Release Date:

January 5, 1957

Main Character(s):

None

Summary:

The Three Little Pigs are a hot jazz band whose respective houses are nightclubs they own. The Big Bad Wolf wants to play trumpet in their band, but he’s terrible at it. Every time he gets rejected, he blows the houses down with his trumpet.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1429 and was released as a Looney Tune.

With this being the first cartoon of 1957, it shows that this was going to be a very special year for Warner cartoons. Each of the directors also did something significant that year: McKimson would bring back Taz as a recurring character, Jones would release “What’s Opera Doc”, and Freleng not only released this one, but also won the Oscar for “Birds Anonymous” and released another masterpiece, “Show Biz Bugs”.

Stan Freberg does all the voices here and is also credited for it, marking the first and one of only two times until the early 1960’s where a voice actor other than Mel Blanc would get screen credit on a Warner cartoon (the other is McKimson’s “The Mouse That Jack Built” from 1959).

Freberg is not only a guest on Jerry Beck’s commentary for this cartoon on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 DVD set but that set also features a special feature of Freberg’s voice recordings for this cartoon.

The music in this one is provided by jazz musician Shorty Rogers.

This is the second of Freleng’s two “Three Little Pigs” parodies with the first being “Pigs in a Polka”. While that one was centered on classical music, this one is on jazz.

The credits are presented before the title card.

This is the last cartoon where Irv Wyner is credited, although he would do the backgrounds for Freleng’s next three cartoons (“Tweet Zoo”, “Tweety and the Beanstalk”, and “Piker’s Peak”).

The cartoon is in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

The cartoon was included in the 1981 compilation movie, “The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie”.

Gerry Chiniquy and then-assistant animator Bob Matz (who would become a fully-fledged animator in the 1960’s) are the only animators on this cartoon.

The pigs and wolf from this cartoon are among the numerous characters in the bleachers during the basketball game in “Space Jam”.

All of the dialogue in this cartoon is sung with the exception of the crowd shouting in unison, “Stop the music! Throw the square out!” (everything that is not sung by the narrator, I will point out, of course).

The cartoon was considered for an Academy Award but was inexplicably not even nominated.

It’s never implied which pig owns what house, but they are identified by their instruments. One plays piano, one plays guitar (and a saxophone in the shot where they are first seen), and one plays drums (and also bass in one scene- the same type as the one Pig Pen plays in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”).

The cartoon features no “That’s all Folks!” end card, just a standard, plain “The End” card.

Favorite Scene:

The wolf’s attempts of getting into the House of Bricks via various disguises.

What Happens in This One:

“Remember the story of the Three Little Pigs. One played a pipe while the others danced jigs. The Three Little Pigs are still around but they’re playing music with a modern sound”. They are playing their instruments at the nightclub, “The House of Straw”. “The Three Little Pigs were in the groove. Everything was running smooth. The Pigs were due for a big surprise, for the wolf appeared with red-rimmed eyes”. The wolf comes dancing in and singing, “Ooh, ya cool! Ooh, ya cool! Ooh, ya cool, man, cool!” (animated by Gerry Chiniquy)

“Well, to show he was friendly, he shook their hand. Announced he was joining up with the band. Instead of starting an argument, a one and a two and away they went!” When the wolf plays his trumpet, his playing is very poor (animated by Chiniquy). “The Three Little Pigs were really gassed. They’d never heard such a corny blast!” The pianist pig draws a square in the air to describe the wolf, which the other two agree with. Drummer Pig: “We’ve played in the west!” Pianist Pig: “We’ve played in the east!” Guitarist Pig: “We’ve heard the most (animated by Bob Matz), but you’re the least!” They pick the wolf up and run with him to the emergency exit, throwing him out that way (animated by Chiniquy).

“Well, the Big Bad Wolf was really mad. He wanted to play music and he wanted to play bad!” (animated by Chiniquy) Failing to break the doors down in the middle of these lines, the wolf sings, “They stopped me before I could go to town, so I’ll huff and puff and blow their house down!” (animated by Matz) With two trumpet blasts, he does exactly that (animated by Chiniquy), with the interior still intact but now with no exterior (animated by Matz).

“The House of Straw was blown away. The Pigs had to find another place to play. The Dew Drop Inn- House of Sticks. The Three Little Pigs were giving out licks!” (animated by Chiniquy) “Well, the piano-playing pig was swinging like a gate! Doing Liberace on an 88!” The pianist pig then does an imitation of Liberace, “I wish my brother George was here!” before he resumes playing (animated by Matz). “The Three Little Pigs were having a ball when the Big Bad Wolf, he entered the hall!” “The Big Bad Wolf, he sat right down!” Wolf: “Come on, cats, we’re going to town!” The Pigs are visibly annoyed to see him back, but resume playing. The wolf’s trumpet-playing again sounds very distorted. “From the crowd came an angry shout!” Crowd: “Stop the music! Throw the square out!” (animated by Chiniquy with Matz animating the shots of the crowd)

The Pigs again throw the wolf out the back which is labeled “This Way Out”. “The Big Bad Wolf was really sore” (animated by Chiniquy). Wolf: “If they’re gonna get tough, I’ll give ‘em more! They don’t know talent in this here town; I’ll huff and puff and blow the place down!” (animated by Matz) With a single long blast, he succeeds (animated by Chiniquy). “The Dew Drop Inn did drop down! The Three Little Pigs crawled out of the rubble”. Guitarist Pig: “This Big Bad Wolf gives us nothing but trouble!” Pianist Pig: “So we won’t be bothered by his windy tricks-” Drummer Pig: “The next place we play must be made of bricks!” (animated by Matz)

“Sturdy place, this House of Bricks (animated by Chiniquy); built in 1776; high-class place with a high-class crowd; sign on the door: No Wolves Allowed” (animated by Matz). The wolf lifts up this sign and looks into the opening behind the sign, only to get punched in the snout by a waiter. “The wolf was sore and fit to be tied. He was sworn and determined to get inside”. He attempts to use a battering ram to break the door down only for the end he tries to break it down with to become flattened upon impact. “He huffed and puffed at the House of Bricks but bricks are stronger than straw or sticks. He huffed and puffed and bleeped and blooped, then at 10:00 was completely pooped. When all of a sudden came a ray of hope!” (animated by Chiniquy) Wolf: “I could disguise myself! Boy! What a dope!” (animated by Matz)

Everyone in the House of Bricks is dancing to the Pigs’ jazz playing. The Wolf then comes in wearing a fur coat from the check room and dancing to “Charleston” while playing it on the ukulele (animated by Chiniquy). The pianist pig throws a banana peel towards him (animated by Matz), causing the wolf to slide out the exit while uncontrollably strumming a lot faster. With the wolf gone, everyone resumes dancing. “Well, the Big Bad Wolf took it all in stride. He figured out another way to get inside”. He sneaks in hidden in a large potted plant and pops out of it to play his trumpet (animated by Chiniquy). The drummer pig uses the strings on his bass to launch a plunger (animated by Matz) at the wolf, sending him flying backwards at the door and muffling his playing. The wolf then comes back in dressed as a member of a marching band with a large drum while playing “Don’t Give Up the Ship” (animated by Chiniquy). The drummer pig throws a dart (animated by Matz) at the wolf’s drum which deflates it and causes the wolf to play it distorted as he retreats back out the door. The pianist pig then locks this door (animated by Chiniquy).

The wolf is fed up so he decides to use TNT, “I’ll show those pigs that I’m not stuck! If I can’t blow it down, I’ll blow it UP!” The pianist pig lifts up the “No Wolves Allowed” sign to blow out the fuse on the TNT. The wolf then runs off a further distance and re-lights the TNT from there and runs up to the door with it lit, only for it to explode before he can get there. “Well, the Big Bad Wolf was really gone, and with him went his corny horn. Went out of this world without a trace. Didn't go to heaven; was the other place”. In Hades, the wolf’s red ghostly spirit is seen in a boiling pot playing his trumpet but playing it a lot better (animated by Chiniquy). The Pigs here it from below as the pianist pig declares, “The Big Bad Wolf, he learned the rule! Ya gotta get hot to play real cool!” (animated by Matz) They resume playing with the wolf’s spirit rising up and playing his trumpet with them with no issue. After the pigs and wolf finish the final notes (animated by Chiniquy), the pianist pig replaces the band’s sign with “The Three Little Bops Plus One”, with them finally accepting the wolf into the band (animated by Matz)

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕