Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning, once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Today's cartoon selection begins with probably the most popular and well known of Disney's Silly Symphonies, Three Little Pigs (1933). This cartoon is considered to be a breakthrough in personality animation. No less than Chuck Jones would say, "That was the first time that anybody ever brought characters to life. There were three characters, who looked alike and acted differently; the way the moved is what made them who they were. Before that in things like Steamboat Willie [1928], the villain was a big heavy guy, and the hero was a little guy; everybody moved the same. Even in the Fleischer's stuff, the basic difference between Popeye and Bluto was the size difference not the action difference." The animation of the three pigs is mostly handled by Fred Moore and Dick Lundy. Dick Lundy animated all of the dancing scenes. Jack King animated one excellent scene in which Practical Pig is playing the piano. Norm Ferguson animated the majority of the Big Bad Wolf. Art Babbitt animates only two scenes, one in which the wolf catches the pig's by their tails and one in which he falls into a boiling pot. These were some of the best Disney animators of the time and their work here perfectly shows why. This is not just a milestone for its time, but remains a hugely entertaining cartoon today, heavily because of the work of these animators. Walt Disney later remembered this film's premiere, "It caused no excitement at its Radio City premiere. In fact many critics preferred Father Noah's Ark [1933], which was released at the same time. I was told that some exhibitor's and even United Artists considered The Pigs a 'cheater' because it only had four characters in it. The picture bounced back to fame from the neighborhood theatres." Three Little Pigs would become not only a hit cartoon but a sensation with movie goers everywhere. The short also gave the Disney studio its first of many hit songs, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf (written by Frank Churchill), a song that is still instantly recognizable to Disney fans today. Time Magazine referred to the song as "the tune by which 1933 will be remembered." Despite all this Walt would later discuss the making of the cartoon stating, "It was just another story to us, and we were gaging it up just like any other picture." The following is from a 1933 issue of Modern Screen Magazine, "Here's some good news for you 'Three Little Pigs' fans: This Silly Symphony has met with such tremendous success that Walt Disney is going to feature them (plus the Big Bad Wolf) in several other Mother Goose rhymes. In other words, they're going to become regular stars like Mickey Mouse. Incidentally folks are seeing 'Three Little Pigs for the umptieth time and still enjoying it." There would only be three sequels (The Big Bad Wolf (1934), Three Little Wolves (1936) and The Practical Pig (1939)), none of which would be as successful as the first leading Walt to infamously say, "you can't top pigs with pigs." This cartoon reached the number 11 spot in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons. Before the studio embarked on Snow White (1937), silent movie queen Mary Pickford approached Walt Disney about making an Alice in Wonderland feature film where she would play a live action Alice and would enter completely animated Wonderland. Mary Pickford had great admiration for Walt Disney's work, and she was the main force driving this planned film. In early 1933, an acquaintance of Mary's named Frank Reily suggested that Mary make an adaption of Alice in Wonderland with the aid of the Disney studio. Some of Mary's associates warned her against such an expensive venture during the midst of the great depression. Mary came to visit the studio when the project and overheard from story artist Ted Sears and composer Frank Churchill about a project in the works involving three little pigs and heard the song, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. As well pitching her idea to Walt, she also told Walt, "If you don't make this cartoon about the pigs, I'll never speak to you again." Even if the proposed feature never happened, Mary was right about this cartoon short.
Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin
Mary Pickford: America's Sweetheart by Scott Eyman
Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman The 50 Greatest Cartoons Edited by Jerry Beck Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age by Michael Barrier https://mediahistoryproject.org/
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