The Trial of Mr. Wolf is a 1941 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.
Plot[]
Little Red Riding Hood is on trial. The judge is an owl, the jury is eight wolves and one skunk. The defense attorney is a wolf. Mr. Wolf gives his testimony, an idyllic story of the wolf dancing, picking flowers for his mother, and communing with nature (represented by a short-tempered bird). His story continues with Red Riding Hood plotting to deceive the wolf into leading her to Grandma's house, where Grandma is waiting to catch the Wolf for his pelt.
The wolf's testimony continues: he evades Grandma and tries to escape but is caught and throttled by Grandma, "And it was only through a miracle that I escaped with me life!"
As the Wolf finishes his story, he looks around and is shocked to see that the eight-wolves-plus-one-skunk jury, which was originally on his side, now seems very suspicious of his testimony. The Wolf then declares that if what he said is not the truth, he hopes to be run over by a streetcar. A streetcar soon does just that. He then rises from the rumble and states, "Well, maybe I did exaggerate just a little bit," after which a brick from the wall falls and hits him on top of his head.
Caricatures[]
Availability[]
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 4, Side 3
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5, Disc 2 (original titles restored)
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 5, Disc 2 (original titles restored)
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volumes 4-5 Repack
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- Mr. Wolf's voice is very similar to that of Bugs Bunny, while Red Riding Hood's voice in this cartoon is an impersonation of Katherine Hepburn.
- The Hepburn-voiced Red Riding Hood is similar to an earlier rendition of the fairy tale in "Little Red Walking Hood".
- "The Trial of Mr. Wolf" was reissued in the 1945-46 season, evident from the orange Color Rings black background. The second reissue was in the 1954-55 season, evident from red rings blue background and the background is smaller. The second reissue retained the first Blue Ribbon ending. However, the dubbed version is the Blue Ribbon.
- The original titles were restored for the DVD releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 and Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 5.
- Mr. Wolf's outfit resembles the outfits worn by Disney characters Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, with Mr. Wolf's cap and suit resembling Donald's sailor hat and suit, and his pants resembling Mickey's pants.[3]
