Affectionately known as Red, the character Tex Avery created in the early 1940's was the first of it's kind. Featured in several shorts, Red Hot Riding Hood, Swingshift Cinderella, Little Rural Riding Hood, The Shooting of Dan McGoo, and Uncle Tom's Cabana, Red was pure excitement, driving the wolf into a frenzy at her mere appearance.

Created for GI's during WWII, Red was an instant hit, in fact her looks were so georgous, she was initially banned from TV as being to provocative. Her sultry voice, Dorothy Lamour's hair, Betty Grable's figure, swinging body movements all combined to create the first sexual cartoon character.

Even though the character is close to 60 years old, she made an impact on animated characters long after her last short. In the 1980's, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", the character of Jessica was clearly based on Red.

One company selling posters of Red, even states the following: "As sexy as she was in her series of 1940's Tex Avery cartoons, Red Hot is the perfect pin-up girl for this millennium." I totally agree.

To the right, is Red's first appearence in "Red Hot Riding Hood". The character as seen underwent very little changes in the shorts she was featured in.

Unlike Disney's Snow White, Avery's Red is not based on an actual female body. Snow White's movements were rotoscoped then she was graphically fattened to employ the cute factor that made her immediately a-sexual. Red was animated without the benefit of a rotoscope, or even live action footage to study from.

Red's animator Preston Blair stated, "One of the greatest compliments I have ever received in my life happened on the second or third 'Red' picture. Somebody, at night, stole several of the 'Red' cels right off the camera stand before the cameraman had a chance to photograph them... 'Red' was worth stealing...wow!"