Film

Red Hot Riding Hood

Name: Red Hot Riding Hood
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Released: 1943
Cast: Sara Berner, Daws Butler, June Foray, Frank Graham, Kent Rogers

Parody
Light-hearted

A seven-minute cartoon where the fairy-tale trio rebel against their script, demanding a modern retelling. Red becomes a showgirl, Grandma runs a nightclub, and the Wolf loses his mind with desire. Tex Avery's 1943 masterpiece of anarchic energy, adult humor, and animation pushed to gorgeous, ridiculous extremes. Pure visual comedy for anyone who thinks old cartoons are quaint.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love Tex Avery's brand of cartoon mischief, where the wolf is a leering wisecracker and the gags pile up faster than the plot can track them.

Skip it if you want a gentle, faithful retelling of the fairy tale; this one treats the old story as a joke to be torn up and rebuilt with nightclub razzle-dazzle.

What it asks of you: Under seven minutes, so it asks almost nothing, but it wants you alert for the quick cuts and jokes that vanish before they land.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Who Framed Roger Rabbit1988

Another love letter to theatrical excess and rubber-limbed chaos. It's live-action meeting cartoon logic, with that same joy in breaking rules and making impossible physics hilarious. The energy is cousins with Avery's.

But It's very long, very busy, and some of the jokes land harder than others. The mystery plot sometimes gets in the way of the fun.

Swing Shift Cinderella1945

Another Tex Avery riff on fairy tales, with the same updating impulse and manic energy. If you loved Red Hot Riding Hood, this is his follow-up strike in the same vein.

But It's seven minutes. Genius often comes in small packages, but some viewers want more meat on the bone.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast1994

Absurdist comedy built on breaking format and expectations. The humor comes from destruction of rules rather than plot. Weirdly experimental for what looks like a simple show.

But Very dry, very surreal, very much a product of its 1990s Adult Swim moment. Not for everyone's taste in comedy.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Red Hot Riding Hood

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Triplets of Belleville2003

Both prove animation is fundamentally about visual storytelling, not words. Both use impossible physics and exaggerated character design to create humor that transcends language. Both are utterly themselves.

A feature-length French animated film with zero dialogue, built entirely on visual gags and slapstick. The economy of storytelling through pure image rivals Avery's precision, and the surreal design is breathtaking.

But No dialogue means patient watching. If you need story clarity and verbal wit, this will frustrate you.

Animaniacs1993

Fast, clever, and deeply silly. The energy is there—jokes firing at speed, breakneck pacing, willingness to be both sophisticated and dumb in the same breath.

But Very nostalgia-dependent. If you missed it, the references and style might feel dated now.

Fritz the Cat1972

Ralph Bakshi's feature-length answer to 'what if we made Tex Avery for adults?' Sexual, political, anarchic. It took that theatrical energy and ran it into transgression territory.

But Genuinely obscene and nihilistic in ways that can feel hollow. The shock wears off faster than the craft holds up.

Daffy Duck's Quackbusters1988

Both are products of the theatrical cartoon era when studios understood that seven minutes of perfect visual comedy could wreck an audience. Both depend on speed, precision, and the animator's absolute control over timing.

A feature built by stitching together older Looney Tunes shorts with new wraparound material. It's a love letter to that era of theatrical animation. Seeing these pieces of genius reassembled reminds you of their power.

But The framing material is flimsy, and you're watching repackaged content. It feels like a corporate assembly job, not organic filmmaking.