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Piggy is a Merrie Melodies character. His first appearance was in "You Don't Know What You're Doin'!", a 1931 short.

History[]

Animator Rudolf Ising introduced Piggy as a second character after Foxy to star in the Merrie Melodies series Ising was directing for film producer Leon Schlesinger. Nonetheless, Ising had only made two Piggy shorts in 1931 before he went on to create Goopy Geer. 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.

Despite their cliched lead character, Ising's two Piggy shorts are well received by some critics. The first is the 1931 short "You Don't Know What You're Doin'!" Here, Piggy visits a surreal night club where he heckles and plays with the club's jazz band. This was followed by "Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land", also in 1931. 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.

After Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land, Piggy was mostly retired from animation except for making guest appearances in the ending title cards of the earliest Harman-Ising Merrie Melodies.

Piggy is not to be confused for another similarly-named character Piggy Hamhock, created by Friz Freleng in 1936, five years since Piggy's short-lived animated career in 1931.

Description[]

He appeared as a fat, black pig who wears a pair of short overalls with buttons on the front but no shoulder straps. His coloration and dress are 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 which Hugh Harman had drawn in 1925 were the inspiration for the creation of Mickey Mouse, Harman and Ising never intended to copy Disney.[1]

Appearances[]

Piggy only appeared in the Merrie Melodies series.

Full shorts (1931)
  1. Merrie Melodies "You Don't Know What You're Doin'!" (1931) Public domain
  2. Merrie Melodies "Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land" (1931) Public domain
Ending cards only (1931-1932)
  1. Merrie Melodies "Red-Headed Baby" (1931) Public domain
  2. Merrie Melodies "Pagan Moon" (1932) Public domain
  3. Merrie Melodies "Freddy the Freshman" (1932) Public domain
  4. Merrie Melodies "Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee" (1932) Public domain
  5. Merrie Melodies "Goopy GeerPublic domain
  6. Merrie Melodies "It's Got Me Again!" (1932) Public domain Academy Award nominee
  7. Merrie Melodies "Moonlight for Two" (1932) Public domain
  8. Merrie Melodies "The Queen Was in the Parlor" (1932) Public domain
  9. Merrie Melodies "I Love a Parade" (1932) Public domain (1995 Turner black-and-white Dubbed Versions)

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Kenworthy, John The Hand Behind the Mouse, Disney Editions: New York, 2001. p. 54

External links[]

Characters
Main Characters
Bugs Bunny (Prototype Bugs Bunny) Daffy Duck Elmer Fudd Foghorn Leghorn Lola Bunny (Honey Bunny) Marvin the Martian (K-9) Pepé Le Pew (Penelope Pussycat) Porky Pig Road Runner Speedy Gonzales Sylvester (Sylvester Jr.) Taz Tweety Wile E. Coyote Yosemite Sam
Recurring Golden Age Characters
1930s debuts

Bosko Honey Bruno Foxy Piggy Goopy Geer Buddy Cookie Beans Little Kitty Oliver Owl Ham and Ex Petunia Pig Piggy Hamhock Gabby Goat Egghead Big Bad Wolf Little Red Riding Hood Yoyo Dodo Mrs. Daffy Duck The Two Curious Puppies Sniffles Inki Minah Bird

1940s debuts

Willoughby Three Little Pigs Cecil Turtle Beaky Buzzard Mama Buzzard Leo the Lion Babbit and Catstello Conrad the Cat Hubie and Bertie Claude Cat A. Flea Three Bears Schnooks Hector the Bulldog The Drunk Stork Gossamer Rocky Barnyard Dawg Henery Hawk Charlie Dog Bobo the Elephant Goofy Gophers The Dog Wellington Gruesome Gorilla Hippety Hopper The Talking Bulldog The Crusher The Supreme Cat Playboy Penguin

1950s debuts

Melissa Duck Frisky Puppy Granny (Proto-Granny) Miss Prissy (Emily the Chicken) Sam Cat Nasty Canasta Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot Spike and Chester Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog The Weasel Witch Hazel Tasmanian She-Devil Ralph Phillips Egghead Jr. Mugsy Jose and Manuel The Honey-Mousers (Ralph Crumden, Ned Morton, Alice Crumden, Trixie Morton) Instant Martians Slowpoke Rodriguez Pappy and Elvis Blacque Jacque Shellacque

1960s debuts

Cool Cat Colonel Rimfire Merlin the Magic Mouse Second Banana Bunny and Claude

One-Off Golden Age Characters
1930s debuts

Owl Jolson

1940s debuts

The Gremlin The Dover Boys (Tom Dover, Dick Dover, Larry Dover, Dora Standpipe, Dan Backslide) Mr. Meek Russian Dog The Little Man from the Draft Board Colonel Shuffle Giovanni Jones

1950s debuts

The Martin Brothers Pete Puma George and Benny Toro the Bull Babyface Finster Michigan J. Frog Shropshire Slasher Mot Pablo and Fernando Charles M. Wolf Señor Vulturo Mighty Angelo

1960s debuts

Hugo the Abominable Snowman Nelly the Giraffe Count Bloodcount Spooky Rapid Rabbit and Quick Brown Fox

Post-Golden Age Characters
Tiny Toon Adventures

Buster Bunny Babs Bunny Plucky Duck Hamton J. Pig Fifi La Fume Shirley the Loon Sweetie Bird Elmyra Duff Montana Max

Taz-Mania

Jean Hugh Molly Jake Dog the Turtle Drew

Pinky and the Brain

Pinky The Brain

Baby Looney Tunes

Floyd Minton

Duck Dodgers

Dr. I.Q. Hi Captain Star Johnson Commander X2

Loonatics Unleashed

Ace Bunny Lexi Bunny Danger Duck Slam Tasmanian Tech E. Coyote Rev Runner

The Looney Tunes Show

Tina Russo

New Looney Tunes

Squeaks the Squirrel Bigfoot Barbarian Boyd Cal Carl the Grim Rabbit Claudette Dupri Dr. Clovenhoof Eagle Scout Elliot Sampson Horace the Horse Ivana Jack Thes Leslie P. Lilylegs Miss Cougar Pampreen Perdy and Paul Perdy Rhoda Roundhouse Shameless O'Scanty Sir Littlechin Slugsworthy the First Squint Eatswood Tad Tucker Trey Hugger Viktor Winter Stag