- Title: Hoodwinked
- IMDb: link
Hoodwinked nice family film that adults will probably like more than children as Granny’s house is roped off and the cops try to find out what is really going on in the forest, who’s at fault for the domestic disturbance, and if any one of those present might know something about the Goody Bandit.
The story begins with Little Red Riding Hood’s (Anne Hathaway) trip to Grandma’s (Glenn Close) house. The cops arrive and surround the house with the Wolf (Patrick Warburton) dressed in Grandma’s clothes, the Woodsman (Jim Belushi) screaming and swinging his axe around, and Grandma tied up in the closet. Det. Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers) is on the scene investigate the domestic disturbance and to solve the mystery of the Goody Bandit who is stealing recipes. What do the two cases have in common? More than you might originally assume.
As the detectives interview each of the witnesses separately the movie moves into different flashbacks of each character’s perspective. It’s actually a pretty good example of differing perspectives and how there are different views and sides to issues and events. Filled with sly gags and references from everything from Fletch to The Matrix the movie is quite clever.
As for the voice-acting it’s a nice collection of people you wouldn’t necessarily think to find in an animated movie (because when it was picked up many of the voices were redone). Warburton and Ogden Stiers the best of the bunch and Hathaway and Glenn Close are very good as Red and her Granny. Cory Edwards provides the voice for the Wolf’s partner Twitchy, and the fact that Andy Dick isn’t totally annoying as Boingo the bunny is pretty darn amazing. Belushi gets the short end of the stick with the lamest character but does what he can with the part.
Despite its charm the film has several flaws. Each character was developed by a different team and not all of the animation is of the same quality (the Goody Bandit’s goons must have been done for a quarter a piece). The plot of the film is also easy to figure out and most adults will be easily able to determine who the Goody Bandit is early on, though the ride is still entertaining.
Though flawed the film is entertaining and quite a nice look at a story through different perspectives in a kid-friendly way. The gags and jokes are mostly a higher brow humor and will be over-the-heads of younger kids though they should like the Goody Bandit story and all the different characters (the pig police officers were two of my favorites). Worth your time but not necessarily a must-see.