Hoodwinked! (2005)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Cory Edwards
Todd Edwards (co-director)

Writers:

Cory Edwards (screenplay) &
Todd Edwards (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Crime | Family | Mystery

Tagline:

Trouble In The Hood

Plot:

The candy recipes of the goody shops have been stolen by the Goody Bandit, and many animals are out of business...

Plot Keywords:

Red Riding Hood | Axe | Wolf | Animal | Woodsman

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anne Hathaway	...	Red (voice)
Glenn Close	...	Granny (voice)
James Belushi	...	The Woodsman (voice) (as Jim Belushi)
Patrick Warburton	...	The Wolf (voice)
Anthony Anderson	...	Detective Bill Stork (voice)
David Ogden Stiers	...	Nicky Flippers (voice)
Xzibit	...	Chief Grizzly (voice)
Chazz Palminteri	...	Woolworth (voice)
Andy Dick	...	Boingo (voice)
Cory Edwards	...	Twitchy (voice)
Benjy Gaither	...	Japeth the Goat (voice)
Ken Marino	...	Raccoon Jerry (voice)
Tom Kenny	...	Tommy (voice)
Preston Stutzman	...	Timmy (voice)
Tony Leech	...	Glen (voice)

Also Known As:

Hoodwinked (USA) (DVD box title)
Hoodwinked! The True Story of Red Riding Hood (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild action and thematic elements.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Czech Republic:U | France:U | Finland:K-7 | Australia:G | Netherlands:AL | UK:U | Ireland:G | Singapore:G | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | USA:PG (certificate #42224) | Canada:G (Ontario) | Germany:o.Al. | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All

Company:

Weinstein Company, The

Trivia:

Animated independently entirely in the Philippines.

Goofs:

Plot holes: If Chief Grizzly is in charge of the investigation - and the head of the police force - how can Nicky Flippers take charge?

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nicky Flippers: [narrating] Red Riding Hood, you probably know the story.
[girl screaming]
Nicky Flippers: But there's more to every tale than meets the eye. It's just like they always say, you can't judge a book by its cover. If you want to know the truth, you've gotta flip through the pages.

Movie Connections:

References Goldfinger (1964)

Soundtrack:

Schnitzel Song

Great on a Curve!

Hoodwinked is an ultra low budget affair compared to the average 3D CGI-animated film (it was shot for a reported 15 million vs 70 to 90 million for films like Finding Nemo or Shrek 2). If you want a fairer comparison in terms of animation quality, you'd have to look at something like Jimmy Neutron (30 million budget).

What really made the animation work in terms of style is...the style. Hoodwinked almost looks like a revved up Rankin-Bass stop motion animated film in the vein of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Once you get absorbed in the world of Hoodwinked, you stop comparing it to Pixar and simply enjoy the magic little world the creators obviously put so much care into creating.

And the film is indeed absorbing! It starts a little slow, but once the story picks up steam, it is non-stop fun. It's clear that the writers weren't going to let a lower budget stop them from writing a clever and often laugh-out-loud funny script. My kids, aged 12, 8, and 3, giggled throughout the film. Your kids will LOVE the squirrel, the granny, and the singing goat, and adults will pick up more culture references in terms of homage scenes (not in adult content) to pictures like Fletch, Kill Bill, and the Matrix.

One thing comes across very clearly in Hoodwinked--love of the craft. So many seemingly throw away gags end up being very important to the story later on. Enjoy this little gem of an "indie" animated film, and imagine what these young guys could do with a bigger budget next time around!