Studio: MGM Cartoons
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Produced by: Fred Quimby
Short Synopsis
The Wolf is chasing Little Red Riding Hood when she stops and points out that they are in the wrong cartoon. He shoos her off and takes a taxi to see Cinderella, a glamorous redhead, and falls for her on sight; she wants nothing to do with him. She calls her Fairy Godmother to get rid of him and to get her ready for that night's ball. The Godmother, a man-hungry old lady, arrives in a flash, traps the Wolf, conjures a red evening gown for Cinderella and turns a pumpkin into a station wagon, with the usual warning to be home by midnight. Then she keeps the Wolf for herself, appearing in an 1890s bathing suit as "Miss Repulsive 1898", then in an evening gown, and chasing him around the house. The Wolf grabs her wand, turns a bathtub into a convertible and races to the nightclub where Cinderella is singing "Oh Wolfie". He howls and whistles, while the Godmother clubs him with a mallet to keep him in line. At midnight Cinderella dashes off, but not because of the spell: she has to get to her swing shift at the aircraft factory. The Wolf chases after her, with the Godmother still chasing him.
Why It Matters
- The final twist, Cinderella rushing off at midnight to her war job in a factory, is Avery's sharpest joke about wartime America, where women working the swing shift were part of everyday life. Preston Blair's animation of Cinderella's song and the Wolf's wild reactions repeat the formula of Red Hot Riding Hood at full intensity.
- It is the third of Avery's cartoons with the Red and Wolf characters, and it shows how quickly he built a series around the success of Red Hot Riding Hood.
Notes and Trivia
- Red and the Wolf had already made a surprise appearance in The Screwy Truant earlier in 1945, apparently as a preview of this film.
- Cinderella's speaking voice is reminiscent of Bette Davis; Imogene Lynn sings "Oh Wolfie", set to the tune of "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!".
- See also: Red Hot Riding Hood (1943), Wild and Woolfy (1945).