A Year in Shorts Day 202: "Pigs Is Pigs"

Disney has long had a reputation as a family friendly company, a reputation which they’ve fought tooth and nail to defend. And yet there’s always been darkness and adult content hidden in their films, and sometimes not hidden very well. Case in point- their 1954 short Pigs Is Pigs, a film that’s all about fucking. I know that may be hard to believe, but it’s perfectly true! 


(via Wikipedia)


Based on a short story by Ellis Parker Butler and directed by Jack Kinney, Pigs Is Pigs tells the story of Flannery, the by-the-book manager of a railway station. When a shipment of guinea pigs arrives, Flannery insists that its owner pay the 48 cent fee for livestock (pigs being pigs after all); the owner refuses, and a stalemate ensues. Already this short earns a lot of goodwill from me by being a satire of bureaucracy, which I admit that I'm biased towards enjoying. (Why no, I haven't resolved my issues with the unemployment office yet, how could you tell?) But the short goes from being an amusing jab at the needlessly complicated and pedantic world of government work to something truly remarkable when the plot kicks in. You see, Flannery didn't account for one thing about guinea pigs- they reproduce quickly. And they reproduce a lot.


(via TV Tropes)


Yes folks, in 1954 Disney released an animated short about two guinea pigs fucking so much they take over a train station. And while that fact alone should be enough to pique anyone's interest, there's a lot more going on with this short that makes it worth recommending. For starters there's the animation, which resembles a UPA short more than anything Disney has ever done (excluding the other shorts which tried to ape the UPA style). While most of the UPA clones we've covered don't compare to the real thing, I have to admit that it works really well here. The whole thing is bright and colorful, the character designs are unique and expressive, and the backgrounds are quirky and off-kilter, just like the story.


(via Pinterest)


In many ways, Pigs Is Pigs is different from your typical Disney short. Aside from the sheer weirdness of the story, there's also the fact that the entire thing is in rhyme as well as the frantic energy running throughout. But in many other ways, it perfectly encapsulates the kind of films the studio was making in the 50s. Between the unique style, the songs by the Mellomen and the great voice work by Disney icon Bill Thompson, Pigs Is Pigs certainly has a lot of the Disney staples. Perhaps that's why it's so great; with a firm, reliable foundation to build on, Jack Kinney and the rest of the people at Disney felt free to experiment a little. Or maybe it's just the fact that guinea pigs fornicating is funny. Who's to say?

Whatever the case, Pigs Is Pigs is a wonderful little short that demonstrates better than perhaps any we've covered yet the best of 1950s animation. It's weird, it's silly, it's nice to look and it's great to listen to. And if you want to rail at Disney for stealing UPA's style, well I certainly won't stop you. Still, there was some justice for the studio that year, with Disney losing the Oscar to When Magoo Flew. But while I liked that short just fine, I definitely think Pigs Is Pigs deserved the trophy more.


Keep up with the Oscar Baiting here on Letterboxd!


"Pigs Is Pigs" is not available on Disney +, presumably due to the whole "guinea pigs fucking" theme.


The Great Oscar Baiter is a not-for-profit work of criticism. All images herein are property of their respective owners and are protected under Fair Use.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Song of the Week #15: "Take My Breath Away"

Image
I’ll put myself on a consistent schedule for these things one day, I promise. In my defense, there are a lot of movies to catch up on, and isn’t that what Oscar Baiting is all about? For instance- until recently, I’d never seen the original Top Gun! But with Top Gun: Maverick holding its spot as the biggest hit of the year (probably only to be dethroned by Black Panther or Avatar ) and even potentially soaring into the obligatory crowd pleaser Best Picture slot, I figured it was time to see where things began. Because while the Oscars Top Gun: Maverick may win have yet to be decided, the first Top Gun only went home with one- for the love theme, “Take My Breath Away.” (via Wikipedia) Love themes for films have gone a bit out of style these days, although for a long time it seemed to be a surefire way to nab a Best Song nomination. Seriously, look through the Wikipedia article and count how many times you see "Title Seemingly Chosen at Random (Love Theme from Movie You Didn...
Read more

Song of the Week #6: "The Ballad of High Noon"

Image
I was finally able to catch Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast this weekend, and I have to say it certainly lived up to the hype. There’s a lot to love about this movie, from the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, the exquisite performances from both the seasoned veterans and newcomers in the cast, to a script that’s brimming with heart and humor. But one aspect of the film I don’t see a lot of people mention is the way it incorporates footage from other films- most notably Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon, using not only a scene from the movie itself but scoring two pivotal scenes with the film’s theme song, the aptly-named (and Oscar-winning) “The Ballad of High Noon.” It was a bold choice to be sure, but who could blame Branagh? It’s a great movie, and a great song- and the subject for today’s installment in Song of the Week. (via Wikipedia) For those of you haven't seen High Noon... well, you really should get on that, it's a classic! Aside from being a taut, tightly edited thril...
Read more

Song of the Week #14- "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

Image
I was watching Belfast with my friend last week, and- like all great films- it raised a lot of questions. Questions like, “Hey, remember the last time I watched Belfast and was inspired to write a blog post because of it ?” and “Hey, why haven’t I written anything Oscar Bait related in a while?” Well, luckily for all of us “The Ballad of High Noon” wasn’t the only Oscar-nominated song featured in Belfast. Unluckily for us, that other song just happens to be “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” (via Wikipedia) Readers of this blog will hopefully remember that I love a good movie musical. Sadly, those were few and far between in the 1960s. Oh sure, movie musicals certainly had a brief resurgence in those days. Many of them were big hits, both critically and commercially. Hell, Best Picture went to a musical on four separate occasions in that decade! But how many of them were actually any good? Not a lot. Oh sure, The Music Man is great fun and Mary Poppins is a classic. But far too many mu...
Read more