Red-Headed Baby

Red-Headed Baby
The title card of this short.
Directed byRudolf Ising
Produced byHugh Harman
Rudolf Ising
Leon Schlesinger
Music byFrank Marsales
Animation byRollin Hamilton
Carman Maxwell
Color processBlack-and-white
Color Systems, Inc.(1973 Korean redrawn three-strip color edition)
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • December 23, 1931 (1931-12-23)
(earliest known date)
Running time
6:39
LanguageEnglish

Red-Headed Baby is the sixth title in the Merrie Melodies series. The short was released on December 23, 1931.[1][a] It is directed by Rudolf Ising.[2]

The short is the first in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series to not feature a recurring character; all previous cartoons had featured Bosko, Foxy or Piggy.[3]

Plot

Around Christmas Eve, a toymaker creates a red-haired doll, who, after he (the toymaker) departs, comes to life along with the other toys; she subsequently breaks into singing the titular song, in the process meeting a toy soldier (given the name 'Napoleon') who instantly falls for her.

However, a massive and thuggish spider also has fallen for the doll. He kidnaps her and beats the sawdust out of Napoleon. Napoleon fills his body up again and defeats the spider using a toy train. All the toys rejoice and the doll and Napoleon reunite as the titular song reprises, ending the cartoon.

References

  1. ^ "Red-Headed Baby - Earliest Known Date". Daily News. December 23, 1931. p. 19. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  2. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 8. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  3. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

Notes

  1. ^ It likely premiered on December 19, since new cartoon shorts would premiere in theaters on Saturdays.
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