Analysis Outline

Little Red Cap and Red Riding Hood

       The German tale of Little Red Cap written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm is a classic little Red Riding Hood story. Red-Cap was to bring a basket of food to her ill grandmother and while walking through the woods encountered a friendly wolf. The wolf had eaten her grandmother

and her who were shortly saved by the huntsman.

       An adaption of Little Red Cap would be the movie Red Riding Hood, a film that revolves around Valerie, a girl trying to solve the mystery of the wolf. The wolf is stalking her trying to get her to run away with him by threatening to kill her loved ones. Throughout the film Valerie puts together clues of whom may be the wolf, Father Solomon, a wolf hunter whose wife had been a wolf makes the process much more difficult.

       The purpose of short story, Little Red Cap, would be to scare children into obeying their parents. If Red-Cap had listened to her mother and not wandered off the path her grandmother would never have been eaten. Instead Red-Cap spends time picking flowers for her grandmother and wanders through the woods. The audience would be children or parents reading the story to their children. The tone is serious and the voices can vary. The voice of the wolf would

persuasive and cruel; where as the voice of Red is very innocent.

       Red Riding Hood, the film has a very different purpose. The movie is meant to be entertaining and keep an audiences attention. The movie is dramatic, romantic and at times frightening. Many secrets are brought to light and the ones closest to Valerie start to become her enemies. When people feel that their lives are at stake they start pointing fingers at others no matter the cost. The villagers just want someone to blame for the heartache and the loved ones that are lost because of the wolves outrage on Father Solomon. The audience can consist of

anyone who likes movies containing mystery and suspense, or anyone who is familiar with the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

       Many examples of Ethos, Pathos and Logos are seen throughout the movie. Ethos in the film would be the actors including Valerie played by Amanda Seyfried. The actors portraying Valerie's parents have also been seen in multiply movies. Pathos in the film change from scene to

scene. When the group of men travel the cave anticipating the kill the wolf the audience is scared, who is going to die next. When Valerie's red-headed friend betrays her and tells Solomon she is a witch, I felt angry but also felt pity for the friend because she was desperate to save her brother. At the end of the movie the audience is left with the feeling of hope for a happy ending. The logic behind the movie would be the mystery. Once Valerie puts together a new hint or clue to who the wolf is, the audience thinks they know who it is. The twist of who the wolf is can be found surprising and the ending is one that is not forgotten.

I.      Catherine Hardwicke’s film, Red Riding Hood, unsuccessfully transforms the German tale, Little Red Cap written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

II.      The Grandmother

       a. Although the Grandmother lives deep in the woods in both the short story and book. The wolf lived in the village in the movie and lived in the woods in the short story. "A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood; her house stands under the three large oak-trees, the nut trees are just below; you surely must know it," replied Little Red-Cap.

       b. In both the short story and film, Grandmother had given her granddaughter the red-cap as a gift, but in the film it wasn't just a gift, the red cloak was a wedding gift.

III. The Wolf

       a. In the short story the wolf was a stranger and any villager could understand him, but in the film only Valerie was able to hear the wolves thoughts. The wolf wasn’t just some stranger, he was a part of the village and his identity was kept hidden from everyone.

       b. Another significant difference between the short story and the adaption was how in the film, anyone could become a wolf if bitten.

IV. The Huntsman

       a. Although there is a huntsman in the film, Father Solomon, he is not the one who saves Red and kills the wolf. Her love interest in the movie, Peter is the one who is the hero and in return he becomes the wolf. In the short story there is a Huntsman who has been long searching for the wolf.

       b. Even though stones were put in the wolf in both versions it was done in two very different ways. Once the Huntsman had safely rescued Red and her grandmother he replaced them with large stones so when the wolf woke and stood up he fell to the ground. In the film, Valerie had killed her father and then sewed the rocks inside his chest so he would sink to the bottom of the body of water and not float.

1. The German tale of Little Red Cap written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm is a classic little Red Riding Hood story. The story is read to many children as a warning to always listen to your parents. The 2011 film, Red Riding Hood, written by David Johnson and directed by Catherine Hardwicke was made as an adaption to the tale but was unsuccessful. Even though many aspects are similar, the differences outweigh the similarities.