Pigs Is Pigs (1937)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This is one of Friz Freleng's earlier masterpieces in this cartoon. It has a very good story with good character personalities of a greedy little pig who can only think about food but then his food dream turns into a nightmare as I imagine that it was supposed to be rather dark. The Feed-a-Matic sequence was very original to me and this is what influence writers on shows like 'The Simpsons' and even in Walter Lantz cartoons; and even the writers from the Treehouse of Horror episode mentioned that they were inspired from this short. This is the second and final appearance of the Hamhock family as we wouldn't have needed anymore since it could only go worse. The animation here is very appealing as it was animated by mostly Bob McKimson since I can see some scenes he probably did but I'm not going to grasp on the styles. After only two cartoons of the Hamhock family; the characters then disappear from the screen but Pigs is Pigs is easily their best cartoon out of 'At Your Service Madame' and it's even on the '100 Greatest Looney Tunes' book.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.'Pigs is Pigs' is not one of Friz Freleng's best cartoons by any stretch, in an uneven "still evolving" period of his long career, and he was yet to be in his full prime and not yet found his style properly. For a relatively early effort, 'Pigs is Pigs' has some interest but it's a bit bland too. It is never what one would call hilarious, Freleng's later efforts show more evenness and confidence in directing and the story is flimsy and occasionally loses momentum, taking too long to get going. It is also rather disjointed. Things become significantly more interesting in the truly nightmarish and sometimes second second half than the overly-cutesy and sugary sweet first act. Sadly, the two halves do feel like two different cartoons that don't gel properly with each other.However, the characters are fun, especially the antagonist the scientist while the pig is a decent protagonist. The conflict between them carries 'Pigs is Pigs' and does so very well.The cartoon is amusing at times when it becomes more interesting and entertaining in the nightmarish second half.Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading, vibrant in colour and very meticulous in detail. Ever the master, Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it. Voice acting from particularly Billy Bletcher is terrific.All in all, interesting but not great. Freleng did much better since. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Despite what the title may imply, "Pigs Is Pigs" does not star Porky Pig. Rather, it features a young swine with an appetite more insatiable than John Belushi's character in "Animal House". His mother repeatedly scolds him, but it does no good. So much so that he goes to another house where a deranged scientist force-feeds him more than any mere mortal can handle (but there's a surprise at the end).I would mostly say that this cartoon seemed like a place holder in between the really great cartoons (Daffy Duck debuted three months after this came out). But make no mistake about it, they do some neat things here. The whole force-feeding sequence looks more relevant today, given the obesity epidemic overtaking our country.Anyway, not the greatest cartoon, but worth seeing.

Piggie is always hungry and constantly thinks about nothing else but food. And no matter how much he eats, it is never enough! In a rather silly nightmare sequence, Piggie meets a jaundiced mad scientist, who devises some intricate mechanical gadgetry in order to force-feed Piggie large quantities of all kinds of goodies, much to the scientist's mischievous delight. Is it any wonder, therefore, that the appropriate title for this cartoon would be "Pigs Is Pigs"? It is definitely far from being my favorite Warner Bros. cartoon, but it still has its good points.In my opinion, the best moments from this short include the following. The popular song "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" can be heard during the opening shot of the straw house while the little piglets are outside playing, and also during the later nocturnal shot of the house while the piglets are sleeping. Piggie swipes a pie off of the windowsill and spins it around his finger as he eats it; he tries to eat a second pie in the same manner, but the mother pig catches him in time and he accidentally chomps on his bare fingers. And at the dinner table, all the little piglets humorously babble grace while Piggie ties all of their spaghetti strands together, so that he can devour all the spaghetti with one big slurp.So there you have "Pigs Is Pigs" in a nutshell. If you ever decide to watch this cartoon, it is my recommendation that you have a little something to eat before you do.