Three Little Bops
Encyclopedia
Three Little Bops is a 1957 Looney Tunes
cartoon directed by Friz Freleng
, with voices by Stan Freberg
and music by jazz
composer/trumpeter Shorty Rogers
. A takeoff on The Three Little Pigs, told as a hip, jazz
y musical
, it is currently available on the DVD
box-set Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2
.
During a gig at the House of Straw, the Big Bad Wolf appears and proves he is friendly by stating that he wants to join the band. The Wolf happens to be terrible at playing his choice instrument (a trumpet
) so the pigs, stating he is corny, throw him out. Feeling insulted, the Wolf retaliates by blowing 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
's "I wish my brother George was here"), until the Wolf comes in and attempts to play his trumpet again. Like the pigs, the people watching also think the wolf's playing is corny, so they call for the pigs to throw the wolf ("square
") out, which they do. Again, the Wolf retaliates by blowing down, or "dropping out," the Dew Drop Inn. The pigs then realize that in order to escape the Wolf's huff and puff, they will go to the House of Bricks (built in 1776, according to a cornerstone).
For the pigs, 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. The Wolf runs out of breath in trying to blow away the club, but realizes he can get in by disguising himself. He reenters in fur coat and ukulele
with his rendition of the Charleston
song (cut short by slipping on a strategically thrown banana
peel). He returns in the disguise of a houseplant
with his trumpet but gets blasted outside by a plunger shot from the double bass
. For his third try, the Wolf shows up in drum major outfit playing a big bass drum
to the tune of Don't give up the ship
. A dart is shot into the drum, leaving him to exit in humiliation.
Finally, 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 on his first try, so he steps back a bit and lights it from there. Unfortunately for him, he is too far away and his weapon explodes while he is carrying it to his target.
The narrator reveals that the explosion did not send the Wolf to Heaven but down to Hell ("the other place"), where his trumpet playing improves. When the pigs hear this, one of them proudly replies, "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 joins in for the final notes, prompting one of the pigs to alter their band's name to "The Three Little Bops Plus One," ending the cartoon.
This is one of only two Warner Brothers cartoons to give on-screen credit to an actor other than Mel Blanc
during the period of Blanc's exclusive contract with the studio. The other short is The Mouse that Jack Built
, which credits the cast of The Jack Benny Program
.
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoon directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
, with voices by Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
and music by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
composer/trumpeter Shorty Rogers
Shorty Rogers
Milton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and...
. A takeoff on The Three Little Pigs, told as a hip, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
y musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
, it is currently available on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
box-set Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on November 2, 2004. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.-Related releases:...
.
Synopsis
The cartoon 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 gig at the House of Straw, the Big Bad Wolf appears and proves he is friendly by stating that he wants to join the band. The Wolf happens to be terrible at playing his choice instrument (a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
) so the pigs, stating he is corny, throw him out. Feeling insulted, the Wolf retaliates by blowing 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
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
's "I wish my brother George was here"), until the Wolf comes in and attempts to play his trumpet again. Like the pigs, the people watching also think the wolf's playing is corny, so they call for the pigs to throw the wolf ("square
Square (slang)
Square used as slang may mean many things when referring to a person or in common language.In referring to a person, the word originally meant someone who was honest, traditional and loyal. An agreement that is equitable on all sides is a "square deal"...
") out, which they do. Again, the Wolf retaliates by blowing down, or "dropping out," the Dew Drop Inn. The pigs then realize that in order to escape the Wolf's huff and puff, they will go to the House of Bricks (built in 1776, according to a cornerstone).
For the pigs, 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. The Wolf runs out of breath in trying to blow away the club, but realizes he can get in by disguising himself. He reenters in fur coat and ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
with his rendition of the Charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
song (cut short by slipping on a strategically thrown banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
peel). He returns in the disguise of a houseplant
Houseplant
A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as residences and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes, positive psychological effects, or health reasons such as indoor air purification...
with his trumpet but gets blasted outside by a plunger shot from the double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
. For his third try, the Wolf shows up in drum major outfit playing a big bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
to the tune of Don't give up the ship
Don't Give Up the Ship
Don't Give Up the Ship may refer to:* "Don't give up the ship", the dying command of James Lawrence in 1813 aboard the USS Chesapeake* "Don't Give Up the Ship", words on the battle flag of Oliver Hazard Perry aboard the USS Niagara in the same year and also the name of a documentary video series by...
. A dart is shot into the drum, leaving him to exit in humiliation.
Finally, 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 on his first try, so he steps back a bit and lights it from there. Unfortunately for him, he is too far away and his weapon explodes while he is carrying it to his target.
The narrator reveals that the explosion did not send the Wolf to Heaven but down to Hell ("the other place"), where his trumpet playing improves. When the pigs hear this, one of them proudly replies, "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 joins in for the final notes, prompting one of the pigs to alter their band's name to "The Three Little Bops Plus One," ending the cartoon.
Credits
Instrument credits are believed to be:- Vocals - Stan Freberg (credited on the short)
- Saxophone - Pepper Adams (or possibly Jimmy Giuffre)
- Trumpet/flugelhorn - Shorty Rogers (credited on the short)
- Piano - Pete Jolly
- Guitar - Barney Kessel
- Bass - Red Callender (or possibly Red Mitchell)
- Drums - Stan Levey (or possibly Shelly Manne)
This is one of only two Warner Brothers cartoons to give on-screen credit to an actor other than Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
during the period of Blanc's exclusive contract with the studio. The other short is The Mouse that Jack Built
The Mouse that Jack Built
The Mouse that Jack Built is a Merrie Melodies cartoon short, directed by Robert McKimson and released by Warner Brothers studios in 1959.-Production:The cartoon was released on April 4, 1959...
, which credits the cast of The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.-Cast:*Jack Benny - Himself...
.
Later appearances
- The Big Bad Wolf, who first appeared as Uncle Big Bad in The Turn-Tale Wolf, would appear in another two Golden Age cartoons: Now, Hare This and False HareFalse HareFalse Hare is a 1964 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short starring Bugs Bunny and the Big Bad Wolf who had previously appeared in Now Hare This . Released on July 28, 1964, the cartoon was written by John W...
, 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 MovieThe Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny MovieThe Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie is a 1981 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. cartoon shorts and animated bridging sequences produced by Friz Freleng, hosted by Bugs Bunny...
; presented as part of a fictitious awards show, it features brief "interviews" with both the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs as they arrive at the theater during the awards pre-show. - The Big Bad Wolf made an appearance in the 1983 film Daffy Duck's Fantastic IslandDaffy Duck's Fantastic IslandDaffy Duck's Fantastic Island is a 1983 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. cartoon shorts and animated bridging sequences, hosted by Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales...
. 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 watching the basketball playoff against the Monstars and the Toon Squad in Space JamSpace JamAside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick...
.
Anomalies
- This is one of the few Looney Tunes cartoons that:
- Runs the opening credits before showing the cartoon's title.
- Concludes without an end card (simply with "The End" superimposed over an iris-out).
- Does not feature the voice of Mel Blanc (when a character has speaking lines).
- Credits only one voice actor besides Mel Blanc (this short was the only one), and one of only two to credit a voice actor other than Blanc during his exclusive contract (the other was The Mouse that Jack BuiltThe Mouse that Jack BuiltThe Mouse that Jack Built is a Merrie Melodies cartoon short, directed by Robert McKimson and released by Warner Brothers studios in 1959.-Production:The cartoon was released on April 4, 1959...
, which credited all of the voices). - Had music scored by someone other than Carl StallingCarl StallingCarl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
, Milt FranklynMilt FranklynMilton J. Franklyn was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated cartoons....
, or William LavaWilliam LavaWilliam "Bill" B. Lava was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated cartoons from 1962 onwards, replacing the deceased Milt Franklyn. Lava's music was very different from that of Franklyn and previous composer Carl Stalling...
(except for the Seely Six in 1958 using Hi-Q musicHi-Q (production music)Hi-Q was a brand and library of production music produced and distributed by Capitol Records in the late 1950s-early 1960s. It saw quite a bit of use in several movies and other productions, most notably in the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, in which producer Karl Hardman used tracks from the...
).