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Little Red Riding Rabbit
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Wikipedia article
'Little Red Riding Rabbit' is a 1944 Warner Bros. 'Merrie Melodies' cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng, and starring Bugs Bunny. It is a sendup of the Little Red Riding Hood story, and is the first time in which Mel Blanc receives a voice credit.
In 1994, 'Little Red Riding Rabbit' was voted #39 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.
Plot
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Little Red Riding Hood is depicted as a typical 1940s teen-aged girl, a "bobby soxer" with an extremely loud and grating voice (inspired by screen and radio comedian Cass Daley, provided by Bea Benaderet). After she sings the first verse of "[http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/f/fiveoclockwhistle.shtml Five O'Clock Whistle]" in the opening to establish this fact, Bugs pops out of her basket to ask where she is going. She replies that she is going to "bring a little bunny rabbit to [her] grandma ta HAVE."
With this part of the story set up, the wolf is now introduced. The wolf switches a "Shortcut to Grandma's" sign, so that Red has to take an unnecessarily long mountain path, while the wolf uses the genuine shortcut literally a few short steps to the house. Seeing a note pinned on the door that Grandma is not home (apparently, Grandma is a "Rosie the Riveter" type who is working the "swing shift" at Lockheed), the wolf sneaks inside and dresses like Grandma, only to find that three other wolves are similarly dressed and all waiting in the bed for Red. The wolf (voiced by Billy Bletcher) growls for the others to "COME ON! COME ON! Take a powder this is 'MY' racket!" The other wolves leave, grumbling to themselves, and a small wolf who was hiding under the pillow, sheepishly follows suit, too. Once in bed, the wolf waits for Red to arrive. But in a twist, the wolf is not interested in eating Red, but rather the rabbit she is bringing to Grandma.
Red arrives and begins the "Grandma, what big eyes you have" routine, but is impatiently interrupted by the wolf who quickly shuffles her out the door and tries looking for Bugs in the basket. Bugs, of course, quickly gets the better of the wolf and runs around the house, with the wolf in hot pursuit. Along the way, Bugs subjects the wolf to the famous lots-of-doors in-and-out routine (which will be repeated in 'Buccaneer Bunny'). The wolf, however, is constantly interrupted by Red, who continues her lines from the actual story. The wolf begins to flirt with her in a faux French accent, then suddenly yells at her to get out.
When cornered by the wolf, Bugs mimics the wolf's speech and gestures, irritating him and eventually tricking him into singing 'Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet' (to which Bugs holds up a sign saying "Silly, isn't he?"). The wolf gets distracted by Red again, and after disposing of her resumes singing until he notices that Bugs ran off. While the wolf is sneaking, Bugs manages to get into the gown the wolf is wearing and get a glowing coal from the fireplace and sends the wolf screaming in pain to the ceiling by scorching his backside. When the wolf comes down, Bugs has a large shovelful of hot coals waiting for him. However, the wolf manages to catch his feet on the ends of two benches just in time, doing the "splits". Instead of simply kicking one of the benches away, Bugs proceeds to dump various objects into the wolf's arms. After clearing out just about everything in the house, Bugs is about to apply the coup de grace on the wolf by placing 'the last straw' on top of the mass of junk and furniture the wolf is holding when Red reappears, bellowing "Hey, GRANDMA!" (By now, Red has managed to comment on the wolf's big eyes, big nose, big ears and sharp teeth, and one wonders what she was planning to say next.)
By this time, even Bugs has had enough of Red's interruptions, prompting him to say, "I'll do it, but I'll probably hate myself in the morning." He descends the ladder, and out of frame, there is a shuffling noise, and now 'Red' is the one trying to avoid getting her bottom scorched, holding the weights and assorted junk, while Bugs and the wolf, arms around each other's shoulders, share a carrot and self-satisfied looks, and await the inevitable.
Analysis
Little Red Riding Hood is depicted as a spindly-legged, obnoxious and loud-mouthed teenage bobby-soxer.Beckett (2008), p. 209Zipes (2011), p.141 Granny is working the swing shift at the factory, and the Wolf is more interested in eating Bugs rather than eating Red.Zipes (2011), p.141 The Wolf in fact kicks Red out of Grandma's house. He and Bugs are engaged in games of chasing and toying with each other. Their games are constantly interrupted by Red who knocks on the door to ask the wolf the appropriate questions of the standard storyline. The Wolf and eventually Bugs are sufficiently irritated to keep her suspended over burning hot coals.Zipes (2011), p.141 She is punished for her "crime" of being obnoxious and exasperating.Zipes (2011), p.64
Warner Brothers often parodied Disney cartoons. Billy Bletcher parodied his own Disney performance in this cartoon, voicing Big Bad Wolf, just as he did in Walt Disney's Academy Award-winning classic, Three Little Pigs and its later spinoff, The Big Bad Wolf, the latter of which also incorporated the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
Like other Bugs Bunny shorts released during World War II, this film features "a more violent rabbit with a more sadistic and mocking agenda".Sandler (1998), p.7
Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago writes, "What makes this cartoon stand head and shoulders above the 300-plus others Freleng directed is the music. Carl Stalling kicks things off with "The Lady in Red" playing over the opening credits, which is fun and all, but when Red first appears onscreen, belting out her unforgettable rendition of Cole Porter's "The Five o'Clock Whistle", you know you're in for something special. Bea Benadaret nails her performance, and within a few ear-splitting notes, you know everything you'll ever need to know about Red."
Home media
This cartoon is found on the 1989 MGM Home Video release "Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons", the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 and Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3.
Connections
This was not the only depiction of Little Red Riding Hood in an animated short. Others include 'Little Red Riding Hood' (1922) and 'The Big Bad Wolf' (1934) by Walt Disney, and 'Little Red Walking Hood' (1937), 'Red Hot Riding Hood' (1943), and 'Little Rural Riding Hood' (1949) by Tex Avery.Beckett, Haase (2008), p. 587
Friz Freleng had already directed four fairy-tale films: 'Beauty and the Beast' (1934), 'The Miller's Daughter' (1934), 'The Trial of Mister Wolf' (1941), and 'Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk' (1943). He would go on to direct 'Red Riding Hoodwinked' (1955).Zipes (2011), p. 402
Sources
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See also
*List of Bugs Bunny cartoons
References
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