Little Red (TV series)

Little Red is a Kuboian animated television series created by Ashley Maverick and produced by Kubokartoonz. The show premiered in 2018 and ran for four series before ending in 2021.

Premise
Taking place in a world that mixes modern-day living with a fantasy setting, Ruthie Rolloos is, generally speaking, an ordinary ten year-old girl who lives with her family. However, when somebody is in trouble, she takes out her trusty wand, Eye Spy, and transforms into her alter ego, Little Red.

Characters

 * Ruthie "Little Red" Rolloos is a brown-haired ten year-old who has a vivid imagination and is often uses her mind to come up with new ideas and to solve problems. Generally, ahen things go wrong she likes to turn into her alter ego, Little Red, and help others with their problems. Although Ruthie often tries to pretend that she and her Little Red persona are diffrent people, many of the people she helps are aware they are the same person. Right before putting on her Little Red costume, she always says "Looks like it's Little Red's time to make things right!" or something similar.
 * Eye Spy is Ruthie's sceptre who is capable of speech and is extremely loyal to his master. Although he often "sleeps" when Ruthie is under her normal persona, she always makes sure she has him under her Little Red persona. Eye is capable of turning into several different things on request, such as a grappling hook or an umbrella. He is also capable of using magic on his own command, such as making himself very hot if he gets stolen. In several episodes it is mentioned that Eye has been part of Ruthie's family and has been passed down for several generations.

Development
Little Red is Kubokartoonz' first animated series after Tangle Jam ended its run in 2007. Although Ashley Maverick had ideas for more original series, she and the rest of the studio were getting frustrated by the strict conditions that TVVC had when distributing the shows they made. However, Kubokartoonz rekindled a relationship with the company after it was taken over by new executives.

The show's development started off as far back as 2010 as a small project that Maverick worked on in her spare time, hoping to eventually make a television series out of it. When talking about Little Red shortly before its premiere, Maverick admitted that the premise might be seen as dated, but insisted it is supposed to capture the simple but vibrant nature of older children's programmes.

Animation
Much like every other Kubokartoonz show, Little Red was produced in traditional animation. Maverick considered potentially using computer animation for some of the show's effects but went against it, claiming the CGI looked "ugly" and out of place.

Series overview
Although the show has four series, some websites list it as having three series, and instead merge the first and second series, or the second and third series into one.

Reception
Common Sense Media awarded Little Red a 3/5 rating, praising the show for being entertaining and having good role models.

An article published by the BBC argued that the show "feels fifteen to twenty years out-of-date", and noted that it reuses a lot of clichés present in Kubokartoonz' previous shows. It also said that the show relies heavily on nostalgia and references to retro Kuboian culture at the cost of being entertaining and relatable for young children, however the review also noted that it is "what makes Kubokartoonz the way they are, and they always have and always will make content like this".

International broadcasts
Little Red has aired on Disney Junior in several countries, including the United States, Canada and France. It also aired on the Australian and British versions until they closed. Currently, it is airing on Tiny Pop in the United Kingdom and Toggolino in the Netherlands.