Cappuccetto rosso e gli insoliti sospetti

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!

Lots of people bitch about the animation being pretty stone age in this film, and for a reason. Technically, "Hoodwinked" is far behind "Finding Nemo" or "Incredibles". However, if you look past the unpretty exterior, there is plenty of goodies to found inside. Hilarious punchlines and a clever script by far makes up for the lack of jaw-dropping animation. Actually, I found the outdated CGI to add another layer of quirkiness to this little flick! When comparing "Hoodwinked" to other recent releases in the genre, it comes out with flying colors. Where "Chicken Little" and "Valiant" fail, this one really excels! Dialogues are well written and full of treats that makes this one a movie to see more than once. And for once, I even enjoyed the musical numbers, catchy and well performed. It doesn't have any scenes that - like "Shark Tale" - fell plastic or numb, instead it's an 80 minute, twisting and turning roller-coaster that doesn't stop until the credits start rolling. All you have to to is buckle up, and enjoy the ride

I'm annoyed at all the "know-it-alls" on these boards who are judging this film solely based on what they think they see in the trailer.

One guy went so far as to say that it was shoddy script-writing.

Let me just say this... I spend most of my time helping to make feature animation look really good... it's my job.

I've been involved with some very slick looking films. However, no matter how good it looks, if it's not a good story, it's still a crappy film.

Like the old saying goes: "you can polish a turd, but in the end all you're gonna have is a shiny turd."

I've seen Hoodwinked. I can say from experience that the animation isn't the greatest, the deformations aren't the greatest and the general tech of the film isn't the greatest. There have been many "prettier" films to hit the silver screen. After all, this movie was made on a shoe-string budget by CG standards.

Having said that, I fell in love with this movie after five minutes. The characters are endearing, the humor was fantastic and there's a level of originality and sophistication in the scriptwriting and storytelling that have not been seen before in the area of animation, not to mention a level of "cleanness" that is rare nowadays.

And, I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who has this opinion... after all, Bob and Harvey Weinstein decided to distribute it.

Go see the film... you won't be disappointed.

-Matt Steele

(edited for misspelling)

This movie has such great comedic points for both children and adults. First time I saw it I was in 6th grade at the ripe age of 11 and remember laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. Here I am now, 14 years later, and it still brings me such joy. I feel as though this is a comfort movie that provides an excellent twist on a classic fairytale (Shrek style, if I may) that brings joy and amusement. Great for all ages.

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.