Piggy (Merrie Melodies)

Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Fictional character

Piggy

Looney Tunes character

Piggy in You Don't Know What You're Doin'!.

First appearance| You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (1931) (Piggy)
At Your Service Madame (1936) (Piggy Hamhock)
Last appearance| Pigs Is Pigs (1937)
Created by| Rudolf Ising (Piggy)
Friz Freleng (Piggy Hamhock)
Voiced by| Johnny Murray (1931)
Shirley Reed (1937)
In-universe information
Species| Domestic pig
Gender| Male

Piggy is the name of two animated cartoon characters in the Merrie Melodies series of films distributed by Warner Bros. The first character was a fat, black pig wearing a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front, and his first film was You Don't Know What You're Doin'![1]

Piggy's name came from one of two brothers who were childhood classmates of Freleng's, nicknamed "Porky" and "Piggy".[2]

## Merrie Melodies

[edit]

Animator Rudolf Ising introduced Piggy to replace his previous character, Foxy, as the star of the Merrie Melodies series Ising was directing for producer Leon Schlesinger.[3] Nonetheless, Ising had only made two Piggy shorts in 1931 before he left Warner Bros. with partner Hugh Harman. The animators who took over the Merrie Melodies cartoons dropped the Piggy character (as well as his girlfriend Fluffy) and turned the series into a string of one-shots.

Piggy's coloration and dress were identical to those of the Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse before the advent of color film. John Kenworthy argues that, considering the fact that some sketches of mice that Hugh Harman had drawn in 1925 were the inspiration for the creation of Mickey Mouse, Harman and Ising never intended to copy Disney.[4]

Despite their clichéd lead character, Ising's two Piggy shorts are well received by some critics. In the first, You Don't Know What You're Doin'!, Piggy visits a surreal nightclub where he heckles and plays with the club's jazz band. Cartoon historians Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald call this "the definitive Harman-Ising Warner film: the characters are cute, the humor is gross, the visuals are uninhibited, and the music is red hot."[1]

This was followed by Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land, also in 1931.[5] Here, Piggy plays a steamboat captain who must rescue a drowning Uncle Tom. Due to its stereotypical portrayal of the Uncle Tom character, the cartoon is included among the so-called "Censored 11", Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts that are withheld from circulation due to their heavy use of ethnic stereotypes. Piggy never starred in another cartoon, although he continued to appear at the end of every short up to 1932's You're Too Careless with Your Kisses!

In 1936, Animator Friz Freleng created another character named Piggy. This character was given lighter, more white color with distinguishing birthmarks. The redesigned character appeared as a gluttonous child in a large family of pigs in At Your Service Madame (which gives his full name as Piggy Hamhock),[6] where he leads his fellow siblings in foiling a bum's attempt to rob their mother.

A year later, the new Piggy starred in Pigs Is Pigs in which his gluttony takes center stage.[7] This is his final appearance. After this, he is discarded, with his character traits transferred for a time to Porky Pig.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 6\. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
2. ^ Beck, Jerry. Audio commentary for "I Haven't Got a Hat" on the Warner Brothers DVD set Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 3. (2005) citing Freleng's autobiography.
3. ^ Markstein, Don. "Piggy". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
4. ^ Kenworthy, John The Hand Behind the Mouse, Disney Editions: New York, 2001. p. 54
5. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 118\. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
6. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 49\. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
7. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 53\. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

* v
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Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

Studios|

* Harman-Ising Productions (1930–1933)
* Leon Schlesinger Productions (1933–1944)
* Warner Bros. Cartoons (1944–1964)
* DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (1964–1967, 1979–1980)
* Format Films (1965–1967)
* Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1969)
* Chuck Jones Enterprises (1976–1980, 1994–1997)
* Warner Bros. Animation (1980–present)

Characters|

| Major|

* Bugs Bunny
* Development
* Daffy Duck
* Duck Dodgers
* Elmer Fudd
* Foghorn Leghorn
* Granny
* Lola Bunny
* Marvin the Martian
* Pepé Le Pew
* Porky Pig
* Speedy Gonzales
* Sylvester the Cat
* Tasmanian Devil (Taz)
* Tweety
* Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner
* Yosemite Sam

|

Secondary|

* Babbit and Catstello
* Barnyard Dawg
* Beaky Buzzard
* Beans
* Bosko
* Buddy
* Cecil Turtle
* Charlie Dog
* Claude Cat
* Clyde Bunny
* Colonel Shuffle
* Conrad the Cat
* Cool Cat
* Egghead Jr.
* Foxy
* Goofy Gophers
* Goopy Geer
* Gossamer
* Henery Hawk
* Hippety Hopper
* Hubie and Bertie
* Hugo the Abominable Snowman
* Inki
* Marc Antony and Pussyfoot
* Merlin the Magic Mouse
* Michigan J. Frog
* Miss Prissy
* Nasty Canasta
* Penelope Pussycat
* Petunia Pig
* Piggy
* Quick Brown Fox and Rapid Rabbit
* Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog
* Sniffles
* Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier
* Sylvester Jr.
* The Three Bears
* Willoughby
* Witch Hazel

Shorts|

* 1929–1939
* 1940–1949
* 1950–1959
* 1960–1969
* 1970–present
* Featuring Bugs Bunny
* Featuring Daffy Duck
* Featuring Elmer Fudd
* Featuring Marvin the Martian
* Featuring Porky Pig
* Featuring Speedy Gonzales
* Featuring Sylvester
* Featuring Yosemite Sam
* Blue Ribbon reissues
* Censored Eleven

Feature films|

| Compilations|

* The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
* The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
* Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales
* Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island
* Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
* The Looney Tunes Hall of Fame

|

Feature-length theatrical animated|

* The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

Live-action/animation|

* Space Jam
* Looney Tunes: Back in Action
* Space Jam: A New Legacy
* Coyote vs. Acme

Direct-to-video|

* Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation
* Tweety's High-Flying Adventure
* Baby Looney Tunes' Eggs-traordinary Adventure
* Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
* Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run
* Teen Titans Go! See Space Jam
* King Tweety
* Taz: Quest for Burger

Documentaries|

* Bugs Bunny: Superstar
* Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons
* Chuck Amuck: The Movie

Television
series|

| Compilations|

* The Bugs Bunny Show
* The Porky Pig Show
* The Road Runner Show
* The Merrie Melodies Show
* Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends
* Bugs 'n' Daffy

|

Originals|

* Tiny Toon Adventures
* Taz-Mania
* The Plucky Duck Show
* Animaniacs
* Pinky and the Brain
* The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries
* Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain
* Baby Looney Tunes
* Duck Dodgers
* Loonatics Unleashed
* The Looney Tunes Show
* Wabbit/New Looney Tunes
* Looney Tunes Cartoons
* Animaniacs 2020
* Bugs Bunny Builders
* Tiny Toons Looniversity

Television
specials|

* Meet the Groovie Goolies
* Carnival of the Animals
* Easter Special
* Bugs Bunny in Space
* Howl-oween Special
* King Arthur's Court
* Thanksgiving Diet
* Looney Christmas Tales
* Bustin' Out All Over
* The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special
* Battle of the Music Video Stars
* Overtures to Disaster

Music/songs|

* "Camptown Races"
* "Dance of the Comedians"
* "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)"
* "Merrily We Roll Along"
* "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down"
* "Powerhouse"

Attractions|

* Looney Tunes River Ride
* Road Runner Express (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)
* Road Runner Express (Six Flags Magic Mountain)
* Road Runner Rollercoaster
* Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure!

Other|

* Private Snafu
* A Political Cartoon
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit
* Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
* Video games

* Category

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