On this day in 1933, Three Little Pigs - a Silly Symphony produced by Walt Disney and released by United Artists, premiered in New York City at the Radio City Music Hall.Generally released 2 days later, the short was a phenomenal success with audiences. (Many theaters ran the cartoon for months after its debut!)
The short even had a theme song - "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" written by Frank Churchill. It became a best-selling single on the pop charts and something of an anthem for the ongoing Great Depression.
Three Little Pigs featured the voices of Pinto Colvig as Practical Pig, Mary Moder as Fiddler Pig, Dorothy Compton as Fifer Pig, and Billy Bletcher as the Big Bad Wolf. (Colvig would be best known as the voice of Goofy.)
Disney produced several sequels to Three Little Pigs - but none were as successful. Yet the trio of pigs still to this day have a place in the world of Disney. The pigs along with the Big Bad Wolf are roaming characters in Disney theme parks, have appeared on TV's House of Mouse, are featured in Disneyland's Storybook Land Canal Boats, and can be seen in the feature Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Three Little Pigs even won an Oscar for its director Burt Gillett (the second one ever given for animation).
Printed versions of this famous fairy tale date back to the 1840s - although it is widely believed that the story is much older.
Click HERE for more May 25 Disney history.
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