Red Riding Hood
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"Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by
Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...
about a young girl and a
Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales, including some of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''. Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory ant ...
. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...
. The story has varied considerably in different versions over the centuries, translations, and as the subject of numerous modern adaptations. Other names for the story are "Little Red Cap" or simply "Red Riding Hood". It is number 333 in the Aarne–Thompson classification system for folktales.


Plot

The story centers around a girl named Little Red Riding Hood, named after her red hooded
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
that she wears. The girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sickly grandmother (
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
and
cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...
depending on the translation). A stalking wolf wants to eat the girl and the food in the basket. After he inquires as to where she is going, he suggests that she pick some flowers as a present for her grandmother. While she goes in search of flowers, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be Riding Hood. He swallows the grandmother whole, climbs into her bed, and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandmother. When Riding Hood arrives, she notices the strange appearance of her "grandmother". After some back and forth, Riding Hood comments on the wolf's teeth, at which point the wolf leaps out of bed and eats her as well. In Charles Perrault's version of the story, the first to be published, the wolf falls asleep afterwards, whereupon the story ends. In later versions, the story continues. A woodcutter in the French version, or a
hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
in the Brothers Grimm and traditional German versions, comes to the rescue with an axe, and cuts open the sleeping wolf. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge shaken, but unharmed. Then they fill the wolf's body with heavy stones. The wolf awakens and attempts to flee, but the stones cause him to collapse and die. In the Grimms' version, the wolf leaves the house and tries to drink out of a well, but the stones in his stomach cause him to fall in and drown (similarly to the story of " The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids"). Sanitized versions of the story have the grandmother locked in the closet rather than being eaten (and also having the wolf eat the food Little Red Riding Hood bought rather than her) and some have Little Red Riding Hood saved by the lumberjack as the wolf advances on her rather than after she is eaten, where the woodcutter kills or simply chases away the wolf with his axe.


History


Relationship to other tales

The story displays similarities to stories from classical Greece and Rome. Scholar Graham Anderson has compared the story to a local legend recounted by Pausanias in which, each year, a virgin girl was offered to a
malevolent spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the ghost, spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial o ...
dressed in the skin of a wolf, who raped the girl. Then, one year, the boxer Euthymos came along, slew the spirit, and married the girl who had been offered as a sacrifice. There are also a number of different stories recounted by Greek authors involving a woman named Pyrrha (literally "fire") and a man with some name meaning "wolf". The Roman poet
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
alludes to a tale in which a male child is rescued alive from the belly of
Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...
, an
ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...
ss in classical mythology. The dialogue between the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood has analogies to the Norse ''
Þrymskviða ''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be Old Norse orthography, anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse mythology, Norse my ...
'' from the '' Elder Edda''; the giant Þrymr had stolen
Mjölnir Mjölnir ( , ; from Old Norse ''Mjǫllnir'' ) is the hammer of the thunder god Thor in Norse mythology, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including t ...
,
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
's hammer, and demanded
Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...
as his bride for its return. Instead, the gods dressed Thor as a bride and sent him. When the giants note Thor's unladylike eyes, eating, and drinking,
Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
explains them as Freyja's not having slept, eaten, or drunk, out of longing for the wedding. A parallel to another Norse myth, the chase and eventual murder of the sun goddess by the wolf
Sköll In Norse mythology, Sköll (Old Norse: , "Treachery"Orchard (1997:150). or "Mockery"Simek (2007:292)) is a wolf that, according to Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', chases the Sun (personified as a goddess, Sól) riding her chariot across th ...
, has also been drawn. A similar story also belongs to the North African tradition, namely in Kabylia, where a number of versions are attested. The theme of the little girl who visits her (grand)dad in his cabin and is recognized by the sound of her bracelets constitutes the refrain of a well-known song by the modern singer Idir, " A Vava Inouva": The theme of the ravening wolf and of the creature released unharmed from its belly is also reflected in the Russian tale "
Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...
" and another Grimm tale " The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids", but its general theme of restoration is at least as old as the biblical story, "
Jonah and the Whale Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor prophets, ...
". The theme also appears in the story of the life of Saint Margaret, wherein the saint emerges unharmed from the belly of a
dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
, and in the short story "The Red Path" by Jim C. Hines. A Taiwanese story from the 16th century, known as '' Aunt Tiger'' bears several striking similarities. In this story there are two girls who are sisters. When the girls' mother goes out, the tigress comes to the girls' house and pretends to be their aunt, asking to come in. One girl says that the aunt's voice does not sound right, so the tigress attempts to disguise her voice. Then, the girl says that the aunt's hands feel too coarse, so the tigress attempts to make her paws smoother. When finally the tigress gains entry, she eats the girl's sister. The girl comes up with a ruse to go outside and fetch some food for her aunt. Aunt Tiger, suspicious of the girl, ties a rope to her leg. The girl ties a bucket to the rope to fool her, but Aunt Tiger realizes this and chases after her, whereupon she climbs into a tree. The girl tells the tigress that she will let her eat her, but first, she would like to feed her some fruit from the tree. The tigress comes closer to eat the fruit, whereupon the girl pours boiling hot oil down her throat, killing her. According to Paul Delarue, a similar narrative is found in East Asian stories, namely, in China, Korea and Japan, with the title "The Tiger and the Children".


Earliest versions

The origins of the Little Red Riding Hood story can be traced to several likely pre-17th-century versions from various European countries. Some of these are significantly different from the currently known, Grimms-inspired version. It was told by French peasants in the 10th century and recorded by the cathedral schoolmaster Egbert of Liège. A 15th-century collection of folklore described an anecdote about a woman whose husband was a werewolf. However, it bears little resemblance to Perrault's text. In Italy, Little Red Riding Hood was told by peasants in the 14th century, where many versions exist, including ''La finta nonna'' (The False Grandmother), written among others by
Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, ; ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian novelist and short story writer. His best-known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosm ...
in the ''
Italian Folktales ''Italian Folktales'' (''Fiabe italiane'') is a collection of 200 Italian Folklore, folktales published in 1956 in literature, 1956 by Italo Calvino. Calvino began the project in 1954, influenced by Vladimir Propp's ''Morphology of the Folktale' ...
'' collection. It has also been called "The Story of Grandmother". It is also possible that this early tale has roots in very similar East Asian tales (e.g. "Grandaunt Tiger"). These early variations of the tale do differ from the currently known version in several ways. The antagonist is not always a wolf, but sometimes a 'bzou' (
werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
), making these tales relevant to the werewolf trials (similar to witch trials) of the time (e.g. the trial of
Peter Stumpp Peter Stumpp (–1589; name is also spelt as Peter Stube, Peter Stubbe, Peter Stübbe or Peter Stumpf) was a German farmer and alleged serial killer, accused of werewolfery, witchcraft, and cannibalism. He was known as "the Werewolf of Bedbur ...
). The wolf usually leaves the grandmother's blood and flesh for the girl to eat, who then unwittingly cannibalizes her grandmother. Furthermore, the wolf was also known to ask her to take off her clothing and throw it into the fire. In some versions, the wolf eats the girl after she gets into bed with him, and the story ends there. In others, she sees through his disguise and tries to escape, complaining to her "grandmother" that she needs to defecate and would not wish to do so in the bed. The wolf reluctantly lets her go, tied to a piece of string so she does not get away. The girl slips the string over something else and runs off. In these stories, she escapes with no help from any male or older female figure, instead using her own cunning, or in some versions, the help of a younger boy whom she happens to run into. Sometimes, though more rarely, the red hood is even non-existent. In other tellings of the story, the wolf chases after Little Red Riding Hood. She escapes with the help of some laundresses, who spread a sheet taut over a river so she may escape. When the wolf follows Red over the bridge of cloth, the sheet is released, and the wolf drowns in the river. And in another version, the wolf is pushed into the fire, while he is preparing the flesh of the grandmother to be eaten by the girl.


Charles Perrault version

The earliest known printed version was known as ''Le Petit Chaperon Rouge'' and may have had its origins in 17th-century French
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
. It was included in the collection '' Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals. Tales of Mother Goose'' (''Histoires et contes du temps passé, avec des moralités. Contes de ma mère l'Oye''), in 1697, by
Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...
. As the title implies, this version is both more sinister and more overtly moralized than the later ones. The redness of the hood, which has been given symbolic significance in many interpretations of the tale, was a detail introduced by Perrault. The story had as its subject an "attractive, well-bred young lady", a village girl of the country being deceived into giving a wolf she encountered the information he needed to find her grandmother's house successfully and eat the old woman while at the same time avoiding being noticed by woodcutters working in the nearby forest. Then he proceeded to lay a trap for Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood ends up being asked to climb into the bed before being eaten by the wolf, where the story ends. The wolf emerges as the victor of the encounter, and there is no happy ending. Charles Perrault explained the 'moral' at the end of the tale so that no doubt is left to his intended meaning: This, the presumed original version of the tale, was written for the late 17th-century French court of
King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...
. This audience, whom the King entertained with extravagant parties, presumably would take from the story's intended meaning.


The Brothers Grimm version

In the 19th century two separate German versions were retold to
Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...
and his younger brother
Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author, philologist and anthropologist. He was the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1 ...
, known as the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...
, the first by Jeanette Hassenpflug (1791–1860) and the second by Marie Hassenpflug (1788–1856). The brothers turned the first version to the main body of the story and the second into a sequel of it. The story as ''Rotkäppchen'' was included in the first edition of their collection ''
Kinder- und Hausmärchen ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (, , commonly abbreviated as ''KHM''), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812. Vol ...
'' (Children's and Household Tales (1812) – KHM 26). The earlier parts of the tale agree so closely with Perrault's variant that it is almost certainly the source of the tale. This version ends with the girl and her grandmother saved by a huntsman who was after the wolf's skin; this ending mirrors that in the tale " The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids", which appears to be the source. The second part featured the girl and her grandmother trapping and killing another wolf, this time anticipating his moves based on their experience with the previous one. The girl did not leave the path when the wolf spoke to her, her grandmother locked the door to keep it out, and when the wolf lurked, the grandmother had Little Red Riding Hood put a trough under the chimney and fill it with water that sausages had been cooked in; the smell lured the wolf down, and it drowned. The Brothers further revised the story in later editions and it reached the above-mentioned final and better-known version in the 1857 edition of their work. It is notably tamer than the older stories which contained darker themes.


Later versions

Numerous authors have rewritten, adapted, or collected variants of this tale. Charles Marelle in his version of the fairy tale called "The True History of Little Goldenhood" (1888) gives the girl a real name – Blanchette.
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...
included a variant called "The True History of Little Goldenhood" in '' The Red Fairy Book'' (1890). He derived it from the works of Charles Marelles, in ''Contes of Charles Marelles''. This version explicitly states that the story had been mistold earlier. The girl is saved, but not by the huntsman; when the wolf tries to eat her, its mouth is burned by the golden hood she wears, which is enchanted. James N. Barker wrote a variation of Little Red Riding Hood in 1827 as an approximately 1000-word story. It was later reprinted in 1858 in a book of collected stories edited by William E Burton, called the ''Cyclopedia of Wit and Humor''. The reprint also features a wood engraving of a clothed wolf on a bended knee holding Little Red Riding Hood's hand.
Jack Zipes Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a literary scholar and author. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. Zipes is known for his work on fairy tales, folklore, crit ...
anthologized several 19th-century variants. Northcote Whitridge Thomas included a variant with a male protagonist in his report of the Ibo people. An Iranian variant, featuring a little boy and the disrobing motif, appears in a 20th-century French anthology. Geneviève Massignon recorded a variant called "Boudin-Boudine" from an informant in Le Gué-de-Velluire. In this version, a little boy is protected from the wolf by his grandmother and father.


Interpretations

Apart from the overt warning about talking to strangers, there are many interpretations of the classic fairy tale, many of them sexual. Some are listed below.


Natural cycles

Folklorists Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
and
cultural anthropologists Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
, such as P. Saintyves and
Edward Burnett Tylor Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (2 October 18322 January 1917) was an English anthropologist, and professor of anthropology. Tylor's ideas typify 19th-century cultural evolutionism. In his works '' Primitive Culture'' (1871) and ''Anthropology'' ...
, saw "Little Red Riding Hood" in terms of solar myths and other naturally occurring cycles. Her red hood could represent the bright sun which is ultimately swallowed by the terrible night (the wolf), and the variations in which she is cut out of the wolf's belly represent the dawn. In this interpretation, there is a connection between the wolf of this tale and
Sköll In Norse mythology, Sköll (Old Norse: , "Treachery"Orchard (1997:150). or "Mockery"Simek (2007:292)) is a wolf that, according to Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', chases the Sun (personified as a goddess, Sól) riding her chariot across th ...
, the wolf in Norse mythology that will swallow the personified Sun at
Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...
, or
Fenrir Fenrir (Old Norse 'fen-dweller')Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (Old Norse "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (Old Norse "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (Old Nors ...
. Alternatively, the tale could be about the season of spring or the month of May, escaping the winter.


Rite

The tale has been interpreted as a
puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles i ...
rite, stemming from a prehistoric origin (sometimes an origin stemming from a previous matriarchal era). The girl, leaving home, enters a liminal state and by going through the acts of the tale, is transformed into an adult woman by the act of coming out of the wolf's stomach.


Rebirth

Bruno Bettelheim Bruno Bettelheim (; August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born American psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bet ...
, in '' The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales'' (1976), recast the Little Red Riding Hood motif in terms of classic
Freudian Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...
analysis, that shows how fairy tales educate, support, and liberate children's emotions. The motif of the huntsman cutting open the wolf he interpreted as a "rebirth"; the girl who foolishly listened to the wolf has been reborn as a new person.


Norse myth

The poem "
Þrymskviða ''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be Old Norse orthography, anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse mythology, Norse my ...
" from the ''
Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...
'' mirrors some elements of Red Riding Hood.
Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
's explanations for the strange behavior of "
Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...
" (actually
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
disguised as Freyja) mirror the wolf's explanations for his strange appearance. The red hood has often been given great importance in many interpretations, with a significance from the dawn to blood.


Erotic, romantic, or rape connotations

A sexual analysis of the tale may also include negative connotations in terms of rape or abduction. In ''Against Our Will'',
Susan Brownmiller Susan Brownmiller (born Susan Warhaftig; February 15, 1935 – May 24, 2025) was an American journalist, author, and feminist activist, best known for her 1975 book '' Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape'', which was selected by The New ...
describes the fairy tale as allegory of rape. Many revisionist versions focus on empowerment and depict Little Red Riding Hood or the grandmother successfully defending herself against the wolf. Such tellings bear some similarity to the "animal bridegroom" tales, such as ''
Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...
'' or ''
The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales, ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). Traditionally, it is the fir ...
'', but where the heroines of those tales revert the hero to a prince, these tellings of ''Little Red Riding Hood'' reveal to the heroine that she has a wild nature like the hero's. These interpretations reframe the story as one of female empowerment and do not characterize Little Red Riding Hood as a victim.


In popular culture


In animation and film

* In
Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of America ...
's short
animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
, "
Red Hot Riding Hood ''Red Hot Riding Hood'' is an animated cartoon short subject, directed by Tex Avery and released with the movie '' Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case'' on May 8, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994, it was voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoon ...
" (1943), the story is recast in an adult-oriented urban setting, with the suave, sharp-dressed Wolf howling after the
nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
. Avery used the same cast and themes in a subsequent series of cartoons. Similar modern takes also feature in "
Swing Shift Cinderella ''Swing Shift Cinderella'' is a 1945 MGM animated cartoon short subject directed by Tex Avery. The plot involves the Big Bad Wolf and Cinderella. Frank Graham voiced the wolf, and Sara Berner voiced both Cinderella and The Fairy Grandmother, wi ...
" (1945) and "
Little Rural Riding Hood ''Little Rural Riding Hood'' is a 1949 MGM animated cartoon short subject directed by Tex Avery, conceived as a follow-up to his 1943 cartoon '' Red Hot Riding Hood''. In 1994, the cartoon was ranked in 23rd place of The 50 Greatest Cartoons. It ...
" (1949). * ''
The Company of Wolves ''The Company of Wolves'' is a 1984 British Gothic fantasy horror film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Micha Bergese, and Sarah Patterson in her film debut. The screenplay by Angela Carter and Jordan was a ...
'' (1984) is a film adaptation based on the short story by
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
and directed by
Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...
. The wolf in this version of the tale is in fact a werewolf, which comes to the newly-menstruating Red Riding Hood in the form of a charming hunter while the girl is in the forest. The hunter turns into a wolf and kills her grandmother, and is about to claim Rosaleen (Red Riding Hood) as well; but she is equally seductive and ends up lying with the wolf man and dominating him right back. In the end, she becomes a werewolf and the huntsman's mate before the two run off into the forest to join his pack. This version may be interpreted as a young girl's journey into womanhood, both with regard to menstruation and sexual awakening. * is a 1937 adaptation of the story by the
German state The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...
which had a deep interest in the stories of the Brothers Grimm and saw them as useful for teaching ideology. This version has been suppressed but has been seen by academics. * ''Krasnaya Shapochka'' (1937) is a Soviet black-and-white animated film by the Brumberg sisters (the so-called "grandmothers of the Russian animation"). Its plot differs slightly from the original fairy tale. It was issued on videotapes in various collections in the 1980s, via the SECAM system, and in the 1990s, via the PAL system, in collections of animated films of a video studio "Soyuz" (since 1994 and 1995 respectively). * '' The Big Bad Wolf'' is an animated short released on 13 April 1934 by
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
, produced by
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
and directed by
Burt Gillett Burton F. Gillett (October 15, 1891 – December 28, 1971) was a Film director, director of animation, animated films. He is noted for his Silly Symphonies work for Walt Disney Pictures, Disney, particularly the 1932 short film ''Flowers and Tree ...
as part of the ''
Silly Symphony ''Silly Symphony'' (also known as ''Silly Symphonies'') is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Si ...
'' series. In the film, the Big Bad Wolf from 1933's ''
Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build their houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which are made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's ho ...
'' is the adversary of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. * In the Soviet Russian animated film ''Petya and Little Red Riding Hood'' (1958), directed by Boris Stepantsev and Evgeny Raykovsky, the main character (a boy named Petya Ivanov) witnesses the Grey Wolf deceiving a trusting girl and risks his life to rescue her and her grandmother. The animated movie is considered a cult film, with many of its lines having become catch-phrases in popular culture. In 1959 and 1960, the film received awards at festivals in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, Ukraine and Ansi, Estonia. * The 1996 movie ''
Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
'' is a crime drama loosely adapted from the Riding Hood story, with Riding Hood (
Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
) recast as an abused, illiterate teenager and the wolf (
Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 20 ...
) portrayed as a serial killer named Bob Wolverton. The film had one straight-to-video sequel. * '' Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade'' (1999) is a Japanese action political thriller animated film that uses the story of Little Red Riding Hood to show the triumph of the wolf. * '' Hoodwinked!'' (2005) is a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" as a police investigation. * The film '' Red Riding Hood'' (2006) is a musical based upon the tale. * The film '' Red Riding Hood'' (2011) is loosely based upon the tale. * The wolf appears in the ''
Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...
'' franchise of films. He is wearing the grandmother's clothing as in the fairy tale, though the films imply that the gown is merely a personal style choice and that the wolf is not dangerous. * Red Riding Hood briefly appears in the film ''
Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Sti ...
'' (2004), wherein she is frightened by Shrek and Fiona and runs off. * Red Riding Hood is one of the main characters in the 2014
film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
of the 1987 musical ''Into the Woods'', and is portrayed by Lilla Crawford. * Little Red Riding Hood is parodied in the
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
cartoons '' Little Red Riding Rabbit'' (1944,
Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...
) and '' The Windblown Hare'' (1949,
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
), with
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...
, and '' Red Riding Hoodwinked'' (1955, Looney Tunes) with
Tweety Tweety is an animated character, a yellow canary bird in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid". He appeared in ...
and
Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...
. * ''Children at Play'' (2010) is a short film written and directed by Lexan Rosser, starring
Bryan Dechart Bryan Patrick Dechart (born March 17, 1987) is an American actor and Twitch streamer. He is best known for his role as Connor in the video game '' Detroit: Become Human''. He also played Eli Chandler on the television series '' Jane by Design'' ...
. The film can be interpreted as a reimagining of the classic fairy tale due to its number of overt/subtle parallels and references. *The character
Ruby Rose Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20 March 1986) is an Australian actress, television presenter, and model. She gained prominence for her role in Orange Is the New Black season 3, season three of the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2015 ...
in the popular internet series ''
RWBY ''RWBY'' (pronounced "Ruby") is an American Anime-influenced animation, animated web series created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. It is set in the fictional world of Remnant, where young people train to become warriors ("Huntsmen" and "Huntres ...
'' is based on "Little Red Riding Hood". *'' The Grimm Variations'' (2024), a
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
anime series, features a retelling of the story. Set in a
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
where people avoid the real world by entering a virtual reality, the Big Bad Wolf is portrayed as a human serial killer called Grey. Grey kills women to give himself a real-world experience, but then is arranged to meet a woman named Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood).


In television

* In the pilot episode "Wolf Moon" of the
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
hit series ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed when he discover ...
'' the protagonist Scott McCall wears a red hoodie, when he gets attacked by an alpha werewolf in the woods in the night of a full moon. * The pilot episode of
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's TV series ''
Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christia ...
'' reveals that the Red Riding Hood stories were inspired by the fabled attacks of Blutbaden, lycanthropic beings who have a deeply ingrained bloodlust and a weakness for victims wearing red. * In
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus ''Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'' (''Monty Python's Flying Circus'') is a pair of 45-minute Monty Python German television comedy specials produced by WDR for West German television. The two episodes were respectively first broadcast in Janua ...
, Red is portrayed by
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
as a huge, thuggish strongman in a
dirndl A dirndl () is a feminine dress which originated in German-speaking areas of the Alps. It is traditionally worn by women and girls in some Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.Anette Dralle & Christiane Ma ...
and hood, while the wolf is an inoffensive longhaired
Dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: 'badger dog'), also known as the wiener dog or sausage dog, badger dog, doxen and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varie ...
wearing an unconvincing costume, who is shot by security guards when he reaches
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
headquarters, which he has mistaken for Granny's house. *In the PBS Kids series ''
Super Why! ''Super Why!'' is an animated superhero preschool educational television series created by Angela Santomero and developed by Santomero and Samantha Freeman Alpert for PBS Kids. Santomero and Alpert additionally serve as executive producers al ...
'', Little Red Riding Hood (also known as "Red") is one of the main characters in the show. She then transforms into a superhero called Wonder Red, giving her the ability to rhyme words (such as "cat" and "bat") * '' Red: Werewolf Hunter'' is a 2010 Canadian
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
. In this TV film, "Red" is a family nickname of the first daughter in every generation of a family that hunts werewolves, descendant of Little Red Riding Hood. * Red Riding Hood is a character in ABC's ''
Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...
'' (2011) TV series. In this version of the tale, Red (portrayed by Meghan Ory) is a werewolf, and her cape is the only thing that can prevent her from metamorphosing during a full moon when there is magic present. In the Enchanted Forest, she accidentally devoured her boyfriend Peter (portrayed by Jesse Hutch) and ran off with Snow White (portrayed by
Ginnifer Goodwin Ginnifer Goodwin (born Jennifer Michelle Goodwin on May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She starred as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011), Mary Margaret Blanchard, Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the Am ...
). Her Storybrooke persona is Ruby Lucas, a waitress. * The story was retold as part of the episode " Grimm Job" of the American animated TV series ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' (season 12, episode 10), with Stewie playing Little Red Riding Hood and Brian the Big Bad Wolf. Additionally, both Red Hiding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf appeared briefly in a clip in the season one episode '' The Son Also Draws''. * In the TV series ''
Goldie & Bear ''Goldie & Bear'' is an American animated fantasy children's television series created by Jorge Aguirre for Disney Junior. The series is produced by Milk Barn Entertainment and Titmouse, Inc in its first and second seasons respectively. Inspire ...
'' Red is a little girl who delivers muffins to her granny and likes to keep her hood clean and tidy. She is also the daughter of
The Muffin Man "The Muffin Man" is a traditional nursery rhyme, children's song, or children's game of England, English origin. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7922. Origins and meaning The rhyme was first recorded in a British manuscript circa 1820, ...
. * Little Red Riding Hood is parodied in '' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' episode, "Little Red Riding Princess" with Princess Toadstool in the role of Red Riding Hood and King Koopa as the wolf. * In the Disney Junior series ''
Little Einsteins ''Little Einsteins'' is an American Animated series, animated children's television series developed by Douglas Wood (writer), Douglas Wood and based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. Produced by The Baby Einstein Company (at the time owned ...
'' episode, "Little Red Rockethood" the format follows the story but in the episode Rocket is taking a stew-pot with his favorite "Rocket Soup" for his grandma who has a bad cold with help from the little Einsteins. His archenemy, Big Jet (playing the big bad wolf) steals the soup and flies off with it so the Einsteins chase after him before catching the soup. Upon arriving at Grandma Rocket's home Big Jet tricks them again only to then crash into a
mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...
puddle before Rocket cures his grandma with the soup. * The tabletop role-playing game show ''
Dimension 20 ''Dimension 20'' is a tabletop role-playing game show produced by and broadcast on Dropout (media company), Dropout, and created and generally hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the show's regular Dungeon Master. Most of the games use Dungeons ...
'' has Little Red Riding Hood as a main character in the "Neverafter" season. In this adaptation she has the full human name of Ylfa Snorgelsson and is played by
Emily Axford Emily Axford is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her various roles in CollegeHumor videos, her role as Emily on the truTV comedy ''Adam Ruins Everything,'' and for her role on the Pop original ''Hot Date.'' Early ...
.


In literature

*
Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...
's poem ''Little Red Riding Hood'' in The Court Journal, 1835 is subtitled ''Lines suggested by the engraving of Landseer's Picture''. It reflects on memories of lost childhood. * Charles Perrault's "Le Petit Chaperon rouge" ("Little Red Riding Hood") is centered on an erotic metaphor. * Gabriela Mistral, the Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet, told the story as a short poem as part of her 1924 book, ''Ternura'' * Little Red Riding Hood appears in
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
's short story "The Company of Wolves", published in '' The Bloody Chamber'' (1979), her collection of "dark, feminist fables" filled with "bestial and ferocious" heroines. Carter's rewriting of the tale—both her 1979 story and its 1984 film adaptation, the screenplay of which Carter co-wrote with director Neil Jordan—examines female lust, which according to author Catherine Orenstein is "healthy, but also challenging and sometimes disturbing, unbridled and feral lust that delivers up contradictions." As Orenstein points out, the film version does this by unravelling the original tale's "underlying sexual currents" and by investing Rosaleen (the Little Red Riding Hood character, played by Sarah Patterson) with "animal instincts" that lead to her transformation. * In her collection, ''The World's Wife'', Carol Ann Duffy published a poem—the first in the collection–called 'Little Red-Cap' in which a more grown up protagonist meets and develops a relationship with the Wolf. * In the manga '' Tokyo Akazukin'' the protagonist is an 11-year-old girl nicknamed "Red Riding Hood" or "Red Hood". Akazukin means "red hood" in Japanese. * Jerry Pinkney adapted the story for a children's picture book of the same name (2007). * The American writer
James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...
wrote a satirical short story called "The Little Girl and the Wolf", based on Little Red Riding Hood. *
Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional poetry, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book ''Live or Die (book ...
wrote an adaptation as a poem called "Red Riding Hood" in her collection ''Transformations'' (1971), a book in which she re-envisions 16 of the ''Grimm's Fairy tales''. * Little Red Riding Hood is one of the main characters in the 1986 children's book '' O Fantástico Mistério de Feiurinha'' written by Pedro Bandeira. She is the only one of the main characters who is not a princess and helps her friends discover the whereabouts of the Princess Feiurinha that disappeared. * James Finn Garner wrote an adaptation in his book '' Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life and Times'', a book in which thirteen fairy tales were rewritten. Garner's adaptation of "Little Red Riding Hood" brings up topics like feminism and gender norms. * Michael Buckley's children's series '' The Sisters Grimm'' includes characters drawn from the fairy tale. * ''Dark & Darker Faerie Tales'' by Two Sisters is a collection of dark fairy tales which features Little Red Riding Hood, revealing what happened to her after her encounter with the wolf. * Singaporean artist Casey Chen rewrote the story with a
Singlish Singlish (a portmanteau of ''Singapore'' and '' English''), formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English, is an English-based creole language originating in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact betwe ...
accent and published it as ''The Red Riding Hood Lah!''. The storyline largely remains the same but is set in Singapore and comes with visual hints of the country placed subtly in the illustrations throughout the book. The book is written as an expression of Singaporean identity. *'' Scarlet'' is a 2013 novel written by Marissa Meyer that was loosely based on the fairy tale. In the story, a girl named Scarlet tries to find her missing grandmother with the help of a mysterious street fighter called Wolf. It is the second book of ''
The Lunar Chronicles ''The Lunar Chronicles'' is a series of four young adult science fiction novels, a novella, and a short story collection written by American author Marissa Meyer and published by Feiwel & Friends. Each book entails a science fictional twist on ...
''. *''
The Land of Stories ''The Land of Stories'' is a series of children's fiction, adventure, and fantasy books written by American author, actor, and singer Chris Colfer. The first book, ''The Wishing Spell'', was released on July 17, 2012, with the sixth and final boo ...
'' is a series written by
Chris Colfer Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical ''Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received crit ...
. In it, Red Riding Hood is the queen of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom, whose citizens are called "Hoodians". She is one of the main characters and helps her friends fight dangerous intruders. She is narcissistic and self-absorbed but can be useful at times. It is said that she and
Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an impudent old woman who enters the forest home of three anthropomorphic bachelor bears while th ...
were good friends, but they both had a crush on Jack from
Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...
, and Red, in vain, misled Goldilocks to the Three Bears House, where she became an
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...
. * Nikita Gill's 2018 poetry collection ''Fierce Fairytales: & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul'' alludes to Little Red Riding Hood in the poem "The Red Wolf". * In Rosamund Hodge's 2015 novel '' Crimson Bound'', a girl named Rachelle is forced to serve the realm after meeting dark forces in the woods. * In
Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; born March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet'', '' Number the Stars'', the Anastasia series, and '' Rabble Starkey''. ...
's historical novel ''
Number the Stars ''Number the Stars'' is a 1989 historical novel by the American author Lois Lowry about the escape of a family of Jews from Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II. The story revolves around ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with he ...
'', the protagonist Annemarie runs through the woods while fleeing Nazis, reciting the story of Little Red Riding Hood to calm herself down. * The Kentucky writer Cordellya Smith wrote the first Native American version of Little Red Riding Hood, called ''Kawoni's Journey Across the Mountain: A Cherokee Little Red Riding Hood''. It introduces some basic Cherokee words and phrases while drawing Cherokee legends into the children's story. * Hannah F. Whitten wrote a retelling inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood" named "For the wolf", where the character named Red is sacrificed to the Wolf as part of tradition. In this retelling the wolf is a man, and later on they form a relationship. * Red Riding Hood is a character in Bill Willingham's
Fables (comics) ''Fables'' is an American comic book ongoing series, series created and written by Bill Willingham, published by DC Comics' Vertigo Comics, Vertigo imprint. Willingham served as sole writer for its entirety, with Mark Buckingham (comic book artist ...
series beginning with the Homelands arc. * Little Red Riding Hood is frequently parodied in many of the ''
Monica and Friends ''Monica and Friends'' (), previously published as ''Monica's Gang'' in Anglophone territories and as ''Frizz and Friends'' in London, is a Brazilian comic book series and media franchise created by Mauricio de Sousa. The series originated in a c ...
'' comic books, usually with the main character being played by either Monica or Maggy or being a separated character. One of the most notable parodies is the story "A Substituta" (published in June 2000 in Magali #288, Globo) that was later adapted in an animated episode in 2005 for a sequel to '' Cine Gibi: O Filme'', with the title "Chapeuzinho Vermelho 2". In the story Little Red Riding Hood resigns from her role-playing the same character, which leads the Wolf and the other characters to use other girl (Maggy) to replace the role. * In 2024, Little Red Riding Hood was adapted in Jade Maitre’s "The Burning Girls", combining the familiar motifs of the classic story with elements of psychological depth, gothic horror, and dark fantasy; transforming the traditional narrative into a haunting and spare tale of fear, resilience and female power, inspired by the petroleuses of the 1871 Paris Commune.


In music

* "How Could Red Riding Hood? (Have Been So Very Good and Still Keep the Wolf from the Door)", written by A.P. Randolph, was first recorded in 1926 by various artists including the
Yacht Club Boys The Yacht Club Boys were a quartet of American comic singers, popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The best-known set of Yacht Club Boys consisted of Charlie Adler, George Kelly, Billy Mann, and Jimmie Kern. They made recordings from the 1920s and appe ...
and Dolly Kay. Despite being a hit, it was banned from the radio due to its suggestive lyrics. * Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs's hit song, " Li'l Red Riding Hood" (1966), take Wolf's point of view, implying that he wants love rather than blood. Here, the Wolf befriends Little Red Riding Hood disguised as a sheep and offers to protect her on her journey through the woods. *
The Kelly Family The Kelly Family is a European-American music group consisting of a multi-generational family, usually nine siblings who were joined occasionally on stage in their earlier years by their parents. They play a repertoire of rock, pop, and folk mus ...
's " The Wolf" (1994) is inspired by the tale, warning the children that there's a Wolf out there. During the instrumental bridge in live shows, the song's lead singer,
Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
, does both Little Red Riding Hood's and Wolf's part, where the child asks her grandmother about the big eyes, ears, and mouth. * "Little Red Riding Hood" is a rawstyle song by Da Tweekaz, which was later remixed by Ecstatic. * Sunny's concept photo for
Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...
's third studio album '' The Boys'' was inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood". *
Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
has an unreleased song called ''Big Bad Wolf'' (leaked in 2012) that was inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood". * The music videos of the songs '' Call Me When You're Sober'' from American rock band
Evanescence Evanescence is an American Rock music, rock band founded in 1994 by singer and keyboardist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody in Little Rock, Arkansas. After releasing independent extended play, EPs and a Origin (Evanescence demo album), demo ...
and '' The Hunted'' from Canadian supergroup Saint Asonia featuring
Sully Erna Salvatore Paul Erna Jr. (born February 7, 1968) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter, best known as the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for rock band Godsmack. He is also a harmonica player, drummer, and percussionist, performing these ...
from American heavy metal band
Godsmack Godsmack is an American Rock music, rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eig ...
were inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood". *
Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
's Op. 39 No. 6 (Études-Tableaux) is nicknamed "Little Red Riding Hood" for its dark theme and the wolf-like connotations of the piece. *
The Real Tuesday Weld The Real Tuesday Weld is a British band formed in 2001 by lead singer and producer Stephen Coates, who studied at the Royal College of Art. They have released several albums, singles and EPs, and many tracks on compilations. Their combination ...
's "Me and Mr. Wolf" (2011) portrays the relationship between the wolf and Red Riding Hood as toxic. *
CupcakKe Elizabeth Eden Harris (born May 31, 1997), known professionally as Cupcakke (often stylized as cupcakKe; pronounced "cupcake"), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter known for her Sexualization, hypersexualized, brazen, and often comical ...
references the tale and characters in her song "Little Red Riding Good" (2024) from her album Dauntless Manifesto.


In games

* In the ''
Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Sti ...
'' (2004) video game, she is playable and appears as a friend of
Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...
's. She joins him, Fiona, and Donkey on their journey to Far Far Away, despite only appearing in the film's opening scene. * In the computer game ''Dark Parables: The Red Riding Hood Sisters'' (2013), the original Red Riding Hood was orphaned when a wolf killed her grandma. A hunter killed the wolf before it could kill her. He took her in as his own out of pity. The Red Riding Hood of this story convinced the hunter to teach her how to fight. They protected the forest together until the hunter was killed during a wolf attack. The Red Riding Hood continued on protecting the forest and took in other orphaned girls and taught them to fight too. They take up wearing a red riding hood and cape to honor their teacher. Even after the death of the original Red Riding Hood the girls continue doing what she did in life. * In the
fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
'' Darkstalkers 3'' (1997), the character Baby Bonnie Hood (known in the Japanese release as Bulleta) is a parody of Little Red Riding Hood, complete with a childish look, red hood and picnic basket. But instead of food, her basket is full of guns and grenades. Her personality is somewhat psychotic, guerrilla-crazy. During the fights, a small dog named Harry watches the action from the sidelines and reacts to her taking damage in battle. Two rifle-wielding huntsmen named John and Arthur briefly appear alongside her in a special power-up move titled "Beautiful Hunting" that inflicts extra damage on opponents. The character may be based on the James Thurber or Roald Dahl versions of the story, where Red pulls a gun from her basket and shoots the wolf, and the idea behind her character was to show that at their worst, humans are scarier than any imaginary monster. * The psychological horror art game '' The Path'' (2007) features 6 sisters, ages 9–19, who all must face their own 'wolf' in the forest on the way to Grandmother's house. The game is developed by Tale of Tales and was originally released for the Microsoft Windows operating system on 18 March 2009, in English and Dutch, and later ported to Mac OS X by TransGaming Technologies. * In the free-to-play mobile game ''Minimon: Adventure of Minions'' (2016), Luna is a wolflike minion and agent of a secret society with humanlike physical characteristics who wears a red hood when awakened, which references both the wolf and Red Riding Hood. * '' SINoALICE'' (2017) is a mobile
Gacha game A is a game, typically a video game, that implements the machine style mechanics. Similar to loot boxes, live service gacha games entice players to spend in-game currency to receive a random in-game item. Some in-game currency generally can ...
which features Red Riding Hood as one of the main player controlled characters and features in her own dark story-line which features her as a brutally violent girl whose main desire is to inflict violence, pain and death upon her enemies as well as the other fairy-tale characters featured in the game. * In the 2018 game
Lobotomy Corporation ''Lobotomy Corporation'' is a 2018 indie game, indie Horror game, horror Roguelike, rogue-like strategy video game, strategy management simulation video game developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon for Microsoft Windows. Set in ...
, one of the abnormalities in the facility is named Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary. Where Little Red Riding Hood is saved by a hunter/a lumberjack, Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary faces the wolf, where she loses her left eye and gains many scars in addition to failing to kill the big bad wolf. After this event, and aged of 15 years old, she's fueled by an intense will of revenge and leaves her old life to lead the life of a wandering mercenary.


In musicals

* Little Red Riding Hood is one of the central characters in the Broadway musical ''
Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...
'' (1987) by
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
and
James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...
. In the song, "I Know Things Now", she speaks of how the wolf made her feel "excited, well, excited ''and'' scared", in a reference to the sexual undertones of their relationship. Red Riding Hood's cape is also one of the musical's four quest items that are emblematic of fairy tales.


See also

* ''Freeway'' (1996 film) * ''Hard Candy'' (film) * Ladle Rat Rotten Hut * "Little Red Cap" (poem) * ''The Path'' (video game), a psychological horror art game


References


External links

* * – a thorough article on the history of Little Red Riding Hood.
The Little Red Riding Hood Collection
at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
contains hundreds of editions of the story, as well as ephemera, artifacts, and original artworks * Rea
Little Red Riding Hood
by Charles Perrault (sad ending), o
Little Red Cap
by Brothers Grimm (happy ending) * Singlish fairytal
The Riding Riding Hood Lah!
by Singaporean artist Casey Chen


Pretty Salma: A little red riding hood story from Africa by Niki Daly


{{Authority control * 1697 short stories 1812 short stories
Grimms' fairy tales ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', originally known as the ''Children's and Household Tales'' (, , commonly abbreviated as ''KHM''), is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm, first publish ...
Works by Charles Perrault Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology Child characters in literature Child characters in fairy tales Child characters in film Child characters in musical theatre Female characters in fairy tales European folklore characters European fairy tales French fairy tales German fairy tales Cross-dressing in literature Fairy tales about talking animals Big Bad Wolf ATU 300-399 Lamia