Red Hot Riding Hood is one of the most famous and influential cartoons directed by Tex Avery for MGM’s animation studio. It takes the classic Little Red Riding Hood story and flips it upside down, injecting it with adult humor, fast-paced gags, and Avery’s trademark absurdity.
Instead of a sweet, innocent fairy tale, audiences are treated to a nightclub setting where Red is a sultry singer and dancer, the Wolf is a lecherous nightclub patron, and Grandma is a man-hungry bachelorette who joins the chase in unexpected ways.
🎭 A Cartoon That Broke the Rules
Red Hot Riding Hood shocked audiences of the 1940s with its risqué humor, nightclub glamour, and satire of sexual obsession, a far cry from the sanitized fairy tales common in earlier cartoons. The Wolf’s exaggerated reactions to Red’s performance: howling, eyes bulging, heart pounding out of his chest... became some of the most iconic animated gags ever created.
💡 Why It’s Worth Watching:
- Tex Avery at his creative peak, redefining what cartoons could be
- Iconic nightclub sequence featuring Red as a cabaret singer
- Wolf’s over-the-top reactions became legendary animation shorthand for lust and excitement
- Grandma’s hilarious twist as a flirtatious pursuer
- A perfect mix of adult satire and slapstick comedy
🧠 Legacy and Cultural Impact
Red Hot Riding Hood was a massive success and helped cement Tex Avery as a master of subversive, adult-oriented humor in animation. The cartoon’s influence reached far beyond the 1940s, its gags have been parodied endlessly in later works, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) to countless TV cartoons.
Due to its adult themes, it also faced censorship: alternate “cleaner” versions were produced for military audiences and later re-releases. Despite that, it remains a classic of Golden Age animation, studied for its boldness, timing, and irreverence.