Red Riding Hoodwinked (1955)

Looney Tunes did their take on Red Riding Hood quite a bit, so it makes sense they would do it with the Tweety & Sylvester series since it has Granny. Surprisingly, Tweety is not Red in this. Red is her own character and she's bringing Tweety to Granny as a gift. Sylvester follows after the girl, hoping as always to get Tweety for his dinner. But the Big Bad Wolf enters the picture and it becomes a contest between Sylvester and the wolf to see who can get to Granny's house first. Nice music from Milt Franklyn. Excellent voice work from the always reliable Mel Blanc. June Foray takes over as Granny here, replacing Bea Benaderet and giving Granny a more gruff voice. Her Granny is also doing a Ralph Kramden impression for some reason. The animation is lovely and colorful, if a little sketchy in places. The dialogue has some kick and the gags are pretty funny, too. Sylvester and Tweety are both in fine form. The Wolf is a fun character with a bad memory. He looks a little like a mangy dog and sounds like Foghorn Leghorn's cousin. Definitely one fans of the Sylvester & Tweety series will enjoy. And if you are someone who doesn't normally like Tweety, as there are unfortunately some out there, then you might still like it as most of the humor comes from Sylvester and the Wolf.

. . . Alzheimer's Disease, and suggests that Future Generations will have to kick the Baby Boomers off their Free Ride Medicare Bus by Any Means Necessary. Standing in for all Millenials, Little Red Riding Hood packs HER potential progeny--symbolized by Tweety Bird--onto what Warner labels as a "City Transit" bus headed for the split-level forest home of Red's Granny. Since "City" buses have NEVER been routed through American woods, Warner is telling viewers this is NOT a normal mass transit vehicle. In fact, this bus represents the Money Train of America (MTA), which carries U.S. Citizens to Head Start, to School, to College, to National Parks, to Space; from Sesame Street to Arlington National Cemetery. Warner depicts the Big Bad Wolf of RED RIDING HOODWINKED as a Baby Boomer with just one thought left in his addled brain: crashing the MTA taxpayer money-stream bus. But Warner shows that Red Riding's Granny has too many of HER faculties left to be hoodwinked in this fashion. She literally kicks the wolf in his kisser to eject him from the MTA (for which she's the bus driver). Warner is clearly saying that when the Wolf of Alzheimer's knocks at America's door, don't shell out a taxpayer nickel unless it can pass a simple comprehension test!

Directed by Friz Freleng, "Red Riding Hoodwinked" is a good Tweety/Sylvester cartoon that is a takeoff of the famous fable. Two protagonists (Tweety and Red Riding Hood) versus two antagonists (Sylvester and the Big Bad Wolf) - now THAT'S a cartoon every kid will want to see! My favorite scenes from "Red Riding Hoodwinked": Upon the Wolf's first appearance, a sign indicates that he is indeed the Big Bad Wolf; the bratty Wolf disposes of the sign, claiming that the audience already knows who he is. When the Wolf and Sylvester both jog toward Grandma's house, the Wolf gives Sly a reproving look, which in turn puts an innocent smile on Sly's face as he does an about-face and jogs away. As the Wolf (dressed in Grandma's clothes) is about to invite Red Riding Hood inside, he looks at Sly (hiding under the bed) and asks, "Quick, what's that kid's name again?" "Red Riding Hoodwinked" can be found along with a bunch of other fairy-tale parodies on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 Disc 2. It's not a hilarious cartoon, and there's not a whole lot of action, but it's still entertaining. In addition to Mel Blanc, who supplies the voices of Tweety, Sylvester, and the Wolf, June Foray provides the voices of Red Riding Hood, Grandma, and the narrator.

Maybe "Red Riding Hoodwinked" wasn't the best cartoon that the Looney Tunes creative team ever made, but it was pretty funny. Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to Granny's house. The Big Bad Wolf wants to eat the two of them, and Sylvester wants to eat Little Red Riding Hood's present for Granny: Tweety Bird. At first, Sylvester and the Wolf are rivals in trying to get to the house, but they are forced to join up once the girl arrives. But even then, Granny has a few tricks up (or should I say "in front of") her sleeve.I think that this the only time when the Wolf can't remember Little Red Riding Hood's name. Well sufferin' succotash!