Welcome back to Classic Shorts Showcase as I continue Three Little Pigs Thursday. Today's short is unique in that technically I have already reviewed it but under a different name. Originally, I was going to skip this short but I thought that it was important to talk about this one. This short is a basic re-edit of Three Little Pigs done by the National Association of Canada to be done as a propaganda short to get people to buy war bonds and support World War II.
The Plot
The plot is for this one is just Three Little Pigs but with a wartime twist. The Big Bad Wolf here is depicted wearing a Nazi hat and uniform. The bricks that Practical used represent the war bonds.
Characters
For this review, I'll be grouping all 3 Pigs together and by now you should know their names.
Main Characters
Practical, Fifer, & Fiddler (Three Little Pigs)
The Pigs this time around are retreads of the first short but they also represent the men of this time. Practical is used to show the type of person that wanted to support the war and do anything that he can while Fifer & Fiddler besides being their usual selves portrayed the people that were ignorant to war either because they didn't know how to help or they didn't think their contribution would constitute anything. At least that is what I got out of this short but I could be wrong.
Villain
The Big Bad Wolf
As you can see The Big Bad Wolf is used as an allegory for Nazi Germany. In this short he represents the evil that was taking place in Germany during the time. This is a wonderful idea and this actually just occurred to me but that picture of The Wolf dressed in a Nazi uniform standing in front of a door is actually terrifying when you think of how Nazi soldiers would barge down doors of the people they captured. That just adds another layer to this image and makes it deeper and creepier.
Ending Images
Before I close out this Classic Shorts Showcase, I wish to take a look at some of the messages that were displayed at the end of this short to get the message across.
This is a very powerful image and gets the point across well in that if you don't do something, the war could get worse. Now this is just one of many images used but I believe it to be one of the most effective.
My Final Thoughts
I find it rather difficult to say where I stand on this short. As a piece of animation, I could call fall into the trap of calling it lazy for reusing the first short but I actually find it ingenious that they were able to use the short, rework it and have deal with an issue that was very prevalent at the time. This short does show how rough times were back then and I think having taken a Holocaust Studies course, it gives me greater appreciation for a short such as this then when I first watched it. Does it deliver the message that it was trying to get out? I honestly believe but as a Pigs short it falls short but it is still enjoyable. Honestly, I'm surprised that I was able to review this short given the difficulty I thought I would face in reviewing it. This is a short that I suggest if your a Disney fan or a History buff that you should track down and watch. As it shows what was happening at the time, I would say this is a very entertaining wartime short and it does very little to besmirch the original. Join me next time as I close out, Three Little Pigs Thursday with the final review as I take a look at..
L'il Bad Wolf
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