Little Red Riding Hood

Plot

In this comedic adaptation of the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood's mother prepares donuts in an inventive way, throwing dough circles that a cat shoots holes through. When Red sets out to visit her grandmother with her dog pulling a cart, they encounter a flat tire which Red cleverly fixes by inflating a donut. A smooth-talking wolf in a flivver races ahead to grandma's house only to find she's gone to the movies, so he shrinks his car and waits to ambush Red. The wolf's predatory advances are thwarted when Red's loyal dog summons help from an airplane pilot, who uses a skyhook to lift the entire house and ultimately drops the wolf into a lake.

Historical Background

The early 1920s was a transformative period for animation, with the medium transitioning from simple novelty acts to sophisticated storytelling. In 1922, the film industry was still dominated by silent films, and animation was finding its voice through pioneers like Winsor McCay, Max Fleischer, and a young Walt Disney. The post-World War I era saw America embracing modernity and technology, which is reflected in the film's inclusion of automobiles and airplanes. This was also the year that the first commercially successful radio stations began broadcasting, changing how Americans consumed entertainment. The film industry itself was consolidating, with Hollywood becoming the undisputed center of film production. For Disney personally, 1922 marked both the height of his first studio venture and its collapse, setting the stage for his move to Hollywood and eventual creation of Mickey Mouse.

Making Of

The production of 'Little Red Riding Hood' took place during a tumultuous period in Walt Disney's career. At just 20 years old, Disney was running his Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, employing a small team of animators including Ub Iwerks, who would later become his key collaborator. The studio was struggling financially, and Disney took out loans to complete his fairy tale series. The animation was done on a shoestring budget, with Disney himself reportedly working long hours and even sleeping at the studio. The film's contemporary elements, like the flivver automobile and airplane, reflected Disney's desire to make classic stories relevant to 1920s audiences. After the studio's bankruptcy, Disney left Kansas City for Hollywood with little more than his ideas and determination, making this film one of the last remnants of his first professional venture.

Visual Style

The cinematography of 'Little Red Riding Hood' reflects the state of animation in the early 1920s, utilizing traditional cel animation techniques with hand-drawn characters painted on transparent celluloid sheets placed over static backgrounds. The film demonstrates Disney's early experimentation with camera movement and perspective, particularly in the action sequences involving the automobile and airplane. The animation style is more fluid and expressive than many contemporaneous cartoons, showing Disney's attention to character movement and personality. The visual gags, such as the donut-making sequence and the skyhook rescue, showcase sophisticated timing and visual storytelling for the period. The film's use of scale, particularly in the scene where the wolf shrinks his car, demonstrates early technical innovation in animation effects.

Innovations

'Little Red Riding Hood' featured several technical innovations for its time, including sophisticated use of perspective in animation, particularly in the automobile and airplane sequences. The film demonstrated advanced techniques in character animation, with more fluid and expressive movement than was typical of the era. The shrinking car effect was technically ambitious for 1922, requiring careful animation to maintain consistency. The skyhook sequence showcased innovative approaches to action choreography in animation. Disney's use of contemporary technology within the fairy tale setting was technically challenging, requiring animators to accurately render modern vehicles and equipment. The film's combination of human and animal characters in the same scenes demonstrated early mastery of character interaction in animation.

Memorable Scenes

• The inventive donut-making sequence where the mother throws dough circles and the cat shoots holes through them
• The flat tire scene where Red cleverly uses an inflated donut as a replacement
• The wolf shrinking his automobile and stashing it in his pocket while waiting for Red
• The dramatic skyhook rescue where an airplane pilot lifts the entire house to save Red
• The final scene where the wolf is dropped into the lake in his shrunken car

What Critics Said

Contemporary critical reception of 'Little Red Riding Hood' is difficult to document due to the film's age and the limited survival of trade publications from the period. However, the film was part of Disney's fairy tale series that was reportedly well-received enough to secure distribution through Margaret J. Winkler, a prominent animation distributor of the era. Modern film historians and animation scholars view the film as an important early work that demonstrates Disney's emerging talent for storytelling and innovation in animation. The surviving fragments are studied by animation historians as examples of early Disney techniques and his developing style. The film is often cited in retrospectives of Disney's career as a crucial stepping stone between his earliest work and his later successes.

What Audiences Thought

Audience reception in 1922 is not well-documented, but the film was part of a popular series of fairy tale adaptations that Disney produced for theatrical release. The combination of familiar stories with contemporary humor and modern elements likely appealed to audiences of the time who were experiencing rapid technological and social changes. The inclusion of popular elements like automobiles and airplanes would have resonated with 1920s moviegoers. Modern audiences, primarily animation enthusiasts and Disney historians, view the film as a fascinating glimpse into Disney's early work and the development of animation as an art form. The surviving fragments of the film are treasured by animation preservationists and Disney fans as rare examples of Disney's earliest professional output.

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