Little Red Riding Hood | Modern Interpretations

The story of Little Red Riding Hood and its themes have appeared in literature and other forms of art. This page provides a small discussion of some of the better known treatments by authors and other artists. Novels produced by romance publishers are not listed on this page, but can be found on Romance Novels: Fairy Tale Romances at Little Red Riding Hood.





Modern Interpretations

Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District

Argueta, Manlio. Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District. New York: Curbstone Press, 1998.
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NOVEL: This award-winning novel revolves around the relationship between two young lovers in a time of political upheaval, evoking characters and themes from the classic fairy tale within the wartime environment of El Salvador. The red light district refers not only to sexual exploitation but also to the political violence Salvadorans suffered in the late seventies.

 


It's Not about the Hunter! by Veronika Martenova Charles (Author), David Parkins (Illustrator)

Charles, Veronika Martenova. It's Not about the Hunter!New York: Tundra Books, 2010.
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NOVEL: Here are five first books for fledgling readers that offer the enjoyment of a good story along with the thrill of accomplishment that comes from independent reading. Written in short, easy phrases with carefully selected vocabulary and plentiful illustrations, each book helps youngsters achieve success as they have fun. The series follows three friends who love to share stories. In each book, one is reminded of a well-known story: Little Red Riding Hood in It's Not About the Hunter!, Beauty and the Beast in It's Not About the Rose!, Snow White in It's Not About the Apple!, Cinderella in It's Not About the Pumpkin!, and Hansel and Gretel in It's Not About the Crumbs! As one friend starts, the others are reminded of versions they know so each volume has three stories within one framework. The stories come from around the world, and Veronika Martenova Charles provides a note at the end of each book to describe the origins.

 

 

Wolf by Gillian Cross

Cross, Gillian. Wolf. London: Puffin, 1990.
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NOVEL: "Cassy is forced to stay with her mother in a squatter's settlement of artists, where she joins the group in producing an educational program about wolves and inadvertently learns that her missing father is a notorious terrorist. Cassie's terror begins in her nightmares about wolves, and when she finds herself in an abandoned house, those nightmares become all too real."

 

Red Hood's Revenge by Jim C. Hines

Hines, Jim CRed Hood's Revenge. New York: DAW, 2010.
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NOVEL: From the publisher: "Wars may end. But vengeance is forever. Roudette's story was a simple one. A red cape. A wolf. A hunter. Her mother told her she would be safe, so long as she kept to the path. But sometimes the path leads to dark places. Roudette is the hunter now, an assassin known throughout the world as the Lady of the Red Hood. Her mission will take her to the country of Arathea and an ancient fairy threat. At the heart of the conflict between humans and fairies stands the woman Roudette has been hired to kill, the only human ever to have fought the Lady of the Red Hood and survived-the princess known as Sleeping Beauty. "

The third in Jim C. Hines's Princess series following The Stepsister Scheme (2009) and The Mermaid's Madness (2009) and will in turn be followed by Secret of the Snow Queen (2011).

 

Grimmtastic Girls #2: Red Riding Hood Gets Lost

Holub, Joan, and Suzanne Williams. Grimmtastic Girls #2: Red Riding Hood Gets Lost. New York: Scholastic, 2014.
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NOVEL: From the publisher: "Red Riding Hood might have a terrible sense of direction, but her grimmtastic friends are always there to help! Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia... Red Riding Hood is thrilled to try out for the school play. Acting is her dream, and she's great at it--too bad she has stage fright! After a grimmiserable audition, Red decides to focus on helping her friends Cinda, Snow, and Rapunzel save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. But when Red gets lost in Neverwood forest and runs into Wolfgang, who might be part of E.V.I.L., she needs her magic basket and a grimmazingly dramatic performance to figure out what's going on!

 

Lucy And The Big Bad Wolf by Ann Jungman

Jungman, Ann. Lucy And The Big Bad Wolf. Barn Owl Books, 2005.
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NOVEL: From Publisher: An original take on the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, this account follows the adventures of Lucy Jones and the wolf. When Lucy in her red anorak meets the wolf in the forest, she has a hard time convincing him that she is not Red Riding Hood. The hilarious story that follows turns stereotypes on their heads. This modernized classic will help to educate children by introducing such wide-ranging topics as war, friendship, community, and the ethics of zoos.

 

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Meyer, Marissa. Scarlet. New York: Feiwel & Friends, 2013.
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NOVEL: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. 

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner. 

 

Little Miss Red by Robin Palmer

Palmer, Robin. Little Miss Red. New York: Speak, 2010.
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NOVEL: Sophie Greene gets good grades, does the right thing, and has a boyfriend that her parents— and her younger brother—just love. (Too bad she doesn’t love him.) Sophie dreams of being more like Devon Deveraux, star of her favorite romance novels, but, in reality, Sophie isn’t even daring enough to change her nail polish. All of that changes when Sophie goes to Florida to visit her grandma Roz, and she finds herself seated next to a wolfishly goodlooking guy on the plane. The two hit it off, and before she knows it, Sophie’s living on the edge. But is the drama all it’s cracked up to be?

 

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Pearce, JacksonSisters Red. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010.
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NOVEL: From the publisher: "Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?"



Little Red Ink Drinker by Eric Sanvoisin

Sanvoisin, Eric. Little Red Ink Drinker. New York: Delacorte, 2003.
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NOVEL: Card catalog description: "Two young ink-drinkers are sucked into a fairy tale and must be saved by Uncle Draculink."

Darkest Desire: The Wolf's Own Tale by Anthony Schmitz

Schmitz, Anthony. Darkest Desire: The Wolf's Own Tale. Ecco, 1998.
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NOVEL: Horror. Wolf's life in the wood might be happy, except for one problem. He can't control his urge to devour children who stumble across his path. His runaway desires have made him an outcast among his peers. He lives an unhappy, solitary life -- until he encounters the Brothers Grimm. Wolf is thrilled to realize that in the presence of these scholars, he can speak. The Grimms take Wolf into their camp, fill him with brandy, and poke at the source of his easily apparent unhappiness. When they learn the truth about Wolf's cravings, they propose a cure.

Red Rider's Hood by Neal Shusterman

Shusterman, Neal. Red Rider's Hood: Dark Fusion #2. New York: Dutton, 2005.
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NOVEL: From the publisher: "Red rides around his tough urban neighborhood in his blood red Mustang. It satisfies his urge to wander, and it usually keeps him safe from the gangs in town, the Wolves and the Crypts. But when Red’s grandmother is mugged by some members of the Wolves, Red can no long sit on the sidelines. He decides to join the Wolves as a pledge so he can learn how to defeat them. Soon he uncovers their terrible secret: they are werewolves with a thirst for human blood. Instead of feeling horrified, Red envies the Wolves’ freedom and power. Even as he trains to kill them— under an unlikely but cunning werewolf hunter—he has come to see them as packmates. Finally he is faced with a choice at the next full moon: take up the Wolves’ murderous ways, or take them down."

Read more about Neal Shusterman books.

 

Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie

Viguie, Debbie. Scarlet Moon. New York: Simon Pulse, 2004.
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NOVEL: From book cover: "Ruth's grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the "evil" that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flyimg is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning. When she wasn't in the woods, Ruth was learning the trade of her father, a blacksmith, now that her brother would never return from the Crusades. Amidst those dark days, a new man enters Ruth's life. William is a noble with a hot temper and a bad name, and he makes her shiver. But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma's house."

 

Baker, Russel. "Little Red Riding Hood Revisited." New York Times Magazine. 13 January 1980.

SHORT STORY: Actually an essay, this is a wonderful read and shouldn't be missed.

 

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

Block, Francesca Lia. "Wolf." The Rose and the Beast. New York: Harper Collins, 2000. 
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SHORT STORY

 

Teller of Tales by William J. Brooke

Brooke, William. "Little Well Read Riding Hood." Teller of Tales. New York: Harper Trophy, 1994.
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SHORT STORY

 

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Carter, Angela. "The Company of Wolves." The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories. Penguin USA, 1993. 
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SHORT STORY

 

Carter, Angela. "The Werewolf." The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories. Penguin USA, 1993.
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SHORT STORY

 

Childe-Pemberton, Harriet Louisa. "All my Doing; or Red Riding-Hood Over Again." The Fairy Tales of Every Day. London: Christian Knowledge Society, 1882.

SHORT STORY

You can read this story on SurLaLune at: All my Doing; or Red Riding-Hood Over Again.

Once Upon a Crime

Crider, Bill. "It Happened at Grandmother's House." Once Upon A Crime. Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, eds. New York: Berkeley Prime Crime, 1998.
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SHORT STORY

 

Rumpelstiltskin and Other Grimm Tales by Carol Ann Duffy Collected Grimm Tales by Carol Ann Duffy

Duffy, Carol Ann. "Little Red-Cap." Rumpelstiltskin and Other Grimm Tales. London: Faber and Faber, 1999. 
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Buy the book in paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Also available in:
Duffy, Carol Ann. "Little Red-Cap." 
Collected Grimm Tales.Dramatization by Tim Supple. London: Faber and Faber, 2003. 
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Buy the book in paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Duffy, Carol Ann. "Little Red-Cap." More Grimm Tales.Dramatization by Tim Supple. London: Faber and Faber, 1997. 
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Buy the book in paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

SHORT STORY

 

Legally Correct Fairy Tales by David Fisher

Fisher, David. "Little Red Riding Hood v. Regal Pictures, Inc.." Legally Correct Fairy Tales. New York: Warner, 1996.
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SHORT STORY

 

Fisher, David. "USA v. Wolf: Deposition of Mr. Wolf." Legally Correct Fairy Tales. New York: Warner, 1996.
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SHORT STORY

 

Truly Grim Tales by Priscilla Galloway

Galloway, Priscilla. "The Good Mother." Truly Grim Tales.New York: Delacorte, 1995.
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SHORT STORY

 

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life and Times by James Finn Garner

Garner, James Finn. "Little Red Riding Hood." Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life and Times. New York: Hungry Minds Inc, 1994.
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SHORT STORY

Helfers, John. "The Better to Eat You With." Once Upon A Crime. Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, eds. New York: Berkeley Prime Crime, 1998.
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SHORT STORY

 

Twice Upon A Time edited by Denise Little

Helfers, John. "Savior." Twice Upon A Time. Denise Little, ed. New York: DAW Books, 1999.
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SHORT STORY

 

Black Swan, White Raven edited by Datlow and Windling

Hopkinson, Nalo. "Riding the Red." Black Swan, White Raven. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Avon, 1997.
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Also available in:
Hopkinson, Nalo. "Riding the Red." Skin Folk. New York: Warner Aspect, 2001.
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SHORT STORY

 

Snow White, Blood Red edited by Datlow and Windling

Koja, Kathe. "I Shall Do Thee Mischief in the Wood." Snow White, Blood Red. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Avon, 1995.
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SHORT STORY

 

My Swan Sister:  Fairy Tales Retold

Koja, Kathe. "Lupe." My Swan Sister: Fairy Tales Retold.Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.
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SHORT STORY

 

Lanigan, Carol. "All the Better to See You." Rapunzel's Revenge: Fairy Tales for Feminists. Dublin: Attic Press, 1985. 
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SHORT STORY

 

Wolf at the Door edited by Datlow and Windling

Lee, Tanith. "A Wolf at the Door." A Wolf at the Door. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
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SHORT STORY

 

Red as Blood: Or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer by Tanith Lee

Lee, Tanith. "Wolfland." Red as Blood: Or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer. New York: DAW Books, 1983.
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SHORT STORY

 

Leaping Beauty by Gregory Maguire

Maguire, Gregory. "Little Red Robin Hood." Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
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SHORT STORY

Red Ridin' in the Hood : and Other Cuentos by Patricia Santos Marcantonio

Marcantonio, Patricia Santos. "Red Ridin' in the Hood." Red Ridin' in the Hood: and Other Cuentos. Renato Alarcao, illustrator. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2005.
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SHORT STORY: From the publisher: "Red Ridin' in the Hood," moves the setting to the barrio, where Red decides to brave dangerous Forest Street in order to reach her abuelita and encounters the menacing wolf in a thumping Chevy lowrider."

 

Goldilocks on Management: 27 Revisionist Fairy Tales for Serious Managers

Mayer, Gloria Gilbert and Thomas Mayer. "Little Red Riding Hood." Goldilocks on Management: 27 Revisionist Fairy Tales for Serious Managers. New York: American Management Association, 1999. 
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SHORT STORY

 

Monfredo, Miriam Grace. "The Apprentice." The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Volume 7. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.
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SHORT STORY

 

Newfangled Fairy Tales #2 edited by Bruce Lansky

Quattlebaum, Mary. "Red Riding Hood and the Scrawny Little Wolf." Newfangled Fairy Tales: Book #2. Bruce Lansky, ed. New York: Meadowbrook Press, 1998.
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SHORT STORY

 

Little Red Riding Hood in the Big Bad City

Rabe, Jean. "Trading Fours With the Moldy Figs." Little Red Riding Hood in the Big Bad City. Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers, eds. New York: DAW, 2004.
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SHORT STORY

 

Radford, Irene. "Litte Red in the 'Hood." Little Red Riding Hood in the Big Bad City. Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers, eds. New York: DAW, 2004.
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SHORT STORY

Sharpe, Anne. "Not So Little Red Riding Hood." Rapunzel's Revenge: Fairy Tales for Feminists. Dublin: Attic Press, 1985. 
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SHORT STORY

 

My Swan Sister:  Fairy Tales Retold

Shetterley, Will. "Little Red and the Big Bad." My Swan Sister: Fairy Tales Retold. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.
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 or paperback.

SHORT STORY

 

Thurber, James. "The Little Girl and the Wolf." Fables for Our Times. New York: Harper & Row, 1940.
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SHORT STORY

 

Newfangled Fairy Tales edited by Bruce Lansky

Tocher, Timothy. "Little Bad Wolf and Red Riding Hood." Newfangled Fairy Tales: Book #1. Bruce Lansky, ed. New York: Meadowbrook Press, 1997.
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SHORT STORY

 

Tales From the Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde

Vande Velde, Vivian. "The Granddaughter." Tales From the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1995.
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SHORT STORY

 

Feminist Fairy Tales by Barbara Walker

Walker, Barbara. "Little White Riding Hood." Feminist Fairy Tales. San Francisco: Harper, 1996.
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SHORT STORY

 

Snow White, Blood Red edited by Datlow and Windling

Wheeler, Wendy. "Little Red." Snow White, Blood Red. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Avon, 1995.
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SHORT STORY

 

Yolen, Jane. "Happy Dens; or, A Day in the Old Wolves' Home." The Faery Flag: Stories and Poems of Fantasy and the Supernatural. New York: Orchard, 1989. 
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SHORT STORY

 

Yolen, Jane. "Wonder Land." Sisters in Fantasy II. Susan Schwartz and Martin H. Greenberg, eds. New York, ROC, 1996.
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SHORT STORY

 

Velde, Vivian Vande. Cloaked in Red. New York: Two Lions, 2010.
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NOVEL: So you think you know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl with the unfortunate name and the inability to tell the difference between her grandmother and a member of a different species? Well, then, try your hand at answering these questions: Which character (not including Little Red herself) is the most fashion challenged? Who (not including the wolf) is the scariest? Who (not including Granny) is the most easily scared? Who is the strangest (notice we're not "not including" anyone, because they're all a little off.)? Who (no fair saying "the author") has stuffing for brains? Master storyteller Vivian Vande Velde crafts eight new stories involving one of the world's most beloved (and mixed-up) characters in literature. You may never look at fairy tales in quite the same way again.

 

 

Ali, Agha Shahid. "An Interview with Red Riding Hood." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 228.
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Ali, Agha Shahid. "The Wolf's Postscript to 'Little Red Riding Hood.'" The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 55.
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Alterman, Nathan. "Red Ridinghood." Modern Hebrew Poetry. Bernhard Frank, ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1980.
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Beaumont, Jeanne Marie. "Where's Wolf?" The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales.Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 128.
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Bolton, Gillie. "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf." Parents: An Anthology of Poems by Women Writers. Myra Schneider and Dilys Wood, eds. London: Enitharmon Press, 2000.
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Beginning with O by Olga Broumas

Broumas, Olga. "Little Red Riding Hood." Beginning with O.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977.
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Also available in:
Broumas, Olga. "Little Red Riding Hood." 
The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 167.
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Carryl, Guy Wetmore. "How Little Red Riding Hood Came To Be Eaten." Grimm Tales Made Gay. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1902.

Also available in:
Carryl, Guy Wetmore. "Red Riding Hood."Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetry. Wolfgang Mieder, ed. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1985.
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Read the poem on this site at How Little Red Riding Hood Came To Be Eaten.

 

Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl

Dahl, Roald. "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf." Revolting Rhymes. New York: Puffin Books, 1982. 
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You can read the poem on line at Roald Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

 

Daly, Karen. "Red Riding Hood."

 

The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

Duffy, Carol Ann. "Little Red-Cap." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 121.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

Also availabe in:
Duffy, Carol Ann. "Little Red-Cap." 
The World's Wife.London: Faber and Faber, 1999. 
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Fry, Nan. "The Wolf's Story." The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003.
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Gray, Alice Wirth. "On a Nineteenth Century Color Lithograph of Red Riding Hood by the Artist J.H." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales.Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 182.
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Hadas, Rachel. "The Wolf in the Bed." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 253.
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Harte, Bret. "What the Wolf Really Said to Little Red Riding-Hood." Argonaut Edition of the Works of Bret Harte, V. 8.New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1882.

Read the poem on this site at What the Wolf Really Said to Little Red Riding-Hood.

 

Story Hour by Sara Henderson Hay

Hay, Sara Henderson. "The Grandmother." Story Hour. Fayetteville, AS: University of Arkansas Press, 1998. 
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Herd, Tracey. "One of the Gang." New Women Poets. Carol Rumens, ed. Highgreen Tarset Northumberland: Bloodaxe Books, 1990.
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Hope, Anthony D. "Coup De Grace." Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetry. Wolfgang Mieder, ed. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1985.
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Joseph, Jenny. "Derivations: Story." Selected Poems.Highgreen Tarset Northumberland: Bloodaxe Books, 1992.
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"Story" is a selection from the longer poem, "Derivations."

 

Komunyakaa, Yusef. "Castrato." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 251.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

 

Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems by Liz Lochhead

Lochhead, Liz. "The Mother." Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems. London: Polygon Books, 1984.
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This poem originally appeared in:

Lochhead, Liz. The Grimm Sisters. London: Next Editions (In Association with Faber & Faber), 1981.

 

Miner, Carrie. "Wolf."

 

NorthSun, Nila. "Little Red Riding Hood." A Geography of Poets: An Anthology of the New Poetry. Edward Field, ed. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
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RileyJames Whitcomb. "Maymie's Story Of Red Riding-hood." Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetry. Wolfgang Mieder, ed. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1985.
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Read the poem on this site at Maymie's Story Of Red Riding-hood.

 

RileyJames Whitcomb. "Red Riding-Hood. "

Read the poem on this site at Red Riding-Hood.

 

Return to Magic by Clive Sansom

Sansom, Clive. "Wolf." Return to Magic. London: Leslie Frewin, 1969.
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Black Thorn, White Rose

Schimel, Lawrence. "Journeybread Recipe." Black Thorn, White Rose. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Avon, 1995.
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Seibles, Tim. "What Bugs Bunny Said to Red Riding Hood." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 53.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

 

Transformations by Anne Sexton

Sexton, Anne. "Little Red Riding Hood."Transformations.Houghton Mifflin Co., 1979. 
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

 

Sholl, Betsy. "Riding Hood." Cries of the Spirit: A Celebration of Women's Spiritualities. Marilyn Sewell, editor. Boston: Beacon Press, 1991. (Paperback: Houghton Mifflin, 2000).
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

 

Sill, Edward Rowland. "The Coup de Grace." An American Anthology, 1787–1900. Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1900.

Read the poem on this site at The Coup de Grace.

 

Simic, Charles. "Bedtime Story." Selected Poems, 1963–1983—Revised and Expanded. New York: George Braziller, 1990.

 

Sklarew, Myra. "Red Riding Hood At The Acropolis." Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetry. Wolfgang Mieder, ed. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1985.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

 

Snydal, Laurence. "Grandmother." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 56.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

 

Steiber, Ellen. "Silver and Gold." Black Thorn, White Rose.Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Avon, 1995.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

 

Story Hour by Sara Henderson Hay

Strauss, Gwen. "The Waiting Wolf." Trail of Stones. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

 

Walwicz, Ania. "Little Red Riding Hood." The Bloodaxe Book of Modern Australian Poetry. John Tranter and Philip Mead, eds. Highgreen Tarset Northumberland: Bloodaxe Books, 1991, 1994.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.

 

Whittier, John Greenleaf. "Red Riding-Hood." The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier. New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1904.

Read the poem on this site at Red Riding-Hood.

 

Yolen, Jane. "Will."  The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Volume 6. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York, St. Martin's Press, 1993.

 

Zucker, Rachel. "What I Want You to See Is She When Not Here as in Now."  The Iowa Anthology of New American Poetries. Reginald Shepherd, editor. Iowa City, University of Iowa Press, 2004.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

 

Zupan, Vitomil. "A Fairy Tale." Disenchantments: An Anthology of Modern Fairy Tale Poetry. Wolfgang Mieder, ed. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1985.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

 

Also see Little Red Riding Hood on the Folklore and Fairy Tale Music page.

I have listed primarily classical compositions of music using the themes of this fairy tale in either ballet, opera or some other musical style. I have also provided links to popular recordings of the music when available at Amazon.com. The advantage to these links is that you can listen to samples of the music at no charge.

 

Into the Woods CD 1987Into the Woods CD 2002

Stephen Sondheim. Into The Woods.

In 1986, Into the Woods hit Broadway and enjoyed great success. The musical incorporates many fairy tale characters and plots including Little Red Riding Hood. I have included the Broadway and London casts' recordings below. An excellent site about this musical is at Into the Woods.

Title: Into the Woods--Original Cast Recording
Performers: Bernadette Peters, Robert Westenberg, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Tom Aldredge.

Title: Into the Woods--London Cast Recording
Performers: Imelda Staunton, Julia McKenzie, Nicolas Parsons, Jacqueline Dankworth, Clive Carter.

 

 

To learn more about these films, please visit the
Internet Movie Database.

 

Little Red Riding Hood (1922). Walt Disney, director.

ANIMATED SHORT: "Mother is making donuts: She throws up a circle of dough, and a cat shoots a hole in it. Later, he fishes them out of the oil with a fishing line; he eats one, and loses all 9 lives. Mother puts together a basket for Red to take to granny. Red uses her cart, which is pushed by her little dog; the cart gets a flat tire, and she inflates a donut to replace it. A wolf (a human lothario) drives by in a flivver, and dashes off to grandma's house, where he finds a note saying she's gone to the movies. He shrinks his car and stashes it in his pocket, then waits for Red, who stopped to watch a dancing flower. Red arrives, and they go into the house, where he attempts to have his way with her. The dog rushes off and gets help from an airplane pilot, who uses a skyhook to remove the house and, ultimately, lift the wolf in his car and drop him in the lake." (IMDB.com)

 

Dizzy Red Riding Hood (1931). Dave Fleischer, director. 
Buy the movie on VHS.

ANIMATED SHORT: A Betty Boop interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood. Betty Boop goes to Grandma's through the woods despite warnings about wolves. Bimbo follows and gives the old story a new twist.

 

The Big Bad Wolf (1934). Burt Gillett, director. Walt Disney, producer. 
Buy the movie on DVD.

ANIMATED SHORT: "The two foolish little pigs escort Red Riding Hood on a short cut through the woods, against the advice of their bricklayer brother. When they encounter the wolf, Red runs ahead to granny's house and the pigs run home. The wolf gets to granny's house first and scares her into a closet, then dresses as granny. Alerted by his brothers, the smart pig arrives just as granny has pulled Red into the closet with her and takes care of the wolf with the help of some hot coals and popcorn."(IMDB.com)

 

The Trial of Mr. Wolf (1941). Friz Freleng, director.

Cast: 
Mel Blanc .... Mr. Wolf (voice)

ANIMATED SHORT: A fractured fairy tale perhaps best remembered for Mel Blanc's vocal appearance. "The Big Bad Wolf, villain of children's stories for years, is on trial for crimes committed against Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. When given a chance to speak in his defense, Mr. Wolf explains the supposed real story behind the fairy tale, in which he is the victim and Red and her grandma are the ones to blame. Will the jury buy his story?" (IMDB.com)

 

Red Riding Hood Rides Again (1941). Sid Marcus, director.

ANIMATED SHORT: "This satirical version of "Red Riding Hood" was, especially the ending, very topical when released in 1941, as the US had instituted a draft lottery long before Pearl Harbor (December 7,1941.) The wolf convinces Red he is a police dog and he hastily beats a path to Grandma's house with intentions of making a meal of her. But Grandma's boyfriend shows up and takes her dancing. He then plans on eating Red, but the postman arrives with his draft induction notice." (IMDB.com)

 

Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears (1944). Friz Freleng, director.

Cast: 
Mel Blanc .... Big Bad Wolf (uncredited) 
Ruby Dandridge .... Grandmother (uncredited)

ANIMATED SHORT: "An all-black cast, featuring the Three Bears as a jazz combo, combines the stories of Goldilocks and the Three Bearsand Little Red Riding Hood." (IMDB.com)

 

The Wolf's Pardon (1947). Eddie Donnelly, director.

ANIMATED SHORT: "In the last 10 years, much has changed in the world of Mother Goose. Little Boy Blue is now a hot jazz trumpeter; Little Tommy Tucker is a crooner; Tom Tom the Piper's Son is a cop; and the Big Bad Wolf is about to be paroled. He visits the three little pigs, but they're bigger than him now and run a construction company. Finally, he goes after Little Red Riding Hood; as expected, she's all grown up now, and as he approaches from behind, she's playing the piano, singing beautifully, and looks great until she turns around, wearing glasses, buck teeth, and looking just plain ugly. She's also man crazy, and chases after the wolf, who finally escapes into a soda shoppe where he's smothered with kisses from all the girls there." (IMDB.com)

 

Little Red Rodent Hood (1952). Friz Freleng, director.

Cast: 
Mel Blanc .... Sylvester (voice)

ANIMATED SHORT: "An elderly mouse tells the bedtime story of Little Red Riding Hood to her grandson, who visualizes the tale in cat-and-mouse terms, with himself as Red and Sylvester as the Big Bad Wolf." (IMDB.com)

 

Red Riding Hoodwinked (1955). Friz Freleng, director. 
Buy the movie on VHS.

Cast: 
Mel Blanc .... Sylvester (voice)

ANIMATED SHORT: "Red Riding Hood is on her way from the city to the country and to her grandmother's house, and along the way she meets the Big Bad Wolf. Her grandmother is Granny, and she is bringing Tweety Bird to Granny as a gift, which attracts Sylvester's attention. Sylvester and the Big Bad Wolf join forces; he wants to eat Tweety; Big Bad wants to eat Red. But Granny is a match for them both! " (IMDB.com)

 

Rocky and Bullwinkle Season 1 featuring Fractured Fairy Tales

Fractured Fairy Tales: Little Red Riding Hood (1959-60) (TV). In Rocky and Bullwinkle. Jay Ward Productions.
Buy the collection on DVD.

ANIMATED SHORT: The Fractured Fairy Tales segment became a popular part of the first season of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (known under various names through the years) that premiered in the fall of 1959. They have remained in syndication ever since. Little Red Riding Hood originally aired in Episode 26 of Season 1.

 

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (1965) (TV). Sid Smith, director.

Cast: 
Liza Minnelli .... Little Red Riding Hood 
Cyril Ritchard .... Big Bad Wolf 
Vic Damone .... Woodsman

"This revisionist fairy tale is told from the Wolf's point of view. He was minding his business when along came this precocious little girl, Red Riding Hood. "And the nerve of that cowardly woodsman, daring to hint that I was attacking her", the wolf cries. Naturally, the animals of the forest do not believe him." (IMDB.com)

 

Rough Riding Hood (1966). Sid Marcus, director.

ANIMATED SHORT: "Woody Woodpecker is reading the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and soon finds himself living the fable when a sobbing Red confronts him, telling him how a mean wolf has been bullying her on her entire trip to Grandma's. Woody plans to get even with the fiendish (and totally stupid) wolf by swapping places with her and going to HIS Grandma's. The wolf stops Woody carrying an apple pie and demands, "Let me have it" (Needless to say, he gets it alright!). Woody then offers the wolf a plum pudding (actually a beehive). The wolf takes a "shortcut" to get to Granny's first but Woody is on to his scheme leading him into several nasty spots (a water geyser, an eagle's nest, and a phone booth which blasts into orbit like a rocket). Woody arrives at Granny's and takes Granny's place finally getting rid of the wolf at last. Alas, when he tells Granny they're rid of that wolf, she angrily tells him, "For thirty years, I've been trying to MARRY that wolf" and gives the woodpecker a good spanking!" (IMDB.com)

 

Pro Krasnuyu Shapochku (1977). Leonid Nechayev, director. USSR. USA Title: About the Little Red Riding Hood.

Cast: 
Yevgeni Yevstigneyev .... Star Counter 
Yana Poplavskaya .... Little Red Riding Hood 
Rina Zelyonaya .... Grandma 
Vladimir Basov .... Big Wolf

A sequel to the well-known story about a Little Red Riding Hood. This time, a family of a slain wolf decides to avenge his death. So they falsely inform Little Red Riding Hood that her grandma is sick and prepare to eat her on her way.

 

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale TheatreFaerie Tale Theatre: Little Red Riding HoodFaerie Tale Theatre: Little Red Riding Hood

Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: Little Red Riding Hood(1983) (TV). 
Amazon.com: Buy the series on DVD.

Cast:
Malcolm McDowell ... Big Bad Wolf
Mary Steenburgen ... Little Red Riding Hood
Frances Bay ... Granny 
Diane Ladd ... Mother
Darrell larsen ... Chris 
John Vernon ... Father

This television series originally aired on Showtime for six seasons and a total of 27 episodes. To see a full episode list, go to Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre.

 

Company of Wolves DVD

The Company of Wolves (1984). Neil Jordan, director.
Buy the movie on DVD. or Buy the movie on VHS.

Cast: 
Angela Lansbury .... Granny 
David Warner .... Father 
Graham Crowden .... Old Priest 
Brian Glover .... Amorous Boy's father 
Kathryn Pogson .... Young Bride 
Stephen Rea .... Young Groom

Not for kids! Based on the story by Angela Carter. "This movie is in fact a magical bag full of symbolic folklore about werewolves, or, rather, their sexual connotation. Grandmother Angela Lansbury tells her granddaughter Sarah Patterson strange, disturbing tales about innocent maidens falling in love with handsome, heavily eyebrowed strangers with a smouldering look in their eyes; about sudden disappearances of spouses when the moon is round & the wolves are howling in the woods; about babies found inside stork eggs, in a stork nest high up a tree; etc., etc. Of course the story of Little Red Ridinghood is also present, with a very handsome he-wolf! (And of course this he-wolf consumes Grandmother, but 'consumes' Little Red Ridinghood). All the stories are somehow reducable to loss of innocence, and fear of/hunger for (a newly acquired sense of) sexuality; their Freudian character is mirrored in their dreamlike shapes. This movie is not really a horror movie; it's more a multiple tale about growing up into adolescence." (IMDB.com)

 

Cannon Movie Tales: Red Riding HoodCannon Movie Tales: Red Riding Hood

Cannon Movie Tales: Red Riding Hood (1987). Adam Brooks, director.
Buy the movie on DVD. or Buy the movie on VHS. 

Cast:
Amelia Curtis .... Linet 
Amelia Shankley .... Linet 
Isabella Rossellini .... Lady Jean 
Craig T. Nelson .... Godfrey/Percival

"The high spirited daughter of the village lord and her mother have been living in the forest for seven years near her wise grandmother. They wait for her father to come home, meanwhile, her literally heartless uncle rules. He sells his soul for the aid of an enchanted wolf who turns himself human in order to spy. As the tyranical lord begins to see his niece as a threat, he sends the wolf to deal with her." (IMDB.com) To see a full list of Cannon Movie Tales, go to Cannon Movie Tales.

 

Into the Woods DVD

Into the Woods (1991) (TV). James Lapine, director. 
Buy the movie on VHS. or Buy the movie on DVD.

Cast: 
Bernadette Peters .... The Witch 
Chip Zien .... Baker 
Joanna Gleason .... Baker's wife 
Tom Aldredge .... Narrator/Mysterious Man 
Robert Westenberg .... Wolf/Cinderella's Prince 
Kim Crosby .... Cinderella 
Danielle Ferland .... Little Red Riding Hood 
Ben Wright .... Jack 
Barbara Bryne .... Jack's mother 
Merle Louise .... Grandmother/Cinderella's Mother/Giant 
Chuck Wagner .... Rapunzel's Prince 
Pamela Winslow .... Rapunzel

FILM OF ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST PRODUCTION: A baker and his wife journey into the woods in search of a cow, a red cape, a pair of golden slippers and some magic beans to lift a curse that has kept them childless. Tony Award winners Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason and the rest of the original Broadway cast weave their magic spell over you in Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece, directed by James Lapine, a seamless fusion of fairy tale characters and what happens after "happily ever after." With oft-recorded songs such as "Children Will Listen," "No One is Alone," and "Into the Woods" is a music lover's delight from start to finish--and will forever cement Stephen Sondheim's unparalleled position as the giant of the American musical theater.

 

The Trial of Red Riding Hood (1992) (TV). Eric Till, director.

Cast:
Elizabeth Manley .... Red Riding Hood 
Andrea Martin .... Grandma 
Paul Martini .... The Woodsman

Red Riding Hood is tried for the murder of The Wolf.

 

Freeway DVD

Freeway (1996). Matthew Bright, director. 
Buy the movie on DVD. or Buy the movie on VHS.

Cast:
Kiefer Sutherland .... Bob Wolverton 
Reese Witherspoon .... Vanessa Lutz 
Wolfgang Bodison .... Detective Mike Breer 
Dan Hedaya .... Detective Garnet Wallace 
Amanda Plummer .... Ramona Lutz 
Brooke Shields .... Mimi Wolverton

Modern, street-savvy Riding Hood. Not for kids!

 

Redux Riding Hood (1997). Steve Moore, director.

ANIMATED SHORT: Years after failing to catch Little Red Riding Hood, the obsessed Wolf tries again.

 

Little Red Riding Hood (1997). David Kaplan, director.

Cast:
Christina Ricci .... Little Red Riding Hood 
Timour Bourtasenkov .... The Wolf 
Evelyn Solann .... Grandmother 
Quentin Crisp .... Narrator

SHORT FILM: A film short which has made its rounds in the independent film festival circuit. It has also aired on the Sundance Channel. Not for kids!

"This quite short film is a little masterpiece of a fairy tale. There are only three characters. The scene opens with a very sexy-looking wolf stalking Red Riding Hood through the wood on her way to dear Grandma's cottage. By the time she reaches her destination the wolf has already digested Grandma apart from a few entrails which he has reserved in a bowl for little Red Riding Hood. The wolf with lathering lips waits expectantly in bed for the innocent young maiden. "Take off your clothes" he murmurs "Throw them in the fire. You won't be needing them any more". Puzzled she complies and then into bed beside the hairy body. Quentin Crisp's oily voice seems just right for the narration...very persuasive, very sexy. We are held in suspense waiting for the wolf's next move. Poor little Red Riding Hood, we think, she is only a little girl and completely at his mercy. How can she possibly outwit this monster? But this Red Riding Hood, bred and brought up in the country is no simpleton. Her big round eyes have seen many things and she has learnt from Nature. She soon realises that all is not as it seems. The conclusion to the film is as interesting as its beginning and the music selected adds a lovely freshness to the scenes." (IMDB.com)

 

Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade (1998)

Jin-Roh:The Wolf Brigade (1998). Hiroyuki Okiura, director. 
Buy the movie on DVD.

ANIME: Amazon.com description: Written by Mamoru Oshii (the director of the cult favorite Ghost in the Shell) and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura (a key animator on Akira), Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade offers a violent but compelling vision in animation. The story is set in a fictionalized version of the recent past, when a repressive Japanese government is battling the Sect, a violent revolutionary organization that uses adolescent girls they call "Red Riding Hoods" as couriers. During a raid, Capitol Police Constable Kazuki Fuse (pronounced "foo-seh," voice by Michael Dobson) balks at killing Nanami Agawa (Maggie Blue O'Hare), one of the Red Riding Hoods. She commits suicide with a powerful bomb. While Fuse undergoes retraining, he meets Nanami's older sister, Kei (Moneca Stori), and initiates an odd romance. Soon both characters are caught in a web of plots and counterplots that center on the possibility that Fuse may be a "wolf," a member of a secret cabal within the Capitol Police. Suitable for ages 18 and up: considerable violence, profanity, and tobacco use.

 

The 10th Kingdom DVD

The 10th Kingdom (2000) (TV). David Carson and Herbert Wise, directors. 
Buy the movie on VHS. or Buy the movie on DVD.

Cast: 
Kimberly Williams .... Virginia Lewis 
Scott Cohen .... Wolf 
John Larroquette .... Antony 'Tony' Lewis 
Dianne Wiest .... The Evil Queen/Christine Lewis 
Camryn Manheim .... Snow White 
Ann-Margret .... Queen Cinderella

This epic 10-hour miniseries was a ratings bust on television Kimberly Williams is Virginia, a waitress who still lives with her janitor father (John Larroquette) and yearns for something exciting to happen to her. Her wish comes true when she and her father are transported from New York City into the nine kingdoms populated by characters from fairy tales of yore. They team up with a dog who's really a prince--Wendell, grandson of Snow White--changed into canine form by the evil Queen (Dianne Wiest), who plots to usurp Wendell's throne. Father, daughter, and his royal dogness are relentlessly pursued through the nine kingdoms by the Troll King (Ed O'Neill) and his three bumbling and horrible children, and the conflicted Wolf (Scott Cohen), who is allied with the Queen but tames his inner beast and falls in love with Virginia. The 10th Kingdom is a special effects extravaganza. There is indeed, as one character marvels, magic to behold here. But despite the Hallmark brand name and the presence of a grown-up Snow White (Camryn Manheim) and Cinderella (Ann-Margret), bewitched animals, magic mirrors, and trolls, this is not kid's stuff. It can get scary, surprisingly violent, and quite intense; you know, just like real fairy tales.

 

Falsehood (2001). Kenneth Lui, director.

Cast: 
Anne Welles .... Little Bo Peep 
Mark Irvingsen .... The Big Bad Wolf 
Marie Noelle Marquis .... Little Red Riding Hood 
Erynn Dana Dalton .... Rapunzel 
Nancy Hasenmayer .... Grandma 
Cathy King .... Cinderella 
Stuart Proffitt .... The Hunter 
Ariadne Shaffer .... Snow White Charming

SHORT FILM: "Once upon a time, Little Bo Peep lost her sheep and was forced into early retirement. She blamed The Wolf for the slaughter of her sheep and was never allowed to tend sheep ever again. After that traumatic event, Bo Peep eventually grew up and became the best public defense lawyer in the land. Now she faces the most difficult case of her entire career: defending The Wolf in the infamous Red Riding Hood rape trial. Every pig, witch and princess anticipates the outcome of what has turned into the most controversial trial of all time." (IMDB.com)

 

Red Riding Hood (2002)

Red Riding Hood (2003). Giacomo Cimini, director. Italy/USA.
Amazon.com: Buy the movie on 
DVD.

Cast: 
Kathleen Archebald .... Rose McKenzie 
Robert Purvis .... Thomas Hunt 
Henry Cavill .... The Hunter 
Joey Fatone .... Big Bad Wolf

Not for kids! Horror film with violent scenes and horrible reviews. Only adding here to be complete. Rated R (USA).

 

DysEnchanted (2003). Terri Miller, director.

Cast:
Laura Kightlinger .... Cinderella 
Sarah Wynter .... Sleeping Beauty 
Alexis Bledel .... Goldilocks 
Jaime Bergman .... Alice 
K.D. Aubert .... Little Red Riding Hood 
Shiva Rose McDermott .... Snow White 
Amy Pietz .... Clara 
Jill Small .... Dorothy 
James Belushi .... Doctor (The Shrink)

SHORT FILM: "Storybook characters Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Goldilocks, Alice, Dorothy, and Red Riding Hood are in group therapy dishing and dealing with what comes after "happily ever after." When Clara, a New Jersey divorcee, joins the group, she finds out that while life is no fairy tale, it doesn't mean her dysenchantment has to be terminal." (IMDB.com)

 

Red Riding Hood (2003)

Red Riding Hood (2004). Randal Kleiser, director. USA.
Amazon.com: Buy the movie on 
DVD.

Cast: 
Andrea Bowen .... Ashley #2 
Henry Cavill .... The Hunter 
Joey Fatone .... Big Bad Wolf 
Steve Fogel .... Shopkeeper 
Bob Glouberman .... Scoutmaster 
David Kaufman .... Hunter's Dad 
Lainie Kazan .... Grandma 
Suzanne Kent .... Gypsy Woman 
Debi Mazar .... Red's Mom 
Ashley Rose Orr .... Ashley #1

MUSICAL: "An adolescent girl, Red, is tasked by her mother with delivering a package to her grandmother who lives deep in the magic Forest. What she doesn't know is that her mission masks an even greater task: to carry on the age old fairy tale legacy and become Red Riding Hood. However, before she can become the legendary maiden in red, Red must overcome her fears to ultimately outwit and defeat the Big, Bad Wolf." Rated PG (USA).

 

Hoodwinked DVD

Hoodwinked (2005). Cory Edwards and Todd Edwards, directors. 
Amazon.com: Buy the movie on DVD.

ANIMATION: From the studio: "Everyone knows the story of Little Red Riding Hood . . . or so they think. That’s all about to change because no one has ever seen their favorite fairy tale quite like this -- turned upside-down, inside-out and reinvented as a computer-animated caper comedy that at last reveals the shocking true-crime investigation behind the legend. At last, the full story can be revealed of how Red (ANNE HATHAWAY), Granny (GLENN CLOSE), The Woodsman (JIM BELUSHI) and the Wolf (PATRICK WARBURTON) all came together as criminal suspects in a case that almost HOODWINKED the law. With inventive story telling, spunk and wit, filmmakers Cory & Todd and Tony Leech bring to the screen a story for the young, the young at heart and everyone in between." Rated PG (USA).

 

Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood

Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood (2009). Harry Sparks, director. USA.
Amazon.com: Buy the movie on DVD.

HORROR: Not all fairy tales are for children. From director Harry Sparks comes this modern update of a classic fairy tale unlike any you have seen before. Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood is the story of a German teenage girl named Rose who is brought to America by her mother to stay with her Grandmother. Soon, Rose discovers that she just does not fit in at her new school and retreats into her own fantasy world of her favorite childhood story. Shot on location in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and the United States, Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood is an exciting, suspenseful, erotic fantasy that is sure to keep you entertained. Starring Stefanie Geils, Sativa Verte, Nicole Leigh Vuono, Phil Gibson, Chris O'Brocki, Betty Biehler, Debbie D, and Angelina Leigh.

 

 

Angus, J. Keith. "Little Red Riding Hood." Children's Theatricals: Being a Series of Popular Fairy Tales AdaptedFor Representation in the Drawing Room. London: George Routlege and Sons, 1879 [1878].

 

Duffy, Carol Ann. "Little Red-Cap." Collected Grimm Tales.Dramatization by Tim Supple. London: Faber and Faber, 2003. 
Buy the book in paperback at Amazon.com. or 
Buy the book in paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Also available in:
Duffy, Carol Ann. "Little Red-Cap." More Grimm Tales.Dramatization by Tim Supple. London: Faber and Faber, 1997. 
Buy the book in paperback at Amazon.com. or 
Buy the book in paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

SHORT PLAY

 

 

Emmett, Robert. The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood. Music by Jule Styne. Lyrics by Bob Merrill. Book by Robert Emmett. New York: Samuel French.

MUSICAL: Christmas musical. It is Christmas Eve and the animals in the zoo are having a party. Lone T. Wolf hasn't been invited. He blames his social problems on Red Riding Hood and proceeds to tell his side of the story. Actually, she was on her way to Grandmother's to deliver a Christmas present and the wolf is not a bad dude. The score bubbles with cheerful holiday songs, catchy ballads that are well-suited to children's voices, and a slinky tango called ''Granny's Song.''

 

Kidd, Virginia. Happily Ever Once Upon. New York: Samuel French.

FULL-LENGTH PLAY: Parody. After twenty years of marriage, Cinderella and Prince Charming have some problems: the Enchanted Kingdom teeters on the brink of bankruptcy. Cinderella's fairy godmother is blackmailing her, the Prince's adviser has one arm and one swan's wing and an unfortunate habit of breaking everything he encounters, and Red Riding Hood has set her cap for the Prince. Though hoping Rumplestilskin can spin gold from straw, the Prince fears he may have to make the Enchanted Kingdom a tourist attraction. Cinderella resolves their difficulties by confronting her godmother and opening the Kingdom to writers who promise them royalties from their stories.

 

Lapine, James. Into the Woods. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by James Lapine. London: Josef Weinberger.
Buy the book in paperback.

MUSICAL: A bewitching crew of classic characters romp through a "happily ever after" kingdom in this musical fairy-tale. Interweaving a hilarious mix of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, the Baker's Wife, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel in a multi-layered plot which ends happily in Act One, the musical then explores "happily ever after" in Act Two as previous actions come home to roost - with a vengeance!

 

 

Montley, Patricia. "Little Red and the Big Bad She Wolf." Not So Grim Fairy Tales. New York: Samuel French.

SHORT PLAY: Satire. Five scenes present unusual variations on familiar tales. In "Little Red and the Big Bad She Wolf," Red is invited by Mae Wolf to quit Harvard Business School and get a start in the service-selling business—despite Granny's opposition (she is Mae's senior partner). In "Bumble Stiltskin and the Baby Business," Rumpel's put-upon wife implores the Queen to keep her royal baby and offers to set up a Day Care Center if she gets government support. Also included are "Snow White and the Anti-Freeze," "Jack and the Marijuana Stalk," and "Cinderella."

 

Payne, David and Julie. Little Red Riding Hood and the Magic Dragon. Book by David and Julie Payne. Lyrics by Julie Payne. Music by Martha Yordy. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago.
Read more about the play on the Dramatic Publishing website.

MUSICAL: Little Red Riding Hood lived happily ever after is where Little Red Riding Hood and the Magic Dragon begins. But Little Red isn't really happy. Through the song, "Fairy Tale Lament," we learn that she has grown tired of her story. She dreads knowing that every time someone opens up her book she will be forced to relive the same old familiar tale. With the help of Toby, a lovable, comical magic dragon, Little Red sets off for new adventures. Along the way she meets, and sometimes becomes, other fairy-tale characters like princes and witches and frogs. She manages to find excitement and sometimes danger. Ultimately Little Red's magical journey brings her to realize that anything is possible and that imagination is the beginning of everything.

 

 

Schenkar, Joan. The Universal Wolf. In Signs of Life: 6 Comedies of Menace. New York: Samuel French.

FULL-LENGTH PLAY: Dark comedy. Widely produced in colleges and little theatres, this is the quintessential send-up of both the Little Red Riding Hood tale and modern French criticism. It features the Big Bad Wolf as a French structuralist, Grandmother as a retired butcher with a very good cutting arm, and Red Riding Hood as an insufferable brat whom everyone wishes ill. Even the audience has a role. This side-splitting comedy has delighted audiences across the country and around the world.

 

Schwartz, Yevgeny. Little Red Riding Hood. Translated by George Shail. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago.
Read more about the play on the Dramatic Publishing website.

SHORT PLAY: By the modern Russian playwright Yevgeny Schwartz. "Be careful, Red Riding Hood," warns Mother, "as you go by the swamp. Don't stumble. Don't slip. Don't trip. Don't fall in the water." Red Riding Hood can't believe there could be danger on her path and she disregards the warnings. The birds become a friendly reconnaissance squad. The rabbits, to whom she taught courage, are prepared to die in her defense, and the shifting patterns of battle that emerge in this war between good and bad animals make this play extraordinary.

 

 

Shockey, Marilyn. What's a Wolf to Do?. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago.
Read more about the play on the Dramatic Publishing website.

MUSICAL: Everybody needs friends, but Wolfie doesn't have any, because whenever he meets someone he likes, he always tries to eat them. Goldie invites Little Red to go for a walk in the forest, but Mrs. Hood refuses permission, reminding her daughter that she must take a basket of goodies to Granny. Besides, Mrs. Hood doesn't approve of Goldie. That girl is always getting into trouble! As Little Red and her imaginary friend, Roddy, go through the forest to Granny's, Little Red encounters Wolfie, who pretends to be her friend, while secretly plotting to eat her for dinner. Having been warned by Mrs. Hood not to talk to strangers, Little Red refuses to speak to him; but when he offers her a bouquet of flowers, she takes them, since her mother never mentioned taking flowers from a wolf. Further along the path, Little Red meets the singing Pig Sisters, who tell her in story and song their experiences with Wolfie. They warn her to stay away from that wolf! In another part of the forest, the hillbilly Bears leave their porridge in search of honey; and Goldie checks out their cottage. Soon she's running for her life when the Bears come back and discover her asleep. As she runs by Little Red, Goldie quickly tells about her adventure. Suddenly she hears the Bears approaching and sprints away again. The Bears explain to Little Red that they are looking for Goldie because Baby Bear wants to be her friend. But what's a wolf to do? Wrestling with the age-old conflict: whether to have friends or to eat them, Wolfie gives in to his hunger pangs, takes the shortcut to Granny's, swallows her whole and waits for Little Red to arrive. Everyone converges at Granny's house, where the Heimlich maneuver is applied and Granny pops out, good as new. Goldie arrives with her new friends, Baby Bear and his parents, and the Pig Sisters stop by to check on Granny. When Wolfie decides to become a vegetarian and give up eating people and pigs, Little Red agrees to be his first friend and wistfully says goodbye to her imaginary friend, Roddy.

 

 

Snyder, Geraldine Ann. Red Riding Hood: A Vaudeville Romp!. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago, 2003.
Read more about the play on the Dramatic Publishing website.

MUSICAL: This clever version of the classic tale is set in the city in the 1920s. Red is entrusted for the very first time to deliver a basket of goodies to her ailing grandmother, however, Granny's house is all the way on the other side of the park and Red's mother is concerned for her safety. Officer O'Malley assures Widow Hood that he will keep an eye on Red during her journey. On the way, Red meets those two lovable, laughable scoundrels, Mr. Wolfie and his sidekick, Mr. Moley, worn-out vaudevllians who are down on their luck. Once they notice Red's basket of food, they hatch a hairbrained scheme to abscond with the delicious goodies. Woflie and Moley arrive at Granny's and immediately evict her by way of the classic vaudeville Doctor Sketch, since it "emptied the house" every time it was performed! Red is convinced for a time that Wolfie is Granny. But during the hilarious climax, as Wolfie and Moley go after the food, Officer O'Malley arrives to save the day.

 

Tasca, Jules. "Fairy Tale Mail." Opened Mail. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago, 1996.
Read more about the play on the Dramatic Publishing website.

SHORT PLAY OR READER'S THEATRE: A menage of the "Hansel and Gretel," "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Cinderella" stories. Part of the full-length play titled Opened Mail.

 

Thistle, Louise. Little Red Snares the Wolf. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago.
Read more about the play on the Dramatic Publishing website.

SHORT PLAY: Petite Rouge discloses her despair that Francois can't find the courage to ask her to the Masked Ball. Unemployed Rene wants to date Petite, but his approach—rampaging through the woods on his motorcycle—turns her off. Across the forest, attractive Celeste, owner of Granny's Costume Shop, is also uninvited because no one believes a liberated businesswoman wants dates. The unhappy characters seek help from five world-weary pine trees, including Grandma and Grandpa who, at 302 years old, are hoping someone will give them a break and chop them down! Winner of the London Player-Playwrights competition as Best Play of the Year.

 

Wakefield, Colin. Little Red Riding Hood. Book by Colin Wakefield. Music and lyrics by Kate Edgar. Currently unpublished. See website for details: http://www.traditionalpantomimes.co.uk/

PLAY: Pantomime.

 








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