Little Red Riding Hood vs Little Red Walking Hood

Find a cartoon on-line with “Little Red Riding Hood” as a theme and write a reflection on that cartoon. What kind of cartoon is that (social, political)? How do you like it? Add a copy of the cartoon, name of cartoonist and the source.

All pictures were screenshoted from Looney Tunes - Little Red Walking Hood (1937). URL is bolded below

http://www.toon.is/looney-tunes-little-red-walking-hood-video_2b0377a8a.html

The cartoon I chose was from the Looney Tunes titled “Little Red Walking Hood”, animated by Ken Harris and produced by Tex Avery. The cartoon begins with the wolf in a pool saloon catching a glance of Little Red walking down the street. He dashes to his car and races up to her. Little Red walks with her head up in the air and her eyes closed to disengage any advances from the wolf, but he continues to try to sweet talk her. Little Red has a short aside explaining how two-thirds of girls in the “modern age” have “gone through exactly what I am going through right now”. The wolf finds a short-cut to grandmother’s house and busts the door down to get inside. The two run around the house, and when Little Red knocks on the door, grandmother gives the wolf her clothes to lay in the bed. Little Red and the wolf have a fight in the corner until a Egghead, whom has been interjecting every minute or so whistling across screen, hits the wolf on the head with a hammer.

The cartoon describes the social happenings of the time, and reflects the time period’s Zeitgeist. Little Red is characterized as a pseudo-Katherine Hepburn, having various asides such as during the fight with the wolf when she states “Hard work to make a living, don’t you think?”. The Zeitgeist is clearly portrayed through the opening scene of the cartoon, as the wolf is dressed in a gentlemen, dapper fashion. He is playing a game similar to pinball, which was very popular during the 20s and 30s. Another example of the social reinforcements is during the wolf and grandmother’s pursuit around the house. The grandmother stops halfway through because a candlestick-phone is ringing. She answers it and tells the grocer her order, while the wolf stands there patiently. Both the candlestick-telephone and ordering from a grocer reflects the 1930s Zeitgeist.

I enjoyed this rendition of Little Red Riding Hood more than the original because Little Red and her grandmother were not so passive and docile. Little Red and her grandmother fought for their lives, as any normal person would, and were active participants in the tale, not just a tool to keep the story going. I also prefer this version because there were comedic moments in the story. One element that I enjoyed was that Little Red had the voice of an adult female, symbolizing her independence. Another element was during the fight between Little Red and the wolf, silhouettes walked across the screen and the two waited until they were “seated” to resume the show.