Hoodwinked!

This is a very fast paced movie that plays to the two levels successful animated films play to: The kids are entertained, but so are the parents. There are zingers that come out of nowhere, some but not all of which are shown on the trailer. Some of those zingers will only catch the attention of the adults in the house, but don't detract from kids' enjoyment. But some will get all generations to laugh, like the "Run!!!" sequence from the trailer. A four second bit.

I was at a screening attended by families in the business, but mostly kids. Hard laughter throughout the movie. As for quality of animation, which was clearly done on the cheap, you don't notice it. The basic story quality is there. I think it is also possible that this film may nab a best song nomination. Some very catchy original tunes, well orchestrated and well sung. All in all, worth the trip to the theater, and worth buying the DVD.

Sequel probable.

I'm not going to give Hoodwinked a harsh review like so many others. This is primarily a kids movie, nothing more, nothing less. All the kids in the cinema that I was in were roaring with laughter and I must admit at times I was also laughing out loud. Some of the older people and parents will enjoy the references it makes to other movies and fairy tales, although they are dumbed down for the suited audience.

The plot is almost like an animated, kids version of Pulp Fiction. Many different stories (told by Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf, The Woodsman and Granny) intertwine.

The voice actors all do a great job with their characters and the animation, although nowhere near the best, was still pretty good. The characters were all hilarious, the funniest being a singing goat and a nutty squirrel (who I think was high).

3/5.

A few months ago I was speaking with a friend who runs a drive-in movie theater. He asked me what movies I may want to see when he opens for the season. I remembered seeing ads for "hoodwinked" but never caught it in the theater so I told him I'd like to see it. He remembered the film and played it last weekend.

As it turned out, I could only bring my 9 year old daughter and 2 year old son because my wife had some sort of meeting. I really wasn't looking forward to seeing it with a 2 year old but surprisingly he watched the entire movie! That was a first for him. My 9 year old girl loved it laughing out loud every few minutes. Her favorite characters were the singing goat and the squirrel. I thoroughly enjoyed it too and will buy the DVD on my way home today so I can show the rest of the family (and see it a few more time myself).

Thanks for making such a wholesome and clean movie that is NOT lame in any way at all. It was genuinely clever, original, entertaining and funny, very very funny. I sincerely hope you make movies like this for years to come and that each one is more successful. Thanks!

It's true that this, on account of budgetary constraints(it's independent... I'll let you process that fact) doesn't have the computer power behind it that the other new 3D flicks do, but they turn the potential weakness into a strength by instead looking completely different than its competition and, what a concept, *to actually focus on the material*, which is solid and hilarious. The characters are not simply there for us to laugh at, rather, they have genuine personality. Jokes and gags are marvelous, and there are ones for all age groups. This walks that balance better than most family films. Humor is a nifty mix between clever, silly, over the top, underplayed, parody, etc. The Rashômon take on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale allows for a ton of fun adventure in a way that children have not seen that often, and I can imagine them still following it fine. Design is great, and using animation that comes off like something done years ago(as well as referencing undeniable classics from 2D, along with a ton of pop culture, there's something for everyone) works really well. The acting is spot-on. Warburton is perfect for the Wolf. All parts are well-cast. I even liked Belushi's performance(I'd at this point like to retract any statements I've made about that to friends of the "if I ever say ... just shoot me" variety). You might want to avoid trailers and ads, lest punchlines and surprises be ruined. This is well-paced, and not boring. The plot is interesting and well-developed. This is genuinely exciting, and has pretty cool action. The editing is sharp, and the cinematography excellent. This has well-done audio all the way, the score and songs are surprisingly good, spanning several styles of music. There is hardly anything in this that can be called offensive, and I agree with the PG rating. The DVD comes with an informative and entertaining commentary track with both Edwards', the first-time directors, and Tony Leech, who wrote the script along with the brothers, and also a well-done 13-minute featurette. I recommend this to any fan of those who made it. 7/10

Despite low-budget animation, the newest feature by the Weinstein Company, "Hoodwinked," is saved by some silly animal and human characters, as well as great writing and hilarious jokes.

Basically, it's the story of Little Red Riding Hood as told from the vantage point of Red (voice of Ann Hathaway), the Big Bad Wolf (Patrick Warburton), Granny (Glenn Close) and a dimwitted, axe-wielding woodsman (Jim Belushi).

The four are arrested, accused of stealing goodie recipes and interrogated by a long-legged frog, Inspector Flippers (David Ogden Stiers). Each suspect tells a different story that somehow cleverly ties the whole event together. In other words, it's like a version of Kurosawa's "Rashomon" as produced by computer animators who could not get work at Pixar, Disney or Dreamworks.

Seeing the studio's press release, I noticed the poor computer work and thought this would be another "Valiant," but the crisp dialogue and truly funny situations made me laugh almost all the way through this film, which is director Cory Edwards' feature debut.

It's also a much more entertaining picture than "Chicken Little" or "Shark Tale" could ever hope to be. And while the puns are pretty much aimed at adults, the kids will enjoy the many animal characters, such as pigs as policemen (get it?!), a singing, hillbilly goat (Benjy Gaither), a squirrel on speed (director Edwards), a Huggy bear-type stool pigeon sheep (Chazz Palimeri) and a tricky little bunny, Boingo (Andy Dick).

This film runs 85 minutes and opens for wide release on Friday, Jan. 13.