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Pigs in a Polka

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Pigs in a Polka is a 1943 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.

Title[]

The title is a play on the expression "pigs in a poke," substituting "poke" with "polka," a genre of dance music.

Plot[]

Three pigs build their own houses. The first pig erects a wire structure, then quickly thatches hay over the structure for the house. The second pig uses hundreds of matches to make his house. The third pig goes through the tedious task of laying bricks for his house.

After the first two pigs have quickly finished their houses, they start dancing around and laughing with each other. The wolf dresses as a gypsy and temporarily fools the pigs, but soon drops the disguise and chases them to their respective houses. With the straw house, the wolf uses a lit match to burn the house, and with the match house, he drops a solitary match on the roof, causing the house to collapse. He tries to destroy the brick house by trying to knock down the door, as well as huffing and puffing and trying to blow the house down, but he fails at this attempt.

Once the first two pigs join the third pig in his brick house, the wolf again dresses up, this time as a homeless woman playing a violin while it's snowing outside. The 'snow' is actually talcum powder held above the wolf's head on a stick. The first two pigs have pity on the wolf, and despite the third pig blocking the door, the two other pigs let the wolf in. When the wolf continues to play the violin, the third pig sees that the wolf has a record player hidden behind him. The third pig switches to the other side of the record, putting on a fast-paced dance. The wolf dances to this new tune but loses his costume as a result. The wolf then chases the pigs up to the second floor of the house. The pigs make their escape in an elevator, but when the wolf tries to use the elevator, he drops into an empty shaft and falls at the feet of the pigs.

Music Cues[]

  • Johannes Brahms - "Hungarian Dance No.7" - plays over the opening credits and the opening scene.[7][8]
  • Johannes Brahms - "Hungarian Dance No.5" - plays throughout the picture.
  • Johannes Brahms - "Hungarian Dance No.6" - plays throughout the picture.
  • Johannes Brahms - "Hungarian Dance No.17" - plays when the wolf is disguised as a homeless woman.

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Notes[]

  • Friz Freleng would create another musical-based parody of the classic Three Little Pigs story later in 1957 as "Three Little Bops", where unlike this cartoon, which is based on classical music, Three Little Bops is based on hip jazz music.
  • "Lusterine Mouthwash" is a parody of Listerine mouthwash.
  • Short clips from this cartoon appear in the opening credits of the Futurama episode "Mars University", in the Everybody Hates Chris episode "Everybody Hates Gretzky", and in the movie Training Day.
  • Production cels of the original title card and credits card were revealed on Facebook in 2021. They were stored at the University of Wyoming under Michael Maltese.[9]
  • It was nominated for the 1943 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, but lost to the Disney cartoon "Der Fuehrer's Face".[10]
  • The familiar story of the Three Little Pigs is set in this film to several of Brahms' "Hungarian Dances", specifically No.5, No.7, No.6 and No.17 which appear in that order. It is also part of a light-hearted, culturally subversive Merrie Melodies running joke.
  • This cartoon entered the public domain in 1971 after United Artists failed to renew its copyright in time.
  • Vitaphone release number: 1100

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ā†‘ (1989) Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, page 137. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2. 
  2. ā†‘ McCall, Douglas L. (1998). Film Cartoons: A Guide to 20th Century American Animated Features and Shorts. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, page 180. ISBN 978-0786405848. 
  3. ā†‘ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10165808603900578
  4. ā†‘ https://blueribbonblues.neocities.org/gallery
  5. ā†‘ https://likelylooneymostlymerrie.blogspot.com/2016/01/394-pigs-in-polka-1943.html
  6. ā†‘ https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2012/02/three-pigs-three-gags.html
  7. ā†‘ https://www.patreon.com/posts/whats-score-81644429
  8. ā†‘ Goldmark, Daniel (2005). "Notes to Pages 109-12", Tunes for 'Toons: Music and the Hollywood Cartoon (in en). University of California Press, page 189. ISBN 978-0520253117. 
  9. ā†‘ https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/lost-warner-bros-original-titles/
  10. ā†‘ https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1943


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