The plot summary pretty much describes everything that happens in this cartoon. Well, except that when the plane is flying, it literally flaps its wings! According to IMDb, this was also the first animated cartoon Walt Disney ever made. If that's true then what a find this is! I liked many of the beginning gags of the mother throwing the dough up in the air, the cat shooting holes in each dough that's thrown up, then the donut that becomes the result when it lands in the pan. And then the cat losing his nine lives and being taken away as a result of eating the donut (presumably because it was still greasy!). The plot summary also didn't mention the human wolf's car literally floating on air as it passes over cliffs! Or the old bearded man in the picture frame laughing when he watched the mother and the cat's antics or a couple of notes dancing when they came out of the mother's horn as she called for Red! While Little Red Riding Hood was primitive, since this was the earliest animated effort of the eventual legendary Walt Disney, it's worth a look at least once. Found this on YouTube.
9 Reviews
Not much in the way of story, it is very important historically.
planktonrules28 April 2012
According to IMDb, this is the first cartoon made by Walt Disney. Also, until recently, it was thought to be lost.
Although the title says "Little Red Riding Hood", the story seems to have very little to do with the classic Perrault fairy tale. Aside from mentioning a few things from the original story, it's mostly a lot of silly nonsense and some bits are WAY overlong (such as the doughnut bit). Now compared to other cartoons of the day, it's about average, but just a short time later, Disney's cartoons improved dramatically--such as "Cinderella" which came out just after "Little Red Riding Hood". And, if you do see one, you should also see the other so you can see the many similarities--such as the characters and style. Overall, a cartoon that hasn't aged tremendously well but it's worth a look for Disneyphiles.
Although the title says "Little Red Riding Hood", the story seems to have very little to do with the classic Perrault fairy tale. Aside from mentioning a few things from the original story, it's mostly a lot of silly nonsense and some bits are WAY overlong (such as the doughnut bit). Now compared to other cartoons of the day, it's about average, but just a short time later, Disney's cartoons improved dramatically--such as "Cinderella" which came out just after "Little Red Riding Hood". And, if you do see one, you should also see the other so you can see the many similarities--such as the characters and style. Overall, a cartoon that hasn't aged tremendously well but it's worth a look for Disneyphiles.
Humble beginnings
MissSimonetta15 March 2021
Being such a giant, IP-devouring powerhouse now, it's hard to imagine the Disney empire had its beginnings in a humble, only mildly successful studio run by a bunch of ambitious young cartoonists. While Disney would garner massive success by the end of the decade, its beginnings were mostly made up of average one-reelers. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD is a fascinating find because aside from the fairy tale element, it seems so unlike the later, more sophisticated Disney that would emerge in the 1930s. As it is, it's a fascinating historical relic, but not as technically impressive as the ALICE COMEDIES or OSWALD shorts to come.
Walt's first "real" cartoon
lee_eisenberg8 December 2016
In the 21st century, we know Disney as the media conglomerate that makes "family" cartoons. But the man for whom the studio is named had to start somewhere. Walt Disney got his start with Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1921 he released "Newman Laugh-O-Gram", which looked like drawings of advertisements. But his first "real" cartoon was 1922's "Little Red Riding Hood". Despite the poster, it doesn't follow the story that closely. It starts with Little Red's mother making donuts, and then the wolf is actually a lecherous human who goes after Little Red (grandma's house is shown shaking, so he probably tries to rape her, but we don't see anything). I understand that the cat featured in this cartoon is named Julius, and he became Walt Disney's first recurring character. I haven't seen most of Disney's early works, so I can't comment on that.
Laugh-O-Gram Studio closed not long after this due to lack of funds. Walt Disney moved to southern California, and the rest is history. Other employees of Laugh-O-Gram Studios were Ub Iwerks and Friz Freleng.
A really entertaining version of the story is the 1977 Soviet movie "About Little Red Riding Hood" ("Pro Krasnuyu Shapochku" in Russian). It's one of the wackiest movies that I've ever seen.
Laugh-O-Gram Studio closed not long after this due to lack of funds. Walt Disney moved to southern California, and the rest is history. Other employees of Laugh-O-Gram Studios were Ub Iwerks and Friz Freleng.
A really entertaining version of the story is the 1977 Soviet movie "About Little Red Riding Hood" ("Pro Krasnuyu Shapochku" in Russian). It's one of the wackiest movies that I've ever seen.
Not bad, but incredibly confusing
rtivey91316 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This cartoon is best known to be one of Walt Disney's first animated cartoons. It's very very old and sound hasn't come to use yet. I suppose back then, people didn't care all that much for plot and wanted to show the magic of how "animated characters can do what we can't do" so there's lots of magical things going on in this one, such as shrinking down a car and putting it in your pocket, and a cat shooting holes in bread.
There's no Big Bad Wolf in this story, instead there's a Big Bad Rich Man. I couldn't quite comprehend what was going on, but as far as I could tell, Little Red Riding Hood was delivering treats to grannie's house, and not knowing that grandma has gone away, goes in and finds the rich man she met earlier in the story, they get into a fight, then this young man goes in a plane with a dog that was with Red, and moves the house away, and chases after the rich man in his car, and probably kills him.
Now, I may have gotten this plot completely wrong, but that doesn't even matter. This movie was alright, but I can't say it would top the charts for anything. At best it's a revolutionary strange-fest that helped Walt Disney set the tracks for the future, and at worst it's a mediocre confusion that can baffle even the smartest viewers. That's not to say I didn't like this, but it's gonna be lower than most movies I've seen.
There's no Big Bad Wolf in this story, instead there's a Big Bad Rich Man. I couldn't quite comprehend what was going on, but as far as I could tell, Little Red Riding Hood was delivering treats to grannie's house, and not knowing that grandma has gone away, goes in and finds the rich man she met earlier in the story, they get into a fight, then this young man goes in a plane with a dog that was with Red, and moves the house away, and chases after the rich man in his car, and probably kills him.
Now, I may have gotten this plot completely wrong, but that doesn't even matter. This movie was alright, but I can't say it would top the charts for anything. At best it's a revolutionary strange-fest that helped Walt Disney set the tracks for the future, and at worst it's a mediocre confusion that can baffle even the smartest viewers. That's not to say I didn't like this, but it's gonna be lower than most movies I've seen.
False advertising
Horst_In_Translation30 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a 6-minute black-and-white silent cartoon from 1922, so it will have its 95th anniversary next year. It is a very early career effort from Walt Disney and his lack of experience is the only thing I can somewhat think of to justify how bad this little film is. or I could say "how inaccurate". If I had not seen the title, I would not have considered this as a "Red Riding Hood" version at all. I am pretty sure Perrault would not have enjoyed this one. It was as bizarre and off the mark as Disney's other early films that are based on fairy tales (suchas Brothers Grimm for example). This one here is certainly one of Disney's worst, but hey at least he got considerably better in later years. Don't watch.
Disney's First Totally Animated Cartoon
springfieldrental11 November 2021
Walt Disney, a struggling 21-year-older, with the help of friend Ub Iwerks and a handful of underpaid animators, spent six months to complete his first fully animated short cartoon called "Little Red Riding Hood." The six-minute plus work, basically a demonstration film, showed investors and distributors the high-class product his team was capable of producing.
Disney's vision of a series of cartoons, which he called Laugh-O-Grams, was to update fairy tales in a modern setting. The "Little Red Riding Hood" movie introduces Disney's first ever named character, a Felix The Cat imitation called Julius the Cat. The cat is anonymous in his debut, but Julius received his name in the follow-up cartoon, The Four Musicians of Bremen. In Disney's contemporary view, Little Red Riding Hood is delivering a bunch of donuts to her grandmother's house when she meets a lecherous man tooling around in his car. He breaks into grandma's empty home and assaults the girl when she enters the house. The cat accompanying her runs to her pilot boyfriend, who comes to the rescue with his plane.
Disney's vision of a series of cartoons, which he called Laugh-O-Grams, was to update fairy tales in a modern setting. The "Little Red Riding Hood" movie introduces Disney's first ever named character, a Felix The Cat imitation called Julius the Cat. The cat is anonymous in his debut, but Julius received his name in the follow-up cartoon, The Four Musicians of Bremen. In Disney's contemporary view, Little Red Riding Hood is delivering a bunch of donuts to her grandmother's house when she meets a lecherous man tooling around in his car. He breaks into grandma's empty home and assaults the girl when she enters the house. The cat accompanying her runs to her pilot boyfriend, who comes to the rescue with his plane.
Walt Disney Starts His Career
Michael_Elliott18 July 2015
Little Red Riding Hood (1922)
** (out of 4)
Entertainment wise, this first film from Walt Disney really isn't that good. There are a few interesting things here and there but there's no question that the legend would go onto much better things. That doesn't mean the film isn't historically important because, as I said, this was Disney's first movie and it was lost for decades until a print finally turned up. The story is pretty simple but don't expect anything like the classic fairy tale. Basically just a few pieces from that are borrowed for this film, which has a grandma making donuts when the little girl goes out to play and gets into some trouble. Again, entertainment wise there's really not too much here as Disney was clearly just learning his touch. The highlight of the film was seeing how the donuts were being made but even this is eventually ruined by it lasting way too long. Still, history and film buffs will still want to check this one out.
** (out of 4)
Entertainment wise, this first film from Walt Disney really isn't that good. There are a few interesting things here and there but there's no question that the legend would go onto much better things. That doesn't mean the film isn't historically important because, as I said, this was Disney's first movie and it was lost for decades until a print finally turned up. The story is pretty simple but don't expect anything like the classic fairy tale. Basically just a few pieces from that are borrowed for this film, which has a grandma making donuts when the little girl goes out to play and gets into some trouble. Again, entertainment wise there's really not too much here as Disney was clearly just learning his touch. The highlight of the film was seeing how the donuts were being made but even this is eventually ruined by it lasting way too long. Still, history and film buffs will still want to check this one out.
Disney before Disney
Rectangular_businessman18 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The first proper Disney short, from his Laugh-O-Gram days. It also was the very first Disney adaptation of a fairytale, even if only takes the basic premise from the source material to create a rather different work (A tendency many Disney adaptations will keep in the following years)
It has some charm and historical interest, though it feels pretty dated in comparison with other animations from the same era (Take for example The Centaurs from Winsor McCay, which was made one year before and it looks much better than this) In addition to that, some of the gags feel repetitive to the point of being tedious, but is still interesting to witness the humble beginning of what would end becoming the Walt Disney company.
There is a truly inspiring feel when one watches this (And the other Laugh-O-Gram rudimentary shorts) and compare it with stuff like Fantasia and Sleeping Beauty.
It has some charm and historical interest, though it feels pretty dated in comparison with other animations from the same era (Take for example The Centaurs from Winsor McCay, which was made one year before and it looks much better than this) In addition to that, some of the gags feel repetitive to the point of being tedious, but is still interesting to witness the humble beginning of what would end becoming the Walt Disney company.
There is a truly inspiring feel when one watches this (And the other Laugh-O-Gram rudimentary shorts) and compare it with stuff like Fantasia and Sleeping Beauty.
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