I thought the way the two stories were combined were quite clever and this was especially true during the introduction scene where we see that the two lazy pigs didn't learn their lesson. The animation is certainly some of the best that you're going to see from this period and I will also add that popcorn has never had a better impact in any film than it does right here.

The next short film on Disney Plus is "The Big Bad Wolf" one of the Silly Symphonies from 1934, whilst it's not exactly a laugh riot, it's charming enough to win me over.

Little Red Riding Hood (Sara Berner) is heading to see her grandmother. She's joined on an ill-advised short cut through the woods, by two of the three little pigs. They encounter The Big Bad Wolf (Billy Bletcher) but manage to escape. The Wold beats them to Grandma's house and, having trapped her in a closet, gets in bed disguised as her. The two pigs get back to their third brother, who decides that it falls to him to save Hood.

I understand, from the other reviews, that this is supposed to be a follow up to "The Three Little Pigs" which, given that I'm going through these in alphabetical order, I haven't come to yet. I don't think the context was lost on me though, as it's essentially just an animated version of the classic fairy tale.

Given that It's coming up on being a century old it's obviously understandable that it's pretty basic, both in terms of animation loops and backgrounds. That in and of itself is a pretty charming and it hard not to watch the short with a warm smile on your face. Admittedly, it's not funny, barely converting that smile to a giggle until the final moments of slapstick violence.

Hard not to appreciate, if maybe not quite adore.