In the early days of cinema's cartoon animation, the artists were the ones who were tasked with coming up with the storylines. In May 1933's "Three Little Pigs," Walt Disney revolutionized animation production with the premise that drawers weren't necessarily the greatest storytellers. He and his creative team devised a new way of assembling more brilliant cartoons. Under a director overseeing each project, a team of writers were assigned scripting the plot and the dialogue. The scripts were accompanied by storyboards, visually detailing each sequence in the cartoon. Once approval was given, largely from Walt himself, the director and writers then worked with the animators who were responsible for drawing, frame-by-frame, the actual cartoon.
As part of the 'Silly Symphony' series, "Three Little Pigs" was greeted by an enthusiastic audience when it first played at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Because of its popularity, the eight-minute Technicolor film continued its extended run in theaters far longer than normal cartoons-sometimes even longer than the most popular Hollywood feature films. "Three Little Pigs" is the most financially successful short cartoon in the history of cinema, raking in over a quarter of a million dollars for a cost of only $22,000.
The designers of "Three Little Pigs" gave the lookalike pigs distinctive personalities-a first in animation. Fifer Pig and Fiddler Pig are similar with their flimsily built home and their lazy habits, playing music most of the time. On the other hand, Practical Pig is the hard-working, industrialist pig, building and fortifying his strong, brick house and informing his two friends he "has no chance to sing and dance 'cause work and play don't mix." The song, "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?" composed by Frank Churchill, is heard while the Practical Pig is sweating over his brick and mortar. The tune became a best selling hit, and served as an uplifting anthem for the economically depressed during the Great Depression. Its lyrics also bolstered those who defied Adolf Hitler while the dictator was taking Germany into a dark place. Playwright Edward Albee said he titled his 1963 play 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" after he saw the phrase written in soap on a mirror. He felt its words reflected those 'who are afraid of living life without false illusions."
Because of its historical influence on animation, "Three Little Pigs" was voted eleventh of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of All-Time. The Academy's members named it the winner of Best Animated Short film of 1933, the second year in a row Disney won for his "Silly Symphony" series, the first being "Flowers and Trees." Because of its success, Disney produced three additional three-pig cartoons. But none had the drawing power as the original one. Walt just shrugged his shoulders on the mediocre returns of the two sequels with the realization that 'You can't top pigs with pigs."
As part of the 'Silly Symphony' series, "Three Little Pigs" was greeted by an enthusiastic audience when it first played at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Because of its popularity, the eight-minute Technicolor film continued its extended run in theaters far longer than normal cartoons-sometimes even longer than the most popular Hollywood feature films. "Three Little Pigs" is the most financially successful short cartoon in the history of cinema, raking in over a quarter of a million dollars for a cost of only $22,000.
The designers of "Three Little Pigs" gave the lookalike pigs distinctive personalities-a first in animation. Fifer Pig and Fiddler Pig are similar with their flimsily built home and their lazy habits, playing music most of the time. On the other hand, Practical Pig is the hard-working, industrialist pig, building and fortifying his strong, brick house and informing his two friends he "has no chance to sing and dance 'cause work and play don't mix." The song, "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?" composed by Frank Churchill, is heard while the Practical Pig is sweating over his brick and mortar. The tune became a best selling hit, and served as an uplifting anthem for the economically depressed during the Great Depression. Its lyrics also bolstered those who defied Adolf Hitler while the dictator was taking Germany into a dark place. Playwright Edward Albee said he titled his 1963 play 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" after he saw the phrase written in soap on a mirror. He felt its words reflected those 'who are afraid of living life without false illusions."
Because of its historical influence on animation, "Three Little Pigs" was voted eleventh of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of All-Time. The Academy's members named it the winner of Best Animated Short film of 1933, the second year in a row Disney won for his "Silly Symphony" series, the first being "Flowers and Trees." Because of its success, Disney produced three additional three-pig cartoons. But none had the drawing power as the original one. Walt just shrugged his shoulders on the mediocre returns of the two sequels with the realization that 'You can't top pigs with pigs."