“See Little Red Cap, how pretty the flowers are about here. Why don’t you look around? Do you not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing? You walk gravely along as if you’re going to school, while everything out here is merry”

-Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood

I have never really been fond of the usage of the wolf as the villain character, however I understood the intention. Instill a fear of nature, instill a fear of strangers. Even though this story is told by the peasant class, Little Red Riding Hood was a spoiled rich girl that has a family wealthy enough to purchase materials dyed in the red coloring (which normally fades pretty quickly), and perhaps this story is meant to be a warning to people who may be accosted by highway men and bandits. Even knowing this, I’m not really fond of the portrayal of the wolf character, and just continues to promote a fear and ignorance of the natural world and distrust of the opposite sex.

My hope is to re imagine a more empowered and compassionate female character who meets a ridiculously socially awkward wolf and have them build a genuine friendship. But what is a story without a villain? Well maybe the wolf was never the villain, but someone else in the story is....

Once upon a time...