February 24, 1939 – The Silly Symphony The Practical Pig is Released to Theaters
“He’s building another wolf machine – he must be crazy in the bean!”
On February 24, 1939, the Silly Symphony short film The Practical Pig was released to theaters. It is the fourth and final “Three Little Pigs” short film, and the second to last Silly Symphony ever made. Like the other sequels, it would never reach the level of popularity that The Three Little Pigs found. It was directed by Dick Richard.
Fiddler and Fifer Pig approach Practical Pig’s home, hearing him hammer away at his new invention. The blueprints reveal that he’s working on a lie detector, and the two laugh at his toil. As they reveal their plans to go swimming, the Practical Pig warns the two not to go, as the Wolf is nearby. They dismiss his concerns and run to the local swimming hole. From the nearby reeds, the Wolf spies on the two, salivating. He disguises himself as a mermaid on a rock, luring the two close before scooping them up in a net.
The Wolf ties up the two pigs and keeps them in a sack in front of his children
He brings the two pigs home to his family, but his kids aren’t allowed to eat the two until the Wolf captures the third pig. The kids promise not to eat the pigs until their father comes back home, but it’s an empty promise, as they start to fix them up in a pot the moment he leaves. The Wolf disguises himself as a messenger and takes a message to the Practical Pig, hoping to capture the pig when he rushes out to save his brothers. Unfortunately for the Wolf, the Practical Pig captures the wolf and uses his lie detector machine, which washes the Wolf’s mouth with soap or spanks him when he lies. The two pigs escape the kids’ clutches when too much pepper is sprinkled on them, and they sneeze, freeing themselves from the unbaked pie dough. They sprint home as fast as they can. Meanwhile the Wolf finally admits where the pigs are, and the Practical Pig sends him flying away on a firecracker before he attempts to rescue his brothers. The two pigs fly through the door, and when the Practical Pig chastises them for ignoring him, they sit down unknowingly on the lie detector and claim they never went swimming. The lie detector goes off, and the two are spanked.
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