The Practical Pig

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 prequels, The Practical Pig incorporates the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?".[4] Unlike its prequels however, this was labeled 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]

The Practical Pig
Directed byDick Rickard
Story byLarry Clemmons
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringBilly Bletcher
Pinto Colvig
Dorothy Compton
Mary Moder
Betty Bruce
Tom Buchanan
Ralph Hansell
Richard Holland
Donald Kearin
Leone Le Doux
Tommy Wiggins
Music byFrank Churchill
Paul J. Smith
Animation byPreston Blair
Ollie Johnston
John Lounsbery
Frank Thomas
Layouts byThor Putnam
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • February 24, 1939 (1939-02-24) (USA)
Running time
8 Minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Practical Pig is hard at work building a new anti-wolf contraption, this time a lie detector. His two brothers, Fiddler and Fifer Pig decide to go swimming, despite Practical's warning about the Big Bad Wolf lurking by the pond. The Big Bad Wolf disguises as a mermaid to lure Fiddler and Fifer and captures them and bringing them to the Old Mill where his sons the Three Little Wolves are waiting for their dinner, but tells them they must not eat until he captures Practical. The Wolf plans to entrap Practical as well using a fake letter requesting help by his brothers. While the wolf is off to capture Practical, the Three Little Wolves start early to put the two pigs into a pan and prepare to bake them into a pie. The Wolf, disguised as a messenger boy, blows his cover when he blows the fake letter under Practical's door. Realizing the wolf is up to his tricks and his brothers have been captured, Practical tries out his new invention. As the wolf attempts to lure Practical, the welcome mat opens under the wolf's feet, and the wolf falls into the pit below. He is next seen strapped in a chair, captured by Practical as Practical tells him sternly where are Fiddler and Fifer's whereabouts. The wolf tries to fool the lie detector machine, where first he claims he has never heard of his brothers and secondly he claims he hasn't seen them. He then lastly tells that he and Practical are pals, but the lie detector detects his lies using a 'Wolf Whistle' and punishes the wolf using brushes to spank and wash him with soap.

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 the pepper but the lid accidently comes off and this causes the two pigs to sneeze so strong, the pie doe is duffed off and into the wolves splatting them against the wall like glue. 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 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 orders, they tell him that they didn't go swimming, at which point the lie detector springs into action and gives them a spanking.

Voice cast
Principal voices
Additional voices
  • Betty Bruce
  • Tom Buchanan
  • Ralph Hansell
  • Richard Holland
  • Donald Kearin
  • Leone Le Doux as Three Little Wolves
  • Tommy Wiggins

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 .[5] It has also been released as a bonus feature on the British VHS edition of Dumbo.

References
  1. "The Practical Pig". IMDb. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  2. Borowiec, Piotr (1998). Animated short films: a critical index to theatrical cartoons. Scarecrow Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-8108-3503-0.
  3. "The Practical Pig. www.bcdb.com
  4. Hischak, T.S. & Robinson, M.A. (2009). The Disney song encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-8108-6937-0.
  5. Merritt, Russell; Kaufman, J. B. (2016). Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series (2nd ed.). Glendale, CA: Disney Editions. pp. 208–209. ISBN 978-1-4847-5132-9.
  6. Taliaferro, Al; Osborne, Ted; De Maris, Merrill (2016). Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 2. San Diego: IDW Publishing. ISBN 978-1631408045.
  7. "Short Subject Reviews". The Film Daily. 74 (81): 8. October 12, 1938. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  8. "Silly Symphonies: The Historic Musical Animated Classics DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
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