Little Red Riding Hood (1901): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1901, Little Red Riding Hood is a fantasy film directed by Georges Méliès, running about 8 minutes. “A lost adaptation of the fairy tale” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. In a bakery in the French countryside, Father Latourte, his wife, and their staff are busy with customers, pastries, and baked goods of all kinds. The Latourtes' young daughter, called Red Riding Hood, reads by the firelight until her parents leave for a moment. She starts to play boisterously, getting the bakery staff mixed up in hijinks and pratfalls. Her father and mother return, chagrined by her escapades, and she is told to take a pot of butter and a galette to her grandmother's cottage. Red Riding Hood travels through the forest on her errand, meeting a wolf, who finds out where she is going. Encountering her friends from the village school, she happily pauses her journey to play and dance with them. Meanwhile, at a windmill near the cottage, the miller Sans-Souci has comic trouble with his mule.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.0/10, Little Red Riding Hood has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Little Red Riding Hood page.

If you liked it. Fans of Little Red Riding Hood tend to enjoy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Green Mile, Spirited Away and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.