This is Tex Avery's famous re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood from 1943, considered by many his cartoon masterpiece. It was voted one of the 50 best cartoons of all time and Avery later worked on other updates of classic fairy tales. Here Avery creates the leering, catcalling and google-eyed wolf whistler found in so many other cartoons and films. You can also see the influence of his "Red" on other cartoon characters, most obviously Jessica Rabbit.
The humor of the piece came not only from replacing the little girl with a pin-up knock out, but also Grandma remade as a lusty "man-eater." Although the wolf's over-the-top responses to Red's sex appeal were initially objected to by censors, they remained in the cartoon. The original ending, though, got the axe. The cartoon originally concluded with Grandma forcing Wolfie into a shotgun marriage, and later turning up in Red's club with a litter of half-human/half-wolf children in tow. The suggestion of bestiality, even in cartoon form, was apparently more offensive than the Wolf's misogynistic vow to kill himself if he ever saw another woman.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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i found this clip interesting and funny.
ReplyDeletei would have never thought there to be a connection beetween this story and sexuality. i mean if that was the case as a mom myself, i would have never told my daughter the story or let her read it. But after reading the explanations i can see where they were going with it, especially the drawings with the fos being on two legs and dressing in the clothes.