Red Riding Hood, 1988

With Warner Bros releasing their new Red Riding Hood movie, I thought I'd take this week to look at some of the previous versions of Little Red in film.

It's like someone read the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and said, "Why is this called a fairy tale? There's no fairies in this story! I'm gonna make a version with fairies!" And behold, you have Red Riding Hood bookended with fairy appearances in this 1988 film version by Cannon Movie Tales.

Aside from that, though, there's actually a fairly interesting (if slow) plot about Red's parents and uncle, and a deal with the devil for the "power of the wolf."

This is one of those musicals where, for some reason, I just can't see the songs coming. I'm not sure what it is about them, but suddenly--oh, looky there, we're singing again.

With solid, if not stunning, performances by Amelia Shankley (Linet/Red), Isabella Rosallini, Craig T. Nelson, and Rocco Sisto, this version borders on the campy (okay sometimes it's a cheese fest) but is mostly fun and one you can share with the kids without worrying that it's going to be too scary.

It's available on hulu for free for the time being, you can watch it here.