'Hoodwinked' follows a different path
The animated film revises the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, turning it into a whodunit.
By JANET K. KEELER
Published January 12, 2006
For many reasons, you'll root for the cheerful Hoodwinked to be the low-budget animated movie that could.
First, there's actually a story here, which is more than we can say for flicks like Madagascar that razzle-dazzle with flawless animation but don't have much going on otherwise. Hoodwinked, the "true story of Little Red Riding Hood," has substance and attitude, silly though it is.
Kids under 10 will get a kick out of the funny characters and entertaining soundtrack, and adults will appreciate some of the more clever jokes. They'll swear one of the evil dudes is voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
We love the past and present TV Land cast: Xzibit (MTV's Pimp My Ride), Jim Belushi (According to Jim), Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld), Andy Dick (NewsRadio) and David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H).
Glenn Close is Granny, who has a sporty secret, and Anne Hathaway is sassy Red, not the hooded wimp you might remember from storytime but an accomplished martial artist.
The animals in Red's 'hood are polished but the people range from stiff to strange. The schnitzel-selling, ax-wielding woodsman (Belushi) looks like he is carved from a block of wood. Red reminds us of a 1970s Holly Hobbie figurine with those huge, pooling eyes. Her giant feet are borrowed from the "Keep on truckin' " guy.
And Granny. What's with the towering cotton-ball pile of blue hair, cat-eye glasses and droopy bosom? A modern twist on an old story could at least update Granny's look.
Hoodwinked is essentially a cops-and-robber caper in which things are not as they seem. Somebody is stealing recipes from the restaurants, snack shops and bakeries in the forest. Granny's Goody Shop is the likely next target and when Red finds the Wolf masquerading as her beloved Granny the chase begins. The Wolf, played delightfully wry by Warburton, reveals himself as an investigative reporter on the trail of the culprit.
(At this point, lovers of the children's book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, will feel the screenwriters are fans too. There are many similarities.)
Told in flashbacks to the police, led by the snooty Nicky Flippers (Stiers) and Chief Grizzly (Xzibit), everyone has a different version about how Granny came to be tied up in the closet. But why is that silly bunny, Boingo (Dick), smack-dab in the middle of everyone's story?
Hoodwinked is a trifle of a movie, quickly forgotten after the credits roll. It's got the story, but, unfortunately, not the look.
- Janet K. Keeler can be reached at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com Her blog, Stir Crazy, is www.sptimes.com/blogs/food
HoodwinkedGrade: C+
Director: Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leech
Cast: Voices of Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway, Andy Dick, Jim Belushi, Patrick Warburton, David Ogden Stiers, Xzibit
Screenplay: Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leech
Rating: PG, cartoon violence
Running time: 80 min.