{"id":40115,"date":"2023-06-27T00:06:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T04:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40115"},"modified":"2023-06-27T04:14:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T08:14:41","slug":"every-bugs-bunny-ever-little-red-riding-rabbit-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/27\/every-bugs-bunny-ever-little-red-riding-rabbit-1944\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023 marks the 85th<\/sup> Anniversary of Bug Bunny\u2019s first animated appearance in 1938’s \u201cPorky\u2019s Hare Hunt.\u201d Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we\u2019re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We\u2019re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too. <\/em><\/p>\n

Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)
\n<\/strong>Directed by Friz Freleng
\nWritten by Michael Maltese
\nMusic by Carl W. Stalling
\nAnimation by Manuel Perez<\/p>\n

I love \u201cLittle Red Riding Rabbit.\u201d It\u2019s brilliant, it\u2019s hysterical, it\u2019s so damn quotable, and it gets better and better when replayed. It\u2019s one of the shorts from Bugs Bunny that genuinely gets me giddy, if only because the handling of Red Riding Hood and how they twist it comically is genius. There\u2019s something so abundantly appealing about the adaptation of \u201cLittle Red Riding Hood.\u201d Movies have been adapting the tale for decades and decades, and throughout the early 1900\u2019s, studios sought to offer up their own animated versions of the fairy tale. Surprisingly almost all of them were pretty damn good. Disney gave us Little Red Riding Hood from 1922, and The Big Bad Wolf from 1934, while Tex Avery famously gave us the laugh riots Little Red Walking Hood from 1937, Red Hot Riding Hood from 1943, and Little Rural Riding Hood from 1949.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Incidentally this is the first time Mel Blanc receives an actual voice acting credit, which is criminal, considering Blanc is the lifeblood of Bugs Bunny and the general tone of the Looney Tunes. That\u2019s not to discount Bea Benaderet who is just hilarious as Red Riding Hood, here. Her voice performance is inspired by screen and radio comedian Cass Daley, and her impression is pretty much dead on. It adds a bit of a grating quality to Red Riding Hood, whose loud, and overbearing attitude is punctuated by her spindly legs, and large glasses. Red Riding Hood is probably one of the more unlikely Bugs Bunny foils, despite the Big Bad Wolf being the primary nemesis.<\/p>\n

Adding a bit of spice to the short, Billy Bletcher voices the Big Bad Wolf; Bletcher was a regular at Disney who also voiced the Big Bad Wolf, and satirizes his own interpretation of the character here. It\u2019s a pure stroke of genius. To say that 1944\u2019s \u201cLittle Red Riding Rabbit\u201d twists and contorts the original story is an understatement. This is one of the very few depictions of the classic fairy tale that depicts Red Riding Hood less as an innocent victim who is being preyed upon by a wolf. Here, she is an utterly obnoxious, grating, and often intrusive bobbysoxer who is pushed out of the short mid-way; she\u2019s also introduced screeching the song \u201cThe Five O\u2019Clock Whistle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The short shifts its focus over to the wolf wanting to pretend to be the grandma in order to get Red. But when she pops in with Bugs in her basket, decides on eating Bugs Bunny, instead. He then literally pushes out Red to prey on Bugs. This sudden shift in the narrative is interesting enough, but whether we like it or not, Red Riding Hood is hell bent on making herself a part of the story. She not only intends to fulfill her role, but she even musters up the famous lines of \u201cWhat big teeth you got!\u201d only for the big bad wolf to push her out the door. Every time the short builds up momentum with some bang up comedy, Red Riding Hood almost always interrupts by forcing herself in to the room and reciting the classic \u201cHey Grandma! What big teeth ya got!\u201d<\/p>\n

While the aforementioned \u201cRed Riding Hood\u201d adaptations are just great, it\u2019s not often Red becomes more of an afterthought when all is said and done. It gets to the point where Red is even more annoying and obnoxious than the Big Bad Wolf, which is saying a lot. The Big Bad Wolf is as relentless here as he is in the previous adaptations, but by god, Red Riding Hood is just so damn annoying. The interplay with Bugs Bunny and the Big Bad Wolf is no slouch either, as Bugs and the Wolf stage some of the best gags of the short. There\u2019s their impromptu dance to \u201cPut On Your Old Grey Bonnet,\u201d and their chase through various doors of the house.<\/p>\n

The Big Bad Wolf\u2019s introduction is also pretty great as when he slips in to grandma\u2019s bed, he\u2019s faced with three other big bad\u2019s. He shoos them away only to be interrupted by a smaller Big Bad who giggles and scampers off. The antics are all topped off by a great switcheroo as Bugs is about to get the best of the Wolf, only for Red to stomp in screaming for grandma. The final shot of Big Bad and Bugs looking on as Red hangs over a pile of hot goals is a hilarious final gag, only echoing our collective annoyance and frustration for Red Riding Hood.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Red Riding Rabbit\u201d is just a masterpiece, and easily one of the all time great Bugs Bunny shorts. I could watch this over and over and always find something new that I like about it.<\/p>\n

Find out what we think are the BEST<\/a> and WORST<\/a> Bugs Bunny shorts of all time!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n