This Little Piggy
From the DCAU Wiki, working on 1,872 articles
| Justice League Unlimited episode | |
|---|---|
| |
| "This Little Piggy" | |
| Airdate: | August 28th, 2004 |
| Production Number: | 05 |
| Airdate Order: | 06 |
| Animation Services by: | Dong Yang Animation |
| Written by: | Paul Dini |
| Directed by: | Dan Riba |
| Episode images (7) | |
"This Little Piggy" is the fifth episode of the first season of Justice League Unlimited. It originally aired on August 28th, 2004.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Wonder Woman accompanies Batman on a stakeout in Gotham City, based on a tip that Intergang plans to steal the Rosetta Stone. As they wait, all her attempts to flirt are rebuffed by Batman, emphasizing the differences between them. When the robbery occurs, they find the thief is actually the sorceress Circe, mortal enemy of Hippolyta, Wonder Woman's mother. Although banished to Tartarus by Hippolyta, she has now been paroled and her first act of freedom is to transform Hippolyta's daughter Wonder Woman — to Batman's shock — into a pig.
Seeking help, Batman approaches the stage magician/Justice League member Zatanna after her show, who happens to have real magical powers, and is aware of Circe's release. Although she attempts to return Wonder Woman to normal, her powers can't overcome those of the goddess. Batman requests they keep the situation between the two of them, and Zatanna promises to help both him and Wonder Woman, although she intuits that only Circe can reverse the change.
Zatanna leads them to a shopkeeper specializing in magical artifacts to purchase a missing ingredient for her locater spell. He reminds her that every element of magic requires a price (that is not monetary), and forces her to reluctantly hand over a valuable mystic item of her own. Despite the potency of the spell, Circe proves too powerful to be found so easily, and because of the spell's flashiness, the transformed Wonder Woman escapes. Batman and Zatanna give chase, but not before she takes back her mystic item.
Unable to find Wonder Woman, Batman calls on the aid of B'wana Beast and several other League members to locate her. B'wana Beast finds her, but she evades him when she runs into a pork processing factory amidst a throng of hundreds of pigs. Batman and Zatanna request the aid of Themis, who brings them Medusa, Circe's former cellmate, who reveals Circe's burning desire to perform at the Amphitheater on Mykonos. Meanwhile, the transformed Wonder Woman attempts to escape from being processed, frustrating a butcher's efforts to capture her.
Zatanna teleports them to the Amphitheater, and they confront Circe, who attacks them by transforming her stage cohorts into wild animals. At the same time, the transformed Wonder Woman is caught, tied up, and put on a conveyor belt towards a processing machine.
After fending off the first onslaught of animals, Batman suggests making an exchange for returning Wonder Woman to normal. Circe, intrigued, agrees to transform Diana back, but only in exchange for something incredibly precious from Batman — something he's concealed and when gone, can never be regained. He pays the price by revealing a suave singing voice in a performance of "Am I Blue?" so touching it moves both Zatanna and Circe to tears. Circe returns Wonder Woman to normal just in time for her to escape the factory. After his performance (which receives riotous applause from the Amphitheater's crowd), Batman thanks Zatanna for her help.
Afterwards, in the League Watchtower, Batman and Wonder Woman discuss the night's events. She claims not to remember much of what happened and asks if she missed anything. He replies, nothing much. She teases him by humming "Am I Blue?" before walking away.
[edit] Continuity
- "Am I Blue?" - The song Batman sings in order to free Wonder Woman from her enchantment - was previously featured in Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, where it is heard playing on the radio of Barbara Gordon's roommate.
- While Batman and Wonder Woman are observing the people coming out of the Iceberg Lounge, one of Bruce's previous girlfriends can be seen getting into a cab. She was previously seen throwing a drink in his face during a party held within Wayne Manor during Mask of the Phantasm.
- Zatanna previously appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Zatanna," wherein she discovered that Batman was the same person as "John Smith," who she had known years earlier. At some later date she seems to have discovered his true identity as Bruce Wayne, since she addresses him by that name in this episode.
[edit] Background Information
[edit] Production Notes
- In the DVD commentary of this episode, the producers admit that this episode was intended to be an entirely comic episode, with elements reminiscent of the original Bewitched television show: rife with slapstick, over-the-top performances, and other dry humor. In particular, the show ends with a musical cue similar to that show's, on Batman's wry smile. Elizabeth Montgomery, who played the lead role of Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, previously starred in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, Showdown, as her last acting performance before her death.
- Jack Carter is also a veteran of such shows.
- The DVD special features revealed Bruce Timm as a fan Joss Whedon's work on Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where his work on both shows showed his willingness to depart from the normal format of the series. This episode, a largely comedic entry within a predominantly dramatic series, was partially inspired by Whedon's ability to defy convention.
- On the commentary, the producers said that producing a comedy is similar to an action film, in that it has to end with the biggest gag - "and you can't beat Batman singing."
- On the commentary, the producers allude to a scene that was cut from the final print of the episode: soon after Wonder Woman is turned into a pig, there would be a scene featuring the Joker and his gang preparing for a crime with the intention of laying a trap for Batman. At that time, Batman would pass by their sight, consoling a pig in his arms. After staring blankly at the scene, Joker would comically give up on the job.
[edit] Trivia
- Like in the DC Comics, Zatanna casts spells by speaking backwards:
| Spell | Translation |
|---|---|
| kcab ot lamron | back to normal |
| lleps eb nekorb | spell be broken |
| anaiD, emoceb namuh | Diana, become human |
| esrup raeppa | purse appear |
| dnufer | refund |
| stcejbo kcatta ecriC | objects attack Circe |
| elbat eb egac | table be cage |
- Circe sings the big band standard "Lulu's Back in Town" (composed by Harry Warren) during her performance at the Amphitheater. Rachel York, who voices Circe, is a critically acclaimed Broadway singer. "Am I Blue?", the song Batman sings at the end of the episode, is a jazz standard composed by Harry Akst with Grant Clarke. Both the featured songs in this episode are ones to which Warner Brothers owns the copyrights.
- The producers of the show wanted to modify the lyrics to "Lulu's Back in Town" by replacing "Lulu" with "Circe", but the studio told them this was not allowed.
- Kevin Conroy had previously exhibited his fine singing voice for an episode of Batman Beyond, and so the producers were confident in giving him "Am I Blue?"
- The Crimson Avenger's one-liner is his only speaking appearance in the series.
- Circe, the DC Comics character, is based on the character from Homer's Odyssey.
- However, in the Odyssey, Circe was not a goddess, but a witch and the only transformation power she exhibited was turning Odysseus' crew into pigs.
- Other references to Greek Mythology include Medusa, the Sirens, Sisyphus, Themis (the Greek incarnation of Justice), and Charon, the ferryman across the River Styx. Medusa also mentions the famous playwrights Sophocles and Aristophanes.
- Circe refers to Hippolyta as "Mommie Dearest," which is a reference to Christina Crawford's exposé about her unhappy childhood as the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. The term eventually came to signify a neglectful and abusive mother.
- The punishment described by Medusa bears some resemblance to the torment endured by Prometheus, which consisted of him being chained to a rock and having his liver eaten by a bird of prey, only to have it regenerated on the next day.
- Batman gives two pennies to Charon as a "service charge," a reference to the fact that the Greeks would traditionally bury their dead with coins on their eyes or under their tongues, as "payment" for transportation to the afterlife.
- Circe compares Batman and Zatanna's fighting her with Sisyphus's torment, which consisted in eternally pushing up a boulder that would roll down the mountain once he had reached its top. This punishment became a metaphor of something that is endlessly pointless.
- Circe's flattened feet, in their red heels, wiggle out from under the piano in an obvious tribute to the Wicked Witch of the East from The Wizard of Oz.
- A reference to the movie "Babe" is made when wonderpig is captured the factory worker says: "That'll do, pig".
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman Crimson Avenger (uncredited) |
| Susan Eisenberg | Wonder Woman |
| Jack Carter | Sid |
| Chad Einbinder | Attendant |
| Jennifer Hale | Zatanna |
| Peter Onorati | B'wana Beast Factory Worker (uncredited) |
| Rachel York | Circe |
| Laraine Newman | Medusa Themis (uncredited) |
[edit] Uncredited Appearances
[edit] Quotes
Batman: One: Dating within the team always leads to disaster. Two: You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors, I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues. Three: If my enemies knew I had someone special, they wouldn't rest until they'd gotten to me through her. |
B'wana Beast: B'wana Beast. How you doin'? |
B'wana Beast: (to the pigs) Come on, guys, help me out here. Newcomer. Silver bracelets. Kinda stuck up. |
(Circe is hit with an table) |
| Previously produced episode: "Kid Stuff" | Episodes of Justice League Unlimited | Next produced episode: "The Return" |
| Previously aired episode: "Hawk and Dove" | Next aired episode: "Fearful Symmetry" |
