THE THREE LITTLE PIGS (1933)

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
Directed by Burt Gillett

“The Three Little Pigs” is one of the most classic Disney Short films. Who didn't see this film in grade school when they were young? I just re-watched this movie and I've found that it still holds up. I like it just as much now as I did when I was in first grade. This is truly a timeless film, and it is one that will hopefully be around for many generations, entertaining children for years to come.

The story, in case there is anyone who doesn't know it, is about three pigs who are building houses. Two of the pigs don't like to work and decided to quickly build their houses out of straw and sticks. The third pig is more studious. He has a sense of responsibility, and he takes the extra time to build his house out of bricks. When the big, bad wolf comes to attack the pigs, the first two discover the downside to cutting corners and must run to their brother in the brick house for shelter.

There are so many things about this film to recommend that it's hard to pin down a few to talk about. However, the music is a very major part. The song 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf' is a Disney classic and it actually became an anthem of the people, who sang it to ward off fears about the Great Depression. I still find myself humming it when I'm a little nervous about something.

The animation is key too. This was the first cartoon to be fully storyboarded. Before this film, cartoons were made from brief sketches describing the feel of a scene. The result of this new process of writing and directing animated shorts was more fully developed stories and much more clever animation. There were lots of little gems in this film that the casual watcher might not catch on first viewing. For example, in one pig's house are portraits of his mother and father. The mother is a large sow feeding several piglets and the father is several links of sausage. I had never noticed that before, and I have seen this film several times.

“The Three Little Pigs” won the Oscar for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) in the 1932/33 awards ceremony. The other nominees were “Building a Building” and “The Merry Old Soul”.

This review was written on June 3, 2008