The Practical Pig
The Practical Pig | |
---|---|
RKO Radio Pictures | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Practical Pig is a Silly Symphony cartoon. It was released on February 24, 1939, and directed by Dick Rickard.[1][2] It was the fourth and final cartoon starring The Three Pigs.[3] Like its predecessors, The Practical Pig incorporates the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?".[4] Unlike its predecessors however, its title cards labeled it as a standalone Three Little Pigs cartoon, suggesting that they were to get their own series of cartoons. It is also the second-to-last Silly Symphony cartoon.[5]
Plot
Back at the wolves' hideout, the Three Little Wolves are about to bake Fifer and Fiddler into the oven as the two pigs tell them they'll be sorry when their father comes home. One of the wolf cubs uses pepper but the lid accidentally comes off and this causes the two pigs to sneeze so strong, the pie crust is duffed off and into the wolves splatting and trapping them against a wall. With the wolf cubs trapped, Fiddler and Fifer escape and rush back to Practical's house.
The lie detector punishes the Wolf harder and harder until he finally tells the truth, saying "They're in the old... the old mill". He is then shot out of the house with a firecracker and seemingly explodes in the sky. Practical prepares to go save his brothers when Fiddler and Fifer burst in. When Practical scolds them for defying his warning, they tell him that they didn't go swimming, at which point the lie detector springs into action, flipping them over, dropping their shorts, and gives them a spanking. When Practical tells his brothers "Remember, this hurts me worse than it does you!", the lie detector ends up interpreting what he just said as a lie and gives him a spanking as well, much to his chagrin at iris out.
Voice cast
- Principal voices
- Billy Bletcher as Zeke Midas Wolf
- Tommy Wiggins as Practical Pig
- Was later redubbed by Pinto Colvig
- Dorothy Compton as Fifer Pig
- Mary Moder as Fiddler Pig
- Additional voices
- Tom Buchanan
- Ralph Hansell
- Richard Holland
- Donald Kearin
- Leone Le Doux as Three Little Wolves
Comic adaptation
The Silly Symphony Sunday comic strip ran a three-month-long adaptation of The Practical Pig from May 1 to August 7, 1938.[6]
Reception
The Film Daily wrote: "The musical effects here heighten the comedy to howling proportions... While lacking a hit tune, this edition of the Three Pigs is a delightful bit of nonsense."[7]
Home media
The short was released on December 4, 2001 on Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics,[8] as an easter egg in the options menu of Disc 1.[5] It has also been released as a bonus feature on the British VHS edition of Dumbo.
References
- ^ "The Practical Pig". IMDb. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-3503-0.
- ^ "The Practical Pig. www.bcdb.com
- ISBN 978-0-8108-6937-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4847-5132-9.
- ISBN 978-1631408045.
- ^ "Short Subject Reviews". The Film Daily. 74 (81): 8. October 12, 1938. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ "Silly Symphonies: The Historic Musical Animated Classics DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
External links
- The Practical Pig at IMDb