Red Riding Hood (2011)

  Hello guys!

It is time to talk about one of the most famous film adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood called "Red Riding Hood" and that was resealed in 2011.  Keep reading if you want to know some general information about this movie and the differences I have found between this and the original tale.

Did you know that many critics have described it as the "Twilight version" of the original tale? In fact, they are not entirely wrong since both movies were directed by the same person: Catherine Hardwicke. Moreover, this similarity can be due to the presence of a love triangle, werewolves and the setting, a village next to some dangerous woods. I am sure will also find some familiar faces like the actor Billy Burke, who performs as the father of the protagonist in both movies. If you want to know more about this, you should check this article.

As you could see in our infographic, Red Riding Hood adaptations vary from genre to genre; in the case of this movie, the genres of fantasy, thriller, romance and even teen horror have been intermixed giving, as a result, an interesting and engaging movie. However, film critics don't agree entirely with that since it has been rated 5.4 stars out of 10 by IMDb and 10% in Rotten Tomatoes. Among its most famous actresses, it is Amanda Seyfried, who will surely sound really familiar to you for being the starring actress in other teen movies like Mean Girls (2004), Jennifer's Body (2009) and Dear John (2010); and of course for the blockbuster Mamma Mia (2008). 

Regarding the plot of the movie, it begins by introducing the protagonist, a teenage girl named Valerie who lives in a village haunted by hungry wolves. The villagers kept a deal with the wolves, they offered them animals every month and, in exchange, the wolves wouldn't attack them or invade their territory. The movie gets intriguing very quickly as the first murdered people from wolf attacks begin to appear as soon as the movie starts. In addition, Valerie discovers that her parents have arranged a marriage of convenience for her, which will lead to a painful love triangle since she is still in love with her childhood friend, Peter.

As you have seen, this movie is not a really faithful adaptation of the fairy tale that I guess we all know, that is why I have decided to make an account of the most interesting differences between these two.

We can confirm that the most striking difference is romance since although there is no known instance of a love story in the original folk tale, it is a key element for the plot in this film. This is possibly due to the fact that this movie is mostly aimed at teenagers, who normally look for stories of impossible love and love triangles- although we should add that, in many cases, this is just a stereotype.

Moreover, another difference is that what haunts Red Riding Hood, in this case, Valerie, is not a mere wolf, but an extremely violent wolverine that goes unnoticed among the rest of the villagers but attacks them in the night. This creates an extra conflict that is to find out who is "the wolf in disguise" which is not present in the original plot of the tale.

Furthermore, the last difference we are going to highlight is the elements that make this film a horror story. Even if we can say that some parts of the original tale are quite violent -as when the wolf literally eats the Grandma- they don't seem so cruel if they are not explained in detail or worse if they are not illustrated. However, in this movie, we can see dead bodies of people and animals, bloodshed and even jump scares. That is why you should think it twice before watching this movie with kids since it is a PG-13! "The MPAA rated Red Riding Hood PG-13 for violence and creature terror, and some sensuality".

This is all for this entry guys, but if you want to know more differences and interesting things about this movie I recommend you to prepare a big bowl of pop corn and watch it! I assure you that you will spend an entertaining time immersed in the intriguing plot of the film.

Sandra