This Mexican lobby card featuring a still from Three Little Pigs (1933) was recently offered on ebay, but I missed it. It promotes Festival de los 11 premios de Walt Disney, a compilation of Disney cartoon shorts. Originally released in the US in 1937 as Academy Award Review Of Walt Disney Cartoons and featuring five cartoons including Three Little Pigs, it was re-relased in 1966 with the inclusion of further cartoons. This Mexican lobby card obviously dates from the re-release era. Note that the illustrations on the frames include Li'l Wolf who was actually never featured in any animated cartoon.
Showing posts with label THREE LITTLE PIGS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label THREE LITTLE PIGS. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 August 2011
MEXICAN LOBBY CARD
This Mexican lobby card featuring a still from Three Little Pigs (1933) was recently offered on ebay, but I missed it. It promotes Festival de los 11 premios de Walt Disney, a compilation of Disney cartoon shorts. Originally released in the US in 1937 as Academy Award Review Of Walt Disney Cartoons and featuring five cartoons including Three Little Pigs, it was re-relased in 1966 with the inclusion of further cartoons. This Mexican lobby card obviously dates from the re-release era. Note that the illustrations on the frames include Li'l Wolf who was actually never featured in any animated cartoon.
Monday, 6 September 2010
THREE LITTLE PIGS RECORD AND BOOK FROM ITALY
While the date of the above record is unknown, the below book is from 1975:
Monday, 30 August 2010
THREE LITTLE PIGS ITALIAN RE-RELEASE
Above image is of the poster of an Italian Donald Duck compilation movie from 1971 which also includes Three Little Pigs (1933) as a bonus.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
SPANISH EDITION OF THREE LITTLE PIGS BOOK
Above image is of the cover of the Spanish edition of Blue Ribbon's Three Little Pig illustrated story book, adapted from the first cartoon featuring the Big Bad Wolf. The Spanish edition by Barcelona-based Urgel was first printed in October 1934 and saw four reprints till December 1935.
Covers of the original American and various other editions can seen in the post on May 28th, 2008.
Sunday, 10 August 2008
60TH ANNIVERSARY FIGURINE
This porcelain figurine, issued to mark the 60th anniversary of the short cartoon Three Little Pigs (1933), was recenty sold at an ebay auction for an amazing price of 266 US dlrs!..
Thursday, 31 July 2008
ITALIAN 1970 RE-RELEASE OF THREE LITTLE PIGS
To mark the 40th anniversary of Mickey Mouse's debut, a special episode of Disneyland tv series was made and aired in 1968 in the US. Titled as 'Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show', it traced the history of Mickey Mouse on screen, presenting a sample of his cartoon shorts. This tv show was theatrically released in Europe in 1970. In Italy, it was titled as Topolino Story and the (non-Mickey) cartoon short Three Little Pigs (1933), in which the Big Bad Wolf had debutted, accompanied its screenings. Below is a full image of one of the publicity materials for Topolino Story, of which a scan of the detail of the notice regarding Three Little Pigs is above.
Thursday, 17 July 2008
PRE-WAR LANTERN SLIDE SETS
I give a short break to my coverage of post-war Big Bad Wolf publications and temporarily revert back to the pre-war era with this post about British lantern slides. The above image is of the box of a set of slides with sequential images from the short cartoon Three Little Pigs (1933) in which the Big Bad Wolf had debutted. Below are the actual slides themselves; click on the image to view it in real size.
This set is one of the many slide sets based on Disney cartoons which were manifactured by the London-based Ensign Ltd. I cannot see any copyright date in the original box of the set in my collection, but it must date from the period 1933-40, possibly circa 1936. The first Three Little Pigs set by Ensign Ltd, which also happened to be their first set with color slides, reportedly came out in 1933, but that set is reported to feature only 14 slides while the set in my collection is from a later edition with 24 slides (as can be seen in the above images).
Among other sets released by Ensign is one based on Three Little Pigs's first sequel, The Big Bad Wolf (1934):
These sets were marketed either individually or in groups together with the lanterns themselves:
Below is a close-up of the wonderful illustration on the reverse side of the lid and further below is the same illustration on the worn-out front side of the lid:
The below advertisement is from no. 40 of British comics magazine Mickey Mouse Weekly, dated Nov. 7th, 1936 (the same advertisement was also published in several other issues of the said magazine in late 1936):
Tragedy befell Ensign Ltd during the 2nd World War as its facilities were hit and destroyed during the Nazi air bombardment of London in September 1940; as a result, the company had to cease its activities and got liquidated...
More info on Ensign can be found here: http://www.luikerwaal.com/newframe_uk.htm?/catalogus_ensign_uk.htm
Monday, 30 June 2008
BIG BAD WOLF FIGURINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
This rubber figurine was recenty sold (for 15 US dlrs) by an ebay seller from Argentina who said it was an US product:
A pvc figurine from Germany:
This figurine from 1996 (which was recently sold at an ebay auction for 51.5 US dlrs) recreates a scene from the short cartoon The Three Little Pigs (1933) where Disney's Big Bad Wolf had debutted:
A pvc figurine from Germany:
This figurine from 1996 (which was recently sold at an ebay auction for 51.5 US dlrs) recreates a scene from the short cartoon The Three Little Pigs (1933) where Disney's Big Bad Wolf had debutted:
Sunday, 22 June 2008
FRENCH BIG BAD WOLF SONGS
One of the scans I had posted on the first day of this blog ( May 27th) was the image of the music sheet of the short cartoon Three Little Pigs (1933). Above scan is of the 1936 French edition of the same sheet, which is notable for crediting Robert Valerie and Jean Valmy for the French-language version of the title song. The below image appears to be the Belgium edition of the same sheet.
And the below image is from the cover of a 1955 French 'disc' (I believe a record single) featuring the Big Bad Wolf:
The figures in silhoutte chasing the Wolf appear to be Goofy and Br'er Bear. I am especially fond of this illustration as it tends to present the Wolf's nemesises in a more disfavorable light and invite more empathy with the wolf than with them.
The figures in silhoutte chasing the Wolf appear to be Goofy and Br'er Bear. I am especially fond of this illustration as it tends to present the Wolf's nemesises in a more disfavorable light and invite more empathy with the wolf than with them.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG BAD WOLF!
Big Bad Wolf has been one of my favorite Disney characters. Despite being a villain at the outset, there was something of an underdog in him which probably appealed to me. This partially had to do with his non-bourgeoise outfit, not to mention that he lived in a hut in the forest, and partially with the fact that he was always being outwitted by the squeky-clean pigs. Curiously, he was also the only father-figure in the entire Disney comics universe (where we have inexplicably -and rather pathologically- endless cases of uncles & nephews , but never fathers & sons).
Today is the 75th anniversary of the release of Three Little Pigs, the cartoon that introduced Big Bad Wolf to the screens from where he would eventually sprang to comics where he still roams after 75 years. I commomerate this anniversary with this blog.
Of course, the Disney Studio had not created the Three Pigs vs Big Bad Wolf saga out of nowhere, the cartoon was based on a European folktale, first published in the 19th century in England. The tale had also been somehow incorporated into the 'Uncle Remus' tales, collecting the oral tradition of the African-Americans; however, since Africa (except the region of Egypt which nevertheless was not among the African regions part of the slave trade to America) was not a habitat of neither the pig nor the wolf, the story does not seem to have true African origins. Click here for several versions of the tale from 19th century: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0124.html
The first tie-ins with the cartoon, which was a huge box office hit, appear to be the 1933 publications of a sheet music of its tune (first image below) and two illustrated story books, one in hardcover (cover scan in tomorrow's post above) with color as well as b&w illustrations and one with only b&w illustrations:
Walt Disney filed for patent rights of the Big Bad Wolf in December 1933 (his claim was officially granted on April 17th, 1934). This indicates that Disney had initially considered the Big Bad Wolf as simply a character in a one-shot cartoon, but, by the end of the year, he had already decided to make further use of it. Below is the 'official' figure of the character as patented by Disney:
The first sequel, which came out less than a year after the earlier cartoon, was titled after our antagonist this time: The Big Bad Wolf and was an adaptation of 'Little Red Riding Hood', another European children's tale featuring a wolf, even though the pigs were also featured in this cartoon as well (this cartoon would also spin-off illustrated story books). Two more sequels would follow up in the coming years: Three Little Wolves (1936) and The Practical Pig (1939).
The Big Bad Wolf (and the Three Pigs) made their first comics appearance in the Silly Symphony Sunday half-pages prior to the release of the second cartoon sequel. This Sunday continuity, titled as 'The Further Adventures of the Three Little Pigs!' was drawn by Al Taliaferro, one of the most talented artists of the Disney staff, best-known for his work on Donald Duck. It was carried out in the major Disney comics magazines of Europe. A 1937 Italian comics album is probably an early reprint of 'The Further Adventures of the Three Little Pigs!':
Another Sunday continuity, titled as 'The Practical Pig', was run in 1938, once again with art by Taliaferro. It was published in album format in Italy the same year.
The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Pigs did not make any significant appearances neither on the screen nor in print during the 2nd World War era, other than abridged reprints of the previous Sunday continuities in Walt Disney's Comics in 1941. However, they made a full-fledged and re-vitalized come-back in comics in 1945.
The January 1945 issue of Walt Disney's Comics introduced Big Bad Wolf's son Lil Bad Wolf as the title character of an 8-pages comics story, written by Chase Craig and with art by Carl Buettner. Even though three malicious siblings of Big Bad Wolf had been featured in the sequel cartoons of the 1930s, the new comics series completely ignored them, giving way to one single son. More significantly, L'il Bad Wolf was 'bad' in name only: he was not only a benign character, but was even the best friend of the pigs. This enabled far more creative story-telling potential than the simple 'Tom & Jerry' antics of the earlier cartoons.
Buettner continued with the new comics for more than a year, with a succession of other artists picking it up after him. Eventually, Gil Turner emerged as the most enduring Wolf artist with close to one hundred L'il Bad Wolf comics for 10 years from 1947 onwards.
In the US, 'Li'l Bad Wolf' spawned three one-shot comics magazines in the early 1950s in addition to its continuous run in the Walt Disney's Comics:
The father and son wolves were also very popular outside the US, probably even more popular than they were in the US (admittedly, Disney comics in general has become more popular in parts of the world such as continental Europe and Latin America than ever in the US). Interestingly, outside the US, the Big Bad Wolf himself seems to be more of an attraction than L'il Bad Wolf as several non-US comics covers feature pap wolf without his son. Below are sample of my favorite Big Bad Wolf covers from around the world:
Today is the 75th anniversary of the release of Three Little Pigs, the cartoon that introduced Big Bad Wolf to the screens from where he would eventually sprang to comics where he still roams after 75 years. I commomerate this anniversary with this blog.
Of course, the Disney Studio had not created the Three Pigs vs Big Bad Wolf saga out of nowhere, the cartoon was based on a European folktale, first published in the 19th century in England. The tale had also been somehow incorporated into the 'Uncle Remus' tales, collecting the oral tradition of the African-Americans; however, since Africa (except the region of Egypt which nevertheless was not among the African regions part of the slave trade to America) was not a habitat of neither the pig nor the wolf, the story does not seem to have true African origins. Click here for several versions of the tale from 19th century: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0124.html
The first tie-ins with the cartoon, which was a huge box office hit, appear to be the 1933 publications of a sheet music of its tune (first image below) and two illustrated story books, one in hardcover (cover scan in tomorrow's post above) with color as well as b&w illustrations and one with only b&w illustrations:
Walt Disney filed for patent rights of the Big Bad Wolf in December 1933 (his claim was officially granted on April 17th, 1934). This indicates that Disney had initially considered the Big Bad Wolf as simply a character in a one-shot cartoon, but, by the end of the year, he had already decided to make further use of it. Below is the 'official' figure of the character as patented by Disney:
The first sequel, which came out less than a year after the earlier cartoon, was titled after our antagonist this time: The Big Bad Wolf and was an adaptation of 'Little Red Riding Hood', another European children's tale featuring a wolf, even though the pigs were also featured in this cartoon as well (this cartoon would also spin-off illustrated story books). Two more sequels would follow up in the coming years: Three Little Wolves (1936) and The Practical Pig (1939).
The Big Bad Wolf (and the Three Pigs) made their first comics appearance in the Silly Symphony Sunday half-pages prior to the release of the second cartoon sequel. This Sunday continuity, titled as 'The Further Adventures of the Three Little Pigs!' was drawn by Al Taliaferro, one of the most talented artists of the Disney staff, best-known for his work on Donald Duck. It was carried out in the major Disney comics magazines of Europe. A 1937 Italian comics album is probably an early reprint of 'The Further Adventures of the Three Little Pigs!':
Another Sunday continuity, titled as 'The Practical Pig', was run in 1938, once again with art by Taliaferro. It was published in album format in Italy the same year.
The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Pigs did not make any significant appearances neither on the screen nor in print during the 2nd World War era, other than abridged reprints of the previous Sunday continuities in Walt Disney's Comics in 1941. However, they made a full-fledged and re-vitalized come-back in comics in 1945.
The January 1945 issue of Walt Disney's Comics introduced Big Bad Wolf's son Lil Bad Wolf as the title character of an 8-pages comics story, written by Chase Craig and with art by Carl Buettner. Even though three malicious siblings of Big Bad Wolf had been featured in the sequel cartoons of the 1930s, the new comics series completely ignored them, giving way to one single son. More significantly, L'il Bad Wolf was 'bad' in name only: he was not only a benign character, but was even the best friend of the pigs. This enabled far more creative story-telling potential than the simple 'Tom & Jerry' antics of the earlier cartoons.
Buettner continued with the new comics for more than a year, with a succession of other artists picking it up after him. Eventually, Gil Turner emerged as the most enduring Wolf artist with close to one hundred L'il Bad Wolf comics for 10 years from 1947 onwards.
In the US, 'Li'l Bad Wolf' spawned three one-shot comics magazines in the early 1950s in addition to its continuous run in the Walt Disney's Comics:
The father and son wolves were also very popular outside the US, probably even more popular than they were in the US (admittedly, Disney comics in general has become more popular in parts of the world such as continental Europe and Latin America than ever in the US). Interestingly, outside the US, the Big Bad Wolf himself seems to be more of an attraction than L'il Bad Wolf as several non-US comics covers feature pap wolf without his son. Below are sample of my favorite Big Bad Wolf covers from around the world:
Right now, that's all for this round-up of the history of the Big Bad Wolf to celebrate his birthday. However, I will continue this blog with more in-depth looks at specific venues of his appearance as well as an overview of Big Bad Wolf's publication history in Turkish edition comics. So stay tuned...
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