Modern Variations for Kids and Teens

Watch: Fractured Fairy Tales/ 2 Little Red Riding Hoods

Fractured Fairy Tales was a segment that was part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show which aired from 1959-1964. As you watch these two episodes, one from the first season and one from the third, pay attention to how the narrator, Edward Everett Horton sets a tone and character for the pieces.

Watch

In 1982, Roald Dahl published Revolting Rhymes, which features versions of several well-known fairy tales. Here is a film project that uses the text:

Watch a modern storytelling:

Mara the Storyteller, courtesy of the British Museum

Read (Optional)

“Little Polly Riding Hood” Catherine Storr

This literary variation is “Little Polly Riding Hood” from Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf, written by British author Catherine Storr and published in 1955. In this story, Polly outsmarts the Wolf by knowing how the story usually goes.

You will need to create a free archive.org account and borrow the book to read this story (Chapter 4) which can be found on pages 16-25.

Watch a Read Aloud

Watch: Picture Book Read-Aloud

What did you think of these variations? How do the different versions play with the story? With your prior knowledge of the story?

Comments

26 responses to “Modern Variations for Kids and Teens”

  1. Anthea longville Avatar
    Anthea longville

    Each variation in the theme of innocence, danger and transformation reflects different cultural and historical values, reshaping them in unique ways. The different versions play with the story by adapting characters, outcomes, and themes to align with the cultural context, moral teachings and artistic objectives of the storytellers.

    1. Shiraz Biggie Avatar
      Shiraz Biggie

      Can you be more specific?

  2. Mahnoor Avatar
    Mahnoor

    These different versions retell the story of Little Red Riding Hood, changing elements of the story but keeping the plot of giving goods to Grandma preset in the majority of them. The different versions play with the story because they introduce new elements, which change the message of the story depending on who is telling it.

    1. Michelle Cortes Rodriguez Avatar
      Michelle Cortes Rodriguez

      I agree they do introduce new elements which can change the message of the story.

    2. Ariana Loyfman Avatar
      Ariana Loyfman

      I agree and I think that it is very interesting to see how incorporating new or different elements can change the total outcome of the plot or in some cases just create different emotions to the reader who is reading the story.

  3. Victoria Lucenti Avatar
    Victoria Lucenti

    I did enjoy watching the different variations from each video, but I think I enjoyed the original retold stories more that were seen in the other sections of this module. There were many different versions that played around with the story, such as “Little Fred Riding Hood” that I believe was an inspiration of this story, with an addition of magic elves that changed Fred’s appearance as a good deed reward to him. When watching “Red’s Riding Hood”, I think it was more of an adaptation version as it stuck with the context of the original story, but changed the positions of the characters as Red Riding Hood sought out to take the wolfs pelt to make a coat for the wealthy woman, with many tricks up her sleeve to do so. The read aloud version centered more as a retelling of the original story, but did change somewhat of the theme because of how self loving/admiring red riding hood was towards herself. In the end of this version, red riding hood had mentioned solely her own appearance in such a self admiring way to the wolf, that she did not realize the wolf’s new appearance who was supposed to be her grandmother that she was speaking too.

  4. Sofia Buttaro Avatar
    Sofia Buttaro

    Seeing each of these stories unfold was a pleasure. Given that it stuck to the original story’s context, I believe the first video was more of an adaptation. The characters’ places were changed, though, as Red Riding Hood went in search of the wolf’s fur to make a coat for the affluent woman. Although the original narrative was recalled in the read-aloud form, parts of the topic was changed. In the conclusion of this version, Red Riding Hood spoke to the wolf about her appearance in such a smug manner, that she was unaware of the wolf’s transformation into her grandmother.

  5. Nitzan Naim Avatar
    Nitzan Naim

    I enjoyed watching all the variations! Some were closer to the original story we all know, with only minor adjustments, especially in the ending. Others took a completely different direction, changing not only the plot but also the characters. I found these playful takes on the story really fun to watch. My favorite was Little Fred Riding Hood because it was silly and creative, and it even made me laugh throughout. Each version brought something fresh, showing how familiar stories can be adapted in surprising and enjoyable ways.

  6. Selina Chen Avatar
    Selina Chen

    I think all of these variations were interesting to watch and I enjoyed watching them as well. Even though they were different variations of the original story, having different elements, they still kind of kept the original plot of the story, following the same concept.

  7. Kateryna Senkovych Avatar
    Kateryna Senkovych

    All of the versions of the story were quite entertaining. The Wolf’s version was a fascinating read, and while the other versions varied, they all tried to maintain the main concept of the original story.

  8. Alexa Mendez Avatar
    Alexa Mendez

    Each version was practically the story of little red riding hood however they were unique in their own ways but did include some similar aspects to the version we know. It was interesting to see how many different versions actually exist.

    1. Amy Khait Avatar
      Amy Khait

      I agree that each version was similar, but also different and unique in their own way.

  9. Tory Sen Avatar
    Tory Sen

    In the first movie, the story was changed so that the actors had new roles and explored new ideas. The second movie was more creative, and small changes were made to parts like the ending. The third movie changed the characters and the story by having a more fun tone. Still, Little Fred Riding Hood was my first choice because it was different and fun. Each version had extra parts that showed the different creative ways that well-known stories could be told.

    1. Shiraz Biggie Avatar
      Shiraz Biggie

      Little Fred Riding Hood does something that it is likely many storytellers did which is combine elements/tropes for different stories together.

  10. Brittany Giler Avatar
    Brittany Giler

    The different versions of this fairytale was interesting to see. These variations demonstrate the adaptability of the “Little Red Riding Hood” story and its ability to resonate with audiences across cultures and time periods. By examining these different versions, we can gain a deeper understanding of the story’s enduring appeal and its potential for interpretation and reinterpretation.

  11. Anifat Abumislimova Avatar
    Anifat Abumislimova

    It was interesting to watch the video about how the wolf deceived and escaped from Little Red Riding Hood. These variations change some elements, but keep the basic plot of delivering goods to grandma, it does not matter if it is a wolf or the girl was delivering goods.

  12. Naurah Romulus Avatar
    Naurah Romulus

    These versions of Little Red Riding Hood put fun twists on the classic tale. “Red’s Riding Hoods” and “Little Fred Riding Hood” add humor and modern elements, turning Red into a stronger character and playing with traditional roles. Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes makes the story funny and dark, with Red as fearless instead of helpless. “Red Riding Hood was Rotten” flips the perspective by telling it from the wolf’s side, making the story more humorous. I enjoyed each of the retellings.

  13. samantha velez Avatar
    samantha velez

    Each story gave a different perspective on little red riding hood. Examples, the last story was told in the perspective of the wolf and in the the wolf was depicted as vegetarian at first who hadn’t eaten in weeks and red riding hood was very vain. When he ate her he. Thought about a juicy apple but called her alittle rotten. In older stories she is dipicted as a sweet ‘innocent child”.

  14. Amy Khait Avatar
    Amy Khait

    Each of these stories gives a different perspective on The Little Red Riding Hood. I definitely noticed the Red riding hood’s character turning into a stronger character. The stories were each different from each other. However, they were also similar, with their own unique spin on things. Telling the story from the wolf’s perspective was also funny. The stories were able to resonate with different cultures and time periods. It was interesting to see all the different versions of the story.

  15. VANESSA Avatar
    VANESSA

    All of the stories have different viewpoints of Little Red Riding Hood. I have never heard the version of red ridding hood looking for a wolf, little red ridding hood being male or even little red ridding hood shooting the wolf. The first 2 versions are totally different than the ones we’ve read previously. I enjoyed listening to those versions the most because they have different ideas. Something we haven’t heard before. Usually fairytales stick to the same plot but these two didn’.

  16. Ashley Dai Avatar
    Ashley Dai

    These variations stand out from the previous ones due to the amount of humor weaved in. These versions are quite playful with the story by ensuring to keep the most iconic parts and injecting a lot of (silly) personality traits to the characters we are most familiar with. In more traditional stories, LRR often finds herself in trouble due to circumstance/naivete/cunning wolves. In these versions, we often see LRR experiencing some kind of misfortune due to her personality (although killer LRR gets a new coat, her grandma does not come back when the wolf is slain). Because the older tellings of the story contain more gruesome violence, the violence that is depicted in these versions can be viewed with a more comical lens.

  17. Jennifer Delaguila Avatar
    Jennifer Delaguila

    These variations of the story of Little Red Riding Hood had me in shock, each story had the same characters but they were different withe each version. Though, they all used the ‘same’ or similar story plot, each had a different ending to them. We can even see that Little Red Riding Hood is played by a male character instead of a boy.

    1. Jennifer Delaguila Avatar
      Jennifer Delaguila

      Instead of a girl**.

  18. Kaylee Pontone Avatar
    Kaylee Pontone

    I really enjoyed watching Rocky and Bullwinkle Show’s versions! I thought they were cute and funny. I thought it was clever how they flipped it, where the Wolf was running from Red.

  19. Amna Syeda Avatar
    Amna Syeda

    I found the various interpretations of Little Red Riding Hood to be quite engaging, as each version introduced unique elements to the narrative. The version that particularly stood out to me was the fractured fairytale video, which reimagined the original story by reversing the traditional roles. These variations can shift the focus of the story, offering new themes or perspectives. For example, in some retellings, the wolf may appear more threatening or more humorous, while others emphasize the relationship between Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. With my prior knowledge of the story, I can see how these adaptations explore different ideas, such as the role of caution, and the consequences of disobedience. Each version shows the story’s adaptability, making it relevant to different times and audiences.

  20. Jaylyn Calles Avatar
    Jaylyn Calles

    I think each variation of these stories had their way of engaging the listener. The different versions play with the story because they are differently formatted some are animated some are real life with acting and some are show and told in different tones of voices.

Leave a Reply to Ashley Dai Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *