Three Little Pigs is a fairy tale featuring anthropomorphic animals. Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older. The phrases used in the story, and the various morals which can be drawn from it, have become enshrined in western culture.
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The tale of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf was included in The nursery rhymes of England (London and New York, c.1886), by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps.[1] The story in its arguably best-known form appeared English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, first published in 1890 and crediting Halliwell as his source.[2] The story begins with the title characters being sent out into the world by their mother, to "seek their fortune". The first little pig builds a house of straw, but a wolf blows it down and eats the pig. The second pig builds a house of sticks, with the same ultimate result. Each exchange between wolf and pig features ringing proverbial phrases, namely:
"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
"No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin."
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."[3]
The third pig builds a house of hard bricks, which the wolf fails to blow down. He then attempts to trick the pig out of the house, but the pig outsmarts him at every turn. Finally, the wolf resolves to come down the chimney, whereupon the pig boils a pot of water in which the wolf then lands and is cooked.
The story utilizes the literary Rule of three, expressed in this case as a "contrasting three", as the third pig's house turns out to be the only one which is adequate to withstand the wolf.[4]
Variations of the tale appeared in Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings in 1881. The story also made an appearance in Nights with Uncle Remus in 1883, both by Joel Chandler Harris, in which the pigs were replaced by Brer Rabbit. Andrew Lang included it in "The Green Fairy Book", published in 1892, but did not cite his source. In contrast to Jacobs' version, which left the pigs nameless, Lang's retelling cast the pigs as Browny, Whitey, and Blacky. It also set itself apart by exploring each pig's character and detailing interaction between them. The antagonist of this version is a fox, not a wolf. Blacky, the third pig, rescues his brother and sister from the fox's den after killing the fox.
Retellings of the story sometimes omit the attempts to trick the third pig, or state that the first pig ran to the second pig's house, then both of them ran to the third pig's house of bricks. The latter is often an attempt to write out death or violence in the story.
A well-known version of the story is an award-winning 1933 Silly Symphony cartoon, produced by Walt Disney. The production cast the title characters as Fifer Pig, Fiddler Pig, and Practical Pig. The first two are depicted as both frivolous and arrogant. The end of the story has been slightly altered: the wolf is not cooked but instead burns his behind and runs away howling. Fifer Pig, Fiddler Pig, Practical Pig, and the Big Bad Wolf also appeared in House of Mouse in many episodes. They also appeared in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. The three pigs can be also seen in the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a greetable character. [5]
The three pigs and the big bad wolf appeared in the four Shrek films and the specials Shrek the Halls and Scared Shrekless.
They have a larger role in Shrek 2. By then, the pigs are best friends with Shrek prior to the events of the film. At the start of the film, the three pigs help look after Shrek's and Fiona's house while they visit the kingdom of Far Far Away. Later in the film, they see Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots arrested by local police officers in Far Far Away, and then free them, heading to the castle to stop Prince Charming. They managed to stop the Fairy Godmother's scheme and they celebrate. They sing a song with Big Bad Wolf in Far Far Away Idol.
The pigs are less prominent in the third film. They appear at the start of the film at Prince Charming's new job; an actor in a dinner theatre. They jeer him along with the rest of the crowd, leading Charming to leave the stage. They later appear in the castle pretending to have tea with the others while Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots are finding Artie, the apparent heir to the throne, and Fiona, Queen Lillian and the princesses escape via a secret passage. Prince Charming storms in and demands Shrek's location. Under pressure, one of the pigs reveals Shrek's plan, and ends up locked up somewhere secret. The pigs are later freed and they head to the castle and managed to stop Prince Charming from killing Shrek in his show.
At the final chapter, Shrek Forever After, the Three Little Pigs played small roles, they all appeared at the ogre triplet's birthday party, they ate the occasion cake. Later in the alternate universe, they appear as attendants to Fifi in Rumpelstiltskin's castle.
In Shrek 2, he has become friends with Shrek and the gang. He helps Shrek and Princess Fiona in guarding their swamp while they visit Far, Far Away. He and the others later travel to Far, Far Away to free Shrek, Puss in Boots and Donkey, having been captured. After that, they managed to get into the castle and stop the Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming. In Shrek The Third, he, along with several other fairy tale creatures, attends Fiona's baby shower while Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are away. When Charming and his evil followers crash the party, the Big Bad Wolf and the others stage a calm tea party. He also helps defeat Charming and the other evil fairy tale creatures from killing Shrek before the entire kingdom.
He plays a small role in Shrek Forever After in the ogre triplets' birthday party and as Rumpelstiltskin's servant in the alternate universe.
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs is presented as a first-person narrative by the wolf, who portrays the entire incident as a misunderstanding; he had gone to the pigs to borrow some sugar, had destroyed their houses in a sneezing fit, ate the first two pigs just to avoid food going to waste since the pigs had died in the house collapse anyway, and was caught violently attacking the third pig's house because the pig had continually insulted him.[2]
In 2003 the Flemish company Studio 100 created a musical called Three Little Pigs (Dutch:De 3 Biggetjes) with a complete new story with new original songs loosely based on the original story which follows the three daughters of the pig with the house of stone. While her two sisters moved away, she and her three daughters run the Three Little Pigs Café. While also the Big Bad Wolf has three sons of the same age and still wants to eat the little pigs, he sends out his sons to catch the three little pigs. But the three pig sisters are smart. And what if the three pigs fall in love with the three wolves?
The musical was specially written for the Flemish girl band K3, who play the three little pigs called Knirri, Knarri and Knorri (Pirky, Parky and Porky).
See also the Three Little Pigs musical page.
In January 2008 a story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale, 'The Three Little Cowboy Builders' was turned down by a British government agency's awards panel citing that the subject matter could offend Muslims and builders, "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?". The digital book, which was re-telling the classic story, was rejected by judges who warned that "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".[6]
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