The Three Little Bops
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''Three Little Bops'' is a 1957 American animated
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
directed by
Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
and written by
Warren Foster Warren Foster (October 24, 1904 – December 13, 1971) was an American writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of Warner Brothers and later with Hanna-Barbera. Early life He was born in Brooklyn, New York to Marion B. Fos ...
. A takeoff on '' The Three Little Pigs'' told as a hip, jazzy
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
, the short features the voice of
Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
, with music provided by
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
composer/trumpeter
Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arran ...
. It was released by
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...
on January 5, 1957 as part of the ''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
'' series.


Plot

Presented primarily in the style of
twelve-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...
, the short opens with a display of the book that shows the Three Little Pigs who used to play pipes and dance jigs. The short then focuses to the present day and reveals the pigs now play modern instruments and perform as The Three Little Bops. During a Bops gig at the House of Straw, the Big Bad Wolf shows up, demonstrates that he is friendly by shaking hands and states that he wants to sit in with the band. He immediately shows he is a terrible trumpet player, however, so the pigs, labelling him a square, throw him out. Insulted, the Wolf retaliates by using the trumpet to blow down the straw house, forcing the pigs to go to the Dew Drop Inn, the House of Sticks. Things go well (including the piano playing pig doing an imitation of
Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...
's "I wish my brother George was here"), until the Wolf arrives and sits in again. The audience calls for the pigs to "throw the square out", which they do. The Wolf retaliates by blowing down the Dew Drop Inn. The pigs then realize that to escape the Wolf's "windy tricks", they must become the band of choice at the House of Bricks (built on May 1, 1776, according to a cornerstone). The House of Bricks has a "No Wolves Allowed" rule, so when the Wolf tries to get in, he is punched in the face by a bouncer. He then unsuccessfully tries to ram the door down with a log. The Wolf falls back on trying to use his trumpet to blow down the building, but soon runs out of breath. He decides that disguising himself will allow him to successfully get in, so he reenters in fur coat, playing on a
ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
a perfect rendition of the
Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
(cut short when the piano player pig recognizes him and tosses a banana peel). The Wolf returns, hidden inside a houseplant. He pops up and begins playing his trumpet, but the pig playing the double bass fires a plunger off the strings and blasts the Wolf out of the building. For his third try, the Wolf shows up in a drum major outfit playing a big
bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
to the tune of "Don't Give Up the Ship". The Bops' drummer throws a dart and deflates the bass drum. Humiliated, the Wolf leaves. The pigs shut and lock the door to ensure he cannot get in again. Not the least bit deterred, he shows up with a large cylinder of TNT and snaps, "I'll show those pigs that I'm not stuck! If I can't blow it ''down,'' I'll blow it ''up!"'' The fuse is blown out by one of the pigs, so the Wolf carries the cylinder a few feet away from the door to light it a second time. He has moved too far away, though, and as he is carrying it back to the door of the building, it explodes. The Wolf is killed. The narrator reveals that the explosion did not send the Wolf to Heaven but down to "'' the other place''", where his trumpet playing improves. When the pigs hear this, one of them says, "The Big Bad Wolf, he learned the rule: you gotta get hot to play real cool!" The Wolf's spirit then rises up through the floor and, now playing expertly, joins in for the final notes, prompting the pigs to alter their band's name to "The Three Little Bops Plus One".


Credits

Instrument credits are believed to be: *Vocals –
Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
(credited on the short) *Saxophone –
Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...
*Trumpet/flugelhorn –
Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arran ...
(credited on the short) *Piano –
Pete Jolly Pete Jolly (born Peter A. Ceragioli Jr., June 5, 1932 – November 6, 2004) was a two-time Grammy-nominated American West Coast jazz pianist and accordionist. He is known for his performance of television themes and movie soundtracks. Biogr ...
*Guitar –
Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...
*Bass –
Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...
(or possibly
Red Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927 – November 8, 1992) was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. Biography Mitchell was born in New York City. His younger brother, Whitey Mitchell, also became a jazz ba ...
and / or
Joe Mondragon Joe Mondragon (February 2, 1920 – July 1987) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Mondragon was born in Antonito, Colorado, and raised in the Española Valley region of New Mexico. Mondragon was of Apache and Hispanic origin. Career ...
) *Drums –
Stan Levey Adolph Stanley Levey known professionally as Stan Levey (April 5, 1926 – April 19, 2005) was an American jazz drummer. He was known for working with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the early development of bebop during the 1940s, and i ...
(or possibly
Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...
) This is one of few Warner Brothers cartoons to not feature
Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...
doing voice characterizations during the period of Blanc's exclusive contract with the studio. It is also one of only three from that period that gives a voice credit to anyone other than Blanc (the others were ''
The Mouse that Jack Built ''The Mouse That Jack Built'' is a 1959 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodie'' cartoon short starring Jack Benny and the regular cast of ''The Jack Benny Program'' as mice. The short, released on April 4, 1959, was written by Tedd Pierce and directed by ...
'', which credits the cast of '' The Jack Benny Program'', of which Blanc was a cast member and thus was credited accordingly, and '' The Unmentionables'', which credits Blanc and Ralph James). Even though Freberg contributed voices to many other Warner Brothers cartoons during this time, none of the others were credited. It is also one of the few ''Looney Tunes'' shorts not to use the "That's all, Folks" endline.


Reception

Professor of musicology Daniel Goldmark writes, "''Three Little Bops'' is a return to the swinging sounds that once dominated the Warner Bros. cartoons. Los Angeles boasted a thriving jazz scene in the 1950s, so not only was the studio able to feature trumpeter Shorty Rogers, it also made great use of comedian (and voice artist) Stan Freberg as the cartoon's hep narrator. The entire cartoon is told in scatlike rhyme, and the pigs really play some smokin' jazz — as does the wolf once he finally gets 'hot' down in hell."


Home media

*LaserDisc — ''Looney Tunes: Curtain Calls: Classic Music and Show Business Cartoons'' *VHS — ''Sing-Along Looney Tunes'' (edited) *DVD — '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, Disc 4'' *DVD — ''
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection The ''Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection'' is a series of DVDs released by Warner Home Video compiling ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' animated shorts. It was created as a more affordable alternative to the Looney Tunes Golden Collection s ...
: Volume 2, Disc 2'' *Blu-ray, DVD — '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc 2'' *DVD — ''Looney Tunes Musical Masterpieces''


Later appearances

*The Big Bad Wolf, who first appeared in '' Little Red Walking Hood'' and had previously appeared as Uncle Big Bad in ''
The Turn-Tale Wolf ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
'', would appear in another two Golden Age cartoons: ''
Now Hare This ''Now Hare This'' is a 1958 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on May 31, 1958, and stars Bugs Bunny. Plot The story involves Bugs Bunny eluding the Big Bad Wo ...
'' and ''
False Hare ''False Hare'' is a 1964 Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' animated short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on July 18, 1964, and stars Bugs Bunny. This cartoon was the last production completed by the original Warner Bros. Carto ...
'', also as Uncle Big Bad. This was his only Golden Age appearance in a Friz Freleng cartoon. *This cartoon was included (in slightly edited form) as part of the 1981 film '' The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie''; presented as part of a fictitious awards show called "The Oswald Awards", it features brief "interviews" with both the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs as they arrive at the theater with
Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created ma ...
during the awards pre-show. *The Big Bad Wolf made an appearance in the 1983 film ''
Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island ''Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island'' (also known as ''Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island'') is a 1983 ''Looney Tunes'' traditionally animated compilation film directed by Friz Freleng and Phil Monroe with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. c ...
''. He was standing in the line where everybody is getting their wishes from the island's famous wishing well, but he was wearing shoes instead of showing his bare feet. *The Three Little Pigs and The Big Bad Wolf make a cameo appearance on the
bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports fields and other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step gaining access to a row ...
watching the basketball playoff against the Monstars and the Toon Squad in '' Space Jam''.


See also

*
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1950–59) This is a listing of the shorts, feature films, television programs, and television specials in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon series, extending from 1929 through the present day. Altogether, 1,002 animated shorts alone wer ...


References


External links

* * {{The Three Little Pigs 1957 films 1957 animated films 1957 short films Animated musical films Films about pigs Short films directed by Friz Freleng Jazz films Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Films based on The Three Little Pigs Big Bad Wolf 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films Animated films about music and musicians Films produced by Edward Selzer 1950s English-language films