Pigs in a Polka

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.https://www.patreon.com/posts/whats-score-81644429
* 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 ==
Golden Age LT Vol 1.jpg|(1991) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 1, Side 6
Lt galt vhs 6.jpg|(1992) VHS The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 6, Friz Freleng
LTCE VOL 5 MUSICAL MASTERPIECES.jpg|(2000) VHS Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 5: Musical Masterpieces
Golden Collection box 3.jpg|(2005) DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, Disc Three
Lt cbopp2.jpg|(2007) DVD Looney Tunes Collection Best of Porky Volume 2
Lt academy award animation collection.jpg|(2008) DVD Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection, Disc 2
LT Platinum Collection VOL 3 DVD Cover.png|(2014) DVD Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc Two
LTPC Volume 3 Cover.png|(2014) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc Two
LooneyTunesSpotlightVol8-210x300.jpg|(2014) DVD Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 8 Disc 2
Lt musical masterpieces.jpg|(2015) DVD Looney Tunes Musical Masterpieces
Lt mtf.jpg|(2016) DVD Music Triple Feature
Lt cv3.jpg|(2018) DVD Looney Tunes Collection Volume 3
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - )
== Notes ==
* The Three Little Pigs in this cartoon resemble Porky Pig, but are not the same characters.
*The gag where the Three Little Pigs give the Big Bad Wolf a bottle of mouth-wash after the latter unsuccessfully blows the brick house is re-used from the Three Little Pigs segment from "A Gander at Mother Goose", directed by Tex Avery three years prior.
**"Lusterine Mouthwash", the mouthwash that one of the pigs give to the Big Bad Wolf in this scene, is a parody of Listerine mouthwash.
*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.
* 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.https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/lost-warner-bros-original-titles/
*It was nominated for the 1943 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, but lost to the Donald Duck cartoon "Der Fuehrer's Face" from Disney.https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1943
*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.
== Gallery==
Asfdthfyjkhljjsdjfkgjg.jpg|Layout drawing
Pigs-Polka-credits.jpg|Damaged original credits cel
==References==
es:Pigs in a Polka
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:1943
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Shorts
Category:Academy Award nominees
Category:Public domain films
Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster
Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:One-Shot Cartoons
Category:Cartoons with missing Leon Schlesinger credits
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist