And do it in a way that not only is a great way of introducing younger audiences to classical music, but be very well-made and hugely entertaining in its own right.One thing that stands out about 'Pigs in a Polka' is how beautifully animated it is. It's all vibrantly coloured, all the characters are well drawn and the backgrounds have so much smoothness and detail as well as being rich in colour. The animation also matches the music wonderfully, making for some inspired visuals and beautifully timed and often hilarious visual gags, the best moments coming from the wolf.'Pigs in a Polka' makes prominent use of Brahms' "Hungarian Dances". Not everybody is a fan of Brahms, this reviewer loves a lot of his music and feels that the "Hungarian Dances" is not only great music and arranged beautifully and cleverly but also used to outstanding effect, not just excelling in fitting with the gags but enhancing their impact.The gags, almost all the funny moments are visual, are hilarious and help make the cartoon such rewarding viewing. Every sequence is choreographed and timed with few misfires, and synchronise with the music so well. The story adheres nicely to the original story with its own spin, especially with the wolf, and avoids being rushed, too stretched, too thin or dull.All four characters carry 'Pigs in a Polka' more than solidly with their actions and interactions also playing a huge part in the entertainment value, Disney's "Three Little Pigs" Silly Symphony shorts have slightly more memorable versions and the three pigs are more individualised in them. However the pigs are quite cute and amusing, without being annoying, but the wolf whose personality is more interesting and his material makes more impact is the best of the bunch. The voice acting is dependably top-notch, Mel Blanc is great as the wolf though he has had more to do elsewhere.It is agreed that 'Pigs in a Polka' while never dull properly comes to life when the wolf appears and gets even better with him. The very end is a touch abrupt, though with great animation and use of music.Overall, a winner of a cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Pigs in a Polka (1943) ** 1/2 (out of 4)This Looney Tunes short takes the Three Little Pigs story and sets it to classical music.Yeah, the additional of classical music is really the only thing that separates this from the countless other versions of the story. The Disney version is without a doubt the best that has ever been done and this one here really can't compete with it. With that said, the idea of having the story set to classical music was a rather clever idea but I just don't think it really paid off in regards to entertainment. This is far from a bad movie but at the same time there's really nothing good here or anything that would make you want to watch this over the more traditional versions.

This is a decent Looney Tunes cartoon that somehow managed to be nominated for an Oscar. While this made little sense, there was some justice in life as the wonderful DER FUEHRER'S FACE from Disney took the actual award.I think part of the reason I am less than thrilled with this cartoon is that I couldn't help think of two main problems. One, the 1933 Disney version of the Three Pigs was a much, much better tale--with better laughs and much better animation. The story here in PIGS IN A POLKA just seemed like a copy. Two, while this is a pleasant cartoon, compared to the other toons being made by Warner Brothers at the time, this is pretty limp. I'd much rather have seen Daffy Duck or the Studio's latest creation, Bugs Bunny, instead of seeing these pigs dancing to Brahms' "Hungarian Dances".Overall, good but far from great. If you are looking for it yourself, I suggest you buy the Looney Tunes Golden Collection and avoid the version I saw. I saw it on a DVD entitled "Cartoon Crazys: And The Envelope Please". This is a rather poor compilation of supposedly award winning and nominated films. Poor because several of the films are very lame and are NOT award nominated, the prints are rather bad and parts of some of the cartoons are missing! In the case of PIGS IN A POLKA and THE DOVER BOYS cartoons, the entire opening and closing is missing--and you'd never know they were Looney Tunes cartoons! While these cartoons both have lapsed into the public domain, clipping the cartoons like this and not acknowledging the people who made this is just plain sleazy.

"This is our interpretation of the familiar tale of 'The Big Bad Wolf And The Three Little Pigs.'" An announcer is telling this to an audience, of which we are privy. He adds this story "is set to the delightful music of Joann Brahm's 'Hungarian Dances.'"So that's what we get: this fairy tale set to music. The announcer, butchering Brahms' name, is funny, but not a lot of other things are in here. In fact, that might be it. What you mainly have here is a cartoon in which the actions of the people, from walking to dancing and prancing to the wolf chasing the pigs all is set to the music. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer humor in my cartoons. This was not something I'd watch again.