Here's one of my favorite cartoons by my favorite director, Mr. Tex Avery. Red Hot Riding Hood, released in 1943, was sort of a spin-off of the Droopy cartoon Dumb-Hounded, where the Wolf from this film first appeared. But this one introduces "Red," who goes on to appear in several more cartoons.
Two of Red's follow-up appearances, Swing Shift Cinderella and Little Rural Riding Hood, are presented for your enjoyment in my two previous posts. If you don't see them immediately below this post, click HERE and they will magically appear. (Both will load with pictures of Dr. Who, but don't let that discourage you. And they may have 30 second commercials before the cartoons start, but they're wort the wait. Really!)
Red Hot Riding Hood was originally released with a different ending, in which Wolfie marries Grandma in a shotgun wedding. That ending, hinting at beastiality, was considered offensive, and replaced with the tamer finish shown here. Supposedly, some of Wolfie's racier reactions were also edited out. Whether that original version still exists is unknown, but we can hope. For now, I'm sure glad we have this one.
RED HOT RIDING HOOD
Overlooked Films is brought to you each Tuesday by Todd Mason, and links are posted at Sweet Freedom.
Here are just two of the many great films featuring my all-time favorite cartoon star.
In the beginning, with his debut in the 1942 film "The Mouse of Tomorrow," he was billed as Supermouse, wearing a blue suit and red cape just like you-know-who. But after half a dozen films he morphed into the yellow-suit, red-cape guy we know as Mighty Mouse.
Seems to me there were about 60 theatrical cartoon produced between 1942 and 1961. I used to have a list, and in the 80s I taped hundreds of hours of kiddy cartoon shows until I had them all. My favorites are the operettas, in which Mighty must rescue the brave Pearl Trueheart from the dastardly Oil Can Harry while belting out their lines in song.
Mighty battles Oil Can Harry
In 1987, Ralph Bashki produced a short-lived series called The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse. It was stylish, and had a groovy updated version of the stirring theme song, but failed to capture the spirit of the old Terrytoons.
Rumor has it that Nickelodeon is working on a feature film, to be done either in full or partial CGI, and followed by a new CGI TV series. It's also rumored than an officially licensed DVD collection of the Terrytoons films will be available soon. We'll see.
In Frankenstein's Cat (1942), he's still wearing the blue suit, and still lives in a "Super" market, getting his powers by eating super cheese. You'll note the narrator's voice changes when he introduces "Mighty Mouse," because in the original version he said "Supermouse." The picture quality in this YouTube version sucks, but may allow you to imagine what the original film looked like.
Frankenstein's Cat (1942)
"Wolf! Wolf!" is one of the transitional films, where Mighty is trying out a red suit and yellow cape. These soon gave way to the familiar costume shown in the lobby card above. The climactic battle with the wolves is a classic!
Wolf! Wolf! (1944)
Do not fail to visit Todd Mason's Sweet Freedom for links to more of today's Overlooked Films & Whatnot.
