Pigs Is Pigs
Studio: Disney Release Date : May 21, 1954

Cumulative rating:
(3 ratings submitted)

Synopsis

Flannery, a railway agent does everything by the book. He gets into a scrape with a customer, McMorehouse, who wants to pay 44 cents freight for two guinea pigs which he considers pets. Flannery, however, considers them pigs (freight 48 cents), a decision he begins to regret when the animals begin to reproduce.

Credits

Note: "Unverified" credits may not be correct and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Director

Jack Kinney

Animator

John Sibley

Story

Leo Salkin

Music

Oliver Wallace

Backgrounds

Eyvind Earle
Al Dempster

Voices

Bill Thompson (unverified)

Layout

Bruce Bushman
John Wilson

Effects Animation

Dan MacManus

Producer

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (unverified)


Awards

Nominated for the Academy Award (Oscar): Best Short Subject

Distributor(s)

RKO Radio Pictures

Inside Jokes

  • Near the end, the Board of Directors hold a contract with the initials J.K. and B.B. The names J.K. and B.B. are references to Jack Kinney (Director) and Bill Berg (Storyman)

Television

Donald's Quack Attack (Season 1, Episode 36)

VHS

United States

Disney's Best: The Fabulous 50's

Germany

Donald Superstar and Co.

Italy

Disney Adventures

CED Disc

United States

The Fabulous 50's

Laserdisc (CAV)

Japan

The Fabulous 50's

Laserdisc (CLV)

United States

Silly Symphonies / Animals Two by Two

Japan

Disney Cartoon Festival 5

DVD

United States

Disney Rarities

Technical Specifications

Running Time: 9:41
MPAA No.: 16795
Animation Type: Standard (Hand-drawn-Cel) Animation
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
Cinematographic Format: Spherical
Color Type: Technicolor
Negative Type: 35mm
Original Language: English
Print Type: 35mm
Sound Type: Mono: RCA Sound Recording

Reviews and Comments

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From Rebecca :

I work with a lady who raises guinea pigs. She had told me how she had to separate the boys from the girls because there were always babies on the way. I was watching the Disney Channel one night and Pigs Is Pigs came on. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to be sick! This is one animated short I am going to try to get for her because I know she can relate to how fast these guys can reproduce! I rated this short a 10. I really, really enjoyed it.

From Jerry Edwards :

One of my favorite Disney shorts - I consider it one of the funniest Disney shorts ever made. Although done in the limited UPA-type animation style, the animation still does a great job of getting the jokes across. I love all the jokes about the guinea pigs continually reproducing. I love the fun poked at how corporations make decisions - or how they don't. I loved the ending where Flannery is shoveling the mountain of guinea pigs into boxcars to sent to corporation headquarters, and Flannery tells the guinea pigs, "You've begat and begat...now begone!!!"

From K. Richard :

Pigs Is Pigs is a verse adaptation of a turn-of-the-century short story of the same name by Ellis Parker Butler. The cartoon sticks fairly close to Butler's original and the prodigious breeding rate of the guinea pigs is only barely exaggerated by the Disney Folks. McMorehouse, however, was a stuffy Anglo character named John C. Morehouse and the Disney gang also did away with Butler's running gag where Mike Flannery refers to the consignment as "dago pigs." The ending was rearranged for the cartoon as well in the story the "at least them pigs weren't elephants" part is the punch line.

From Ryan :

A shipment of two guinea pigs arrives at Flannery's train station. Flannery knows that the animals cannot be pigs, but seeing as it says they're pigs, he believes they must be. I enjoy this particular short. Despite it's limited animation, I find the humor to be well planned and I enjoy the character Flannery who has a firm belief in playing by the rules.

From Baruch Weiss :

These one shot shorts are ok, but nothing to write home about. I love the cartoons with the classic characters!

From TibbyH :

Disney doing UPA is one of the strangest things in animation. Considering how they're the reason for UPA's creation, you'd think they'd stay far away from copying their newfound competitor, but I guess Jack Kinney was a very hip guy. Pigs is Pigs is a cartoon I found really enjoyable not solely based off the luscious stylized art, but with the hilarious plot. A rules abiding railroad agent (voiced by the talented Bill Thompson) having to keep an eye on multiplying guinea pigs because he couldn't decide on charging the owner for the pigs or pet fee. So meanwhile his bosses debate on whether guinea pigs are pigs or pets while our poor railroad agent is suffocating in guinea pigs. Being a fan of UPA, I can't say I don't enjoy the flat art style and stylized animation. The characters have a nice comic strip quality to their designs and the backgrounds are gorgeous in their simplicity. This cartoon doesn't feel like something Disney would make, but perhaps that's why I enjoy it. It's funny, ingenious, and beautiful. All the things to make a great cartoon.
See all comments by TibbyH