My Top 10 Favorite Little Red Riding Hood TV/Film Adaptations
Tři bratři / “Three Brothers” (2014) — I love the animatronic puppet on the wolf, taking clever inspiration from Jim Henson’s works. Scary, yes but I don’t fear the wolf because I love the design of the creature; making him very sneakily mischievous. Cheap CGI doesn’t work but practical effects does and this segment on Red Riding Hood works perfectly well! This version was inspired by Charles Perrault’s work but the film revamped it a bit. I highly recommended you guys check this movie out, it’s really good and non-CGI works are incredible!
Little Red Riding Hood from Shelley’s Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre (1983) — I adore every episode of Shelley Duvall’s classic TV series, adapting iconic fairy tales from not only Charles Perrault, but also the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen as well. Featuring famous Hollywood celebrities as these well-known characters! This episode casted Mary Streenburgen as Red Riding Hood and Malcolm McDowell as the Big Bad Wolf as they are such a charming cast in this sweet adaptation of the fairytale. Plus the makeup on the cheekily cunning wolf is stunning! Go watch this full video which is available on YouTube! The wolf definitely stole the show!
Into the Woods (2014) — Famed actor and singer Johnny Depp starred as the Big Bad Wolf is such an interesting choice for the film adaptation of the classic broadway show Into the Woods, he was great in the film! Too bad he didn’t appear more often in the film because the entire movie focuses on each fairytale sticks to their source materials. Additionally, seeing Lilia Crawford as Red Riding Hood was surprisingly fascinating because after her encounter with the wolf while getting eaten by him, she became a little miss badass as she replaced her iconic red cloak with a fur coat and a knife!
Little Red Riding Hood (1995) — This anime adaptation by Jetlag Productions is a very sweetly charming version of the famous fairytale! Very nostalgic! This short film is what if Disney made an adaptation of Red Riding Hood but turning it into an anime which is very clever. I love the vibrant colors and the character designs. The wolf looks looney tunes-ish while the little girl in the red hood looks a bit realistic, so why not? Go watch it on YouTube, it’s a very cute movie.
Hoodwinked! (2005) — I love Hoodwinked! I used own the DVD of the movie and I watched this movie over a thousand times. Lots of laughs and great storytelling as it was like Fox’s Cops centering on the Little Red Riding Hood’s story. That’s a great concept for the film and it worked brilliantly. Though the animation’s not perfect but the film is forever a classic and I love the all-starred cast especially Anne Hathaway and Patrick Warburton as Red and the Wolf respectively.
Little Red Riding Hood from Simsala Grimm (2000) — The Simsala Grimm series is like a respectful spiritual successor to Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre but in animated form which I love! This animated episode centering Little Red Riding Hood is a really good adaptation and the animation is good, too. The main characters of the series, Yo-Yo and Doc Croc, as they entered the fairytale of Red Riding Hood to help her continue her journey to visit her grandmother’s mother before the wolf intervenes while trying to eat her and her grandmother.
The Big Bad Wolf from Disney’s Silly Symphonies (1934) — As a kid, I loved every animated movie and short films Walt Disney delivered. Silly Symphony is one of them especially featuring the Three Little Pigs. This is a fairytale crossover as the famous piggy trio meets Red Riding Hood as they help her quest to visit her grandmother but the very hungry wolf wants to eat her, her grandmother and the Three Little Pigs. This is such a successful sequel to 1933’s Three Little Pigs. This is the closet Disney will ever adapted Little Red Riding Hood and I love this cutely sweet short!
Little Red Happy Coat from Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995) — I love this classic animated series from HBO when I was a child and I still do now I’m an adult. So re-watchable especially this episode centering Little Red Riding Hood aka Little Red Happy Coat but it sets in Ancient China. That’s a brilliant retelling! This show was created by former Disney animator and creator of The Proud Family, Bruce W. Smith. This anthology series features tons of iconic fairytales but with lots of diversity and representations. This episode is an example with a great cast such as James Hong, Amy Hill and B.D. Wong as the Big Bad Wolf.
Ray Harryhausen’s Little Red Riding Hood (1949) — This amazingly beloved short was created by stop-animation legend Ray Harryhausen! When I first saw this as a little girl, I was terrified how the animation looks so realistic, like live-action, especially the wolf. That wolf scared me but now I’m older, I’m amazed to re-watch this incredible short film on YouTube, it still holds up today like every animated project the late Mr. Harryhausen created. This is one of my favorites he made!
Petya and Little Red Riding Hood (1958) — When I first saw this on YouTube, I was intrigued to see so much fluidity within this short film. Gotta give so much credit to those Russian animators! The animation is still incredible in today’s standards. In this film, the young boy named Petya accidentally transported himself from the movie theater screening into the actual cartoon world. Deciding not to stand by, the boy goes to stop the Wolf from eating Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother by tricking him and helping the heroes. This short is just one of the many gems that fans of animation and filmmaking that needs to be discovered.
This is my top ten list and I hope you guys enjoy reading it while cherishing my love for the classic fairytale featuring Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.
Gifs within this post is created by @hoodeandhowle aka @bchargoistheartist94 on Tumblr.
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