|
Movie Review - Hoodwinked (2006)
|
|
|
|
|
(What this rating means)
|
|
| |
|
| Director: |
Cory Edwards |
| Starring: |
Anne Hathaway (Red), Patrick Warburton (the Wolf), Glenn Close (Granny), and Jim Belushi (the Woodsman) |
| Rated: |
PG (for some mild action and thematic elements) |
| Length: |
80 minutes |
| Genre: |
Animation/Family/Comedy |
| Tagline: |
Trouble In The Hood |
| Studio: |
The Weinstein Company |
| Website: |
Hoodwinked |
| Release: |
January 13, 2006 |
|
PLOT
|
This ain't your mama's Little Red Riding Hood story! Or maybe it's not the Little Red Riding Hood
story your mama read to you when you were little. Nope, Hoodwinked takes a closer look at exactly what
happened and gives all parties involved a chance to explain his or her or its version of the events.
Was the Wolf really all that big and bad, or did he have other intentions? Perhaps granny wasn't the sweet old
woman we've all been led to believe she was. Is Little Red Riding Hood helping her in some sort of recipe-stealing
scheme? Who exactly is being hoodwinked? Independent animation ensues.
|
|
JOHNNY'S TAKE
|
I'll be honest with you (when am I not?); I had my reservations before watching Hoodwinked. The trailer looked
interesting, but then it got mixed reviews and for some reason I found myself wondering if the critics might be
right. The biggest complaints were levied at the film's "sub-par" animation and how "distracting" it
supposedly was. So I finally got the DVD in my masculine, yet surprisingly nimble fingers, sat down to watch
it, and my advice remains the same...
Ignore most critics (me being an exception, of course). One reviewer ignorantly accused the film of using
"stop-motion" animation (um, no) while another said it looked worse than stop-motion animation and
because of this he couldn't enjoy the movie.
Sure, that makes sense. And I can't enjoy your reviews because of the hideous picture used in your byline,
gramps. The opening narration warning that you can't judge a book by its cover is a lesson the critics of the
film's animation shortcomings could learn.
There's no denying that Hoodwinked's graphics aren't as smooth or cutting edge as that of other CGI films of
late, but it was working with a very low budget (they started with $5000 and used that to buy two computers). It
didn't have the deep pockets of Disney behind it. Chicken Little did, and
you know what? It's a borefest. You know why? Because of its lame story. Sure, it looks pretty, but so did
Pamela Anderson 42 years ago when she was on Home Improvement. Substance is typically what holds up well
over time.
This is where Hoodwinked shines. It mixes a cast of amusing and interesting characters, clever jokes, and
ambitious storytelling to form a movie that both kids and adults can enjoy. I think my favorite character was
Japeth. That goat rocks out on some jammin' numbers. And Patrick Warburton's voice should be a requirement for
all animated films.
I really like how the story criss-crosses everybody's point of view to give us a clear picture of what happened.
Older audiences can probably easily guess who the guilty party is, but it'll serve as a pretty effective twist for
the majority of children, and despite some level of predictability it is done effectively enough to
keep your interest the whole way.
I also loved the clever little asides that younger audiences might not appreciate. Like when Nicky Flippers says,
"We don't arrest people for being creepy." The Pig Cop speaks into a walkie-talkie and says, "Hey, Bruce, you know
that guy we have in the tank?" To which Bruce replies, "The creepy one?" And the pig says, "Better let him go."
Be on the lookout for little stuff like that.
Here's hoping that Cory Edwards and crew get a bigger budget and an opportunity to do a sequel because I'm curious
to see where they can go from here.
|
|
SPECIAL FEATURES
|
- Commentary by writers/directors Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech - I haven't listened to the commentary
yet, but the movie's short enough that I'm planning on doing it. I'm curious to hear if the makers will point out
references I might not have picked up on.
- 5 deleted and extended scenes - The majority of these are extended scenes of the musical numbers. There's one
scene that is just the storyboard with voices behind it. Total time is approximately 10 minutes.
- How to Make an Animated Film featurette with producers Sue Bea Montgomery and David K. Lovegren - I
found this to be very interesting. Ms. Montgomery gives us lots of interesting tidbits like how she would
have 10 children in her neighborhood watch the storyboards with the voice work and then would use their feedback.
The kids demanded more of Twitchy the squirrel. And Japeth the Goat was almost dropped at one time (NO!) but the
kids loved him, so they left him in. I wish it had been longer than its 12-minute runtime.
- Critters Have Feelings music video - I think this one's pretty self-explanatory. Nothing earth-shattering,
but it's an entertaining watch. It only runs about 3 1/2 minutes, so I think you can handle it.
|
|
ODDS & ENDS
|
- Budget: $15 - $20 million (estimated, obviously)
- Domestic Gross: $51,354,806, Foreign Gross: $17,860,000, Worldwide Gross: $69,214,806 (in case you can't do
the math)
- Nicky Flippers is based on The Thin Man's Nick Charles.
- Watch for references to Kill Bill, Spider-Man, Mission: Impossible, xXx,
A Christmas Story, Fletch, Star Wars, and more.
- Johnny Betts will poke his eyes out if he reads one more review where the critic tries to show how movie-savvy
he is by referencing Rashômon.
- Patrick Warburton was in Men in Black II with Tommy Lee Jones who is in the upcoming No Country for
Old Men with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
|
|
MAMA'S APPROVAL
|
This is a clean film that can be enjoyed by the entire family.
|
|
TRAILER COMPARISON
|
The trailer should give you a good enough indication as to whether or not this is your cup of bubble tea. It
certainly let's you see what the animation looks like. If you don't recoil in horror like some critics
apparently did then it most likely won't serve as a distraction.
|
|
THE GIST
|
Hoodwinked isn't as polished as your typical big budget animated film (which I think works as part of its
charm), but you have to appreciate the effort put forth in attempting to tell a story in such a way that it
stands out from said typical big budget animated film. It doesn't reach the heights that Toy Story and other Pixar
films have set as the bar, but it gets closer than any of the other competitors.
|
|
