March 16, 1934 – The Silly Symphony The Three Little Pigs Wins the Academy Award
“…[The Three Little Pigs] sent a message of optimism to moviegoers who’d been battered by the Great Depression.” – Film Critic Leonard Maltin.
The 6th Academy Awards were held at The Ambassador Hotel on March 16, 1934, and the Disney Studios walked away with the Academy Award for Best Animated Short film for the wildly popular Silly Symphony The Three Little Pigs. It was in competition with the Universal Studios short The Merry Old Soul, as well as the Walt Disney and United Artists Mickey Mouse short Building a Building (see entry for January 7).
This is one of the billboards advertising the short at the Coliseum. The short was able to get top billing after a while due to its success
The short, although well done in its own right, was popular due to being released at the right time. It was considered groundbreaking in its characterization and musical score, but Depression-weary audiences adopted the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” as their fight song. The short’s immense success kept it in theaters for months with top billing, even after feature films had long left the theater. The success of the short, including the Academy Award, led to a major merchandising campaign, as well as three sequels: The Big Bad Wolf, Three Little Wolves, and The Practical Pig.
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