This book is an enormous print compilation of Disney sketches and animated stills accompanied by text discussing early animation, its principles and appeal, the procedure of putting animation on the screen, character development, animating expressions and dialogue, acting, and other aspects of the technical and nitty-gritty details of how animation works. On page 292, in the Music and Sound section, it devotes an entire page to an example of how composed music and sound effects were synched with the animation. The example is from Three Little Pigs, and includes a sketch of the pig who built with straw running towards his home to take refuge from the wolf.

Beside the sketch are two strips, or "exposure sheets," which show how the pig's movements and actions change with time using little thumbnail sketches along paper with divisions representing time on screen. The main accents of the scene, such as going through the door, slamming the door, opening the door, pulling in the Welcome mat, and closing the door once more are shown along the strips, placed according to which frame contains the action. Where each measure of music falls is notated along the strips as well, and the swelling or dropping off of the line of action through the frames must resonate with the music synched with the film. This is a perfect example of the meticulous detail and effort put in by Disney animators that imparted quality to the resulting films and gave the studio a competitive edge.

The document is a primary source, and a perfect example of the care and extra work put in by Disney employees that is discussed in other sources. It gets into the detail of exactly how the amazing feats Disney studios was able to achieve were performed, and Three Little Pigs is a great example of the effective use of synchronized sound. This illustration, and the accompanying discussion, helps me prove that sound effects and music were part of what made Three Little Pigs so astounding. In addition, this book is almost a bible, filled with details of the animating process which would help me gather background information to discuss other aspects of my argument such as illustration and other animation methods which helped in characterization, as well as color and photography methods.

From 1929 to 1939, Walt Disney produced a series of 76 short animated films. "Three Little Pigs," which was released in 1933, marked the first example of the technical innovation and experimentation whose culmination would make possible Disney's future work, and the beginning of an era of feature films with recognizable characteristics for which Disney would become known. "Three Little Pigs" pioneered in the areas of narrative, character development, color, and music and sound integration; Disney set high goals for itself and achieved them in this short film.

This newspaper article commends Disney for not continuing in the direction of Steamboat Willie, but instead “fleshing out” individual characters., giving them “soul” and “color.” The author cites Three Little Pigs as a major turning point for Disney, especially in that it was the first Disney film to have a real plot. The relation of each pig to his house and its construction differentiates and enriches each character. The article includes a quote from Chuck Jones on the subject of Three Little Pigs which comments on character differentiation, saying that in the past, different characters looked different, but in this film, similar-looking characters were differentiated using elements other than visuals alone. The quote also clearly states Jones’ belief that Three Little Pigs was a turning point.

The article mentions music, color, and style as contributing to the success of the film, and states that these factors and the short’s popularity led Disney to another plane. His animated work was, as a direct result of this film, treated seriously, as art, and this can possibly be seen as the beginning of the “Disney empire.” The production of subsequent films, shorts and features, served to codify the Disney style, epitomized by the first Disney feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

This article provides a primary source: animator Chuck Jones states that Three Little Pigs was a turning point. Also helpful is the discussion of why the short was so important, with a focus on characterization and plot. An interesting view expressed here but not elsewhere is that not only did Three Little Pigs serve as an internal bridge from experimental to feature-length fairy tale, but it also launched Disney’s fame externally in the eyes of critics and film journals, and in this way contributed to Disney’s future dominance.

    In his article, Orr tackles five college-oriented lessons learned from five different movies. He begins with Risky Business (1983). Noting that many movies have dealt with comedic ways of gaining entrance into college (make a large donation, pose as a minority, etc.), none had yet thrown out the most obvious choice: "make your admissions officer happy." The Paper Chase (1973) is remarkable in showing all of the don'ts that can be made in college (like sleeping with your professor's daughter). Though he admits it is now somewhat dated, Orr believes Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) is insightful in that it shows that academic faculty can be miserable like their students too. Kicking and Screaming (1995) portrays all the fears that come with the end of college. However, it is Animal House that, he claims, "invented the modern college movie." Orr comments that Dean Wormer's advice to Flounder in the movie. "Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son," has been firmly ignored by ensuing college movie generations. Claiming it was as "influential as Star Wars," Animal House has come to "define" Hollywood's modern traditions of comedy.
    Orr's article is important because it recognizes Animal House's role as a turning point for college comedies. It claims that it became the definition of what a college comedy is today, especially with its crude sense of humor. However, Orr's article is also important because it noted that Animal House is not the only college-themed movie to have an impact. Specifically, the ideas of gaining entrance through "different" methods, tortured faculty, graduation anxiety, and all the ways one can screw up in college have all been made important in other films. Yet, it is important to recognize the significance Orr gives to Animal House over the other films, recognizing it as the most influential of the films on college comedies today.

 

  Thomas and Heldenfel's homage to Animal House describes the film as a "raunchy, testosterone-laden, anarchic comedy." Before it was released, many believed it would be a forgettable, cheap comedy." Landis admitted that he had no idea how popular the film would become; it went on to gross over $100 million. Yet, Animal House was more than just a successful comedy. According to these two men, half a dozen modern comedic elements can trace their roots back to Animal House. Many comedies depict class warfare (Trading Places, 1983), especially when it comes to poking fun at the academic establishment. Marijuana is now almost always shown in college-themed comedies. The movie established sex as a major theme by "blowing away the notion of what was permissible in film comedies." Gross-out humor became an idea that future comedies built the entire movie around. Animal House brought about the concept of slackers banding together as one unit to fight back against their oppressors. Finally, John Belushi's presence in the film helped launch the film career of many other SNL cast members.
    This article confirms the hypothesis that Animal House was a major turning point in comedic film. Unlike the other articles, which deal with the more theoretical and symbolic changes of the college comedy, this article cites tangible movie elements that movies adopted from Animal House. Five specific aspects: class warfare, marijuana, sex, gross-out humor, and the slackers, became notable recurring themes of future films. Though Animal House was certainly not the first film to have these elements in them, it created the new college stereotype, which almost always included all of these five elements. This article shows what makes up the new stereotype of college after Animal House.
 

  In his book Celluloid Ivy, Hinton explores Hollywood's depiction of higher education in film from the 1960s to the 1990s. Hinton cites two specific reasons why films placed a large value on college: it has inherent worth as an end to itself or is a means to an end, specifically a gateway to economic success and improvement upon the previous generation's social status. (30-31) Many films presenting both arguments were made during the '60s, a period Hinton calls the "golden years" of American higher education in film. (113) Though movie parents continued to hang on to the education myth, films released later in the decade like The Graduate (1967) began to depict young people as ambiguous towards the value of college. (33) Yet, it took the outright in your face rejection of the education myth in Animal House to reach higher education's "nadir" in film. (44) Hinton notes that none of the students in the movie seem to be at Farber College for academic reasons; they attend because of "family expectations, social opportunities, and fun games." (50) Hinton believes the movie's message at its worst demonstrates that college is irrelevant to later success in life, and at its best shows that it is not necessary. (48) Not only do academics suffer, but the Greek system takes a beating that it has never recovered from as well; the rebel fraternity has been the main Greek portrayal ever since. (151)
    This book is critical to proving the thesis that Animal House represented the turning point of the depiction of college in film. It supports the argument that film before Animal House portrayed college in a mostly positive light, and the little criticism was ambiguous at its worst. Animal House was the first film to attack college outright, showing its "crudeness and vulgarity in their extremes." The movie became a "cultural phenomenon" and changed the portrayal of college in film forever. (46)