Information about Three Little Pigs

For the Disney animated short film, see Three Little Pigs (film).

For the Green Jellÿ song see Three Little Pigs (Green Jellÿ song).

Three Little pigs is a fairy tale featuring talking animals. Published versions of the story date back to the late 18th century, but the story is thought to be much older. The story was made more popular thanks to an immensely successful 1933 Walt Disney animated cartoon.

Mother Pig sends her three little piglets out into the world to make the strongest house for the family but they get into a fight so they all make three different houses.

The first little pig builds a house of straw, but a wolf blows it down and eats the pig. The encounter between wolf and pig features ringing proverbial phrases:

One day the big bad wolf came and knocked on the first little pig's door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." And the little pig answered, "No, no, I won't let you come in, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin." "Well," said the wolf, "then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in." So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down and ate the first pig.

The second pig builds a house of sticks, has the same conversation with the wolf, and the wolf eats the second pig.

The third pig builds a house of brick. The wolf cannot huff and puff hard enough to blow the house down. He attempts to trick the third little pig out of his house, but the pig outsmarts him at every turn. Finally, the wolf threatens to come down the chimney, whereupon the third little pig boils a pot of water into which the wolf plunges, and the third pig eats the wolf.

The phrases used in this story, and the various morals that can be drawn from it, have become enshrined in western culture. In recent years, the story, as has happened to other fairy tales, often is softened from its original version. In these versions, neither the wolf or the pigs end up eating each other. For instance, the two less prudent pigs escape to the house of the third pig while the wolf is captured rather than boiled.

History

Printed versions - Traditional

The tale has several similarities with "The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids" (the "kids" being young goats) included in Grimm's Fairy Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen, or Children's and Household Tales) by The Brothers Grimm, a collection that was first published in 1812 and had several revisions and additions until 1857.

The tale of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf was included in Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Tales by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, first published around 1843. It seems to have become popular during the late 19th century. Variations of the tale appeared in in 1881. The story also made an appearance in Nights with Uncle Remus in 1883, both by Joel Chandler Harris, in which the pigs were replaced by Brer Rabbit. The story in its arguably best-known form appeared in English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, first published in 1898 and crediting Halliwell as his source.

Printed versions - Re-envisioned

The Three Little Pigs were prominently featured in the second story arc of the Fables. Two of them were prominently involved in an attempt to overthrow the Fabletown government, and were beheaded for the murder of the third pig, who had tried to warn Snow White of trouble brewing at the "Farm" where non-human-looking Fables are required to live. At the end of the story arc, they were replaced by transformed giants. The giants had agreed to this transformation because the only other option they had was an enchanted sleep---they are difficult to hide and impossible to explain.

A more recent version titled The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig switches the character roles of the traditional story.

David Wiesner's The Three Pigs uses the characters from the traditional story, but has the pigs leave the pages of the story for an exploration of the world beyond the Fourth Wall. The book won the 2004 Caldecott Medal

The Disney Cartoon

A well-known version of the story is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burton Gillett, Three Little Pigs, first released on May 27, 1933 by United Artists. The short introduced names for the pigs: Fifer Pig, Fiddler Pig and Edmund Pig. It was hugely successful and won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons.

Parodies

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith under the pen name of A. Wolf
• The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
• Fred Dibnah's Fairy Tales: The Three Little Gibs, in Viz magazine. (The "Gibs" were caricatures Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, from the pop group The Bee Gees. They were eventually eaten by the wolf.)
• ''Cynthia Ensign Baney's musical comedy, "the Three Little Pigs: a Cautionary Tale of Consumerism", the pigs learn a musical lesson on the importance of being wise consumers. Baney's original script, lyrics and score, is one three musicals written to receive the Olin B. Davis award for excellence in education.

In Politics

In March 2007, the story was modified in some British schools to "three little puppies" to avoid offending Muslim families, a move described by Ibrahim Mogra from the Muslim Council of Britain as "bizarre".[1] However the name has changed back to the Three Little Pigs.

Works influenced

In New York City the Manhattan Children's Theatre presented a Rockabilly musical adaptation with tunes and lyrics by Kyle and Sarah Norris, starring Katie Knipp, Stephen McFarland, Mike Mitchell, Jr., Julie Mozdy, Molly Roberson, and Chris Will. The production ran through the winter of 2006-2007

In Japan, the puppet show that draws the subsequent story of Three Little Pigs, Bū-Fū-Ū , was aired in 1960 to 1967. The show named the Three Little Pigs Bū, Fū and Ū.

Roald Dahl rewrote it in a more modern and gruesome way in his book Revolting Rhymes (1982)

There was also a Green Jelly metal music video rendition of the story, which broke the Top 20 in 1993.

The Three Little Bops was a 1957 Looney Tunes animated short film heavily based on the three little pigs tale, but with a modified story sung as lyrics to a jazz tune.

The Death in June album All Pigs Must Die.

The Three Little Pigs are bosses in the Game Boy title . Mario fights them one after the other at the conclusion of Mario Zone.

In Heroes of Might and Magic IV there is a scenario where there are three heroes known as the three pigs.

The Three Little Pigs have made many appearances in WB Looney Tunes cartoons, including an adaptation of the original tale was done to the music of Brahms' Hungarian Dances nos. 5, 6 and 7. The Three Pigs were cast as antagonists in the Bugs Bunny cartoon The Wind Blown Hare (1949).

The Three Little Pigs are Shrek's friends in the Shrek movies.

In a gruesome version of the story, Tales of the Crypt comes up with an episode of which the third pig is framed for the horrific murders of his brothers.

Studio 100 produced a musical in 2003 named The Three Piglets (De Drie Biggetjes). K3 performed the part of the three little pigs. In the musical the daughters of the little pig who built the stone house fall in love with the three sons of the big bad wolf, much to the dismay of the wolf.

References

• Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (revised ed.). United States: Plume. ISBN 0-452-25993-2.hi

External links

• SurLaLune's Annotated Three Little Pigs, featuring illustrations, modern variations, and similar tales across cultures
• Three Little Pigs The fairy tale, lushly illustrated in The Colorful Story Book of 1941.
• 19th century versions of the Three Little Pigs story
• Similar tale by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm
• A page examining Disney's Three Little Pigs
• MP3 of the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf"
• Free audio story of the Three Little Pigs at Storynory
• The Three Little Pigs with modern illustrations