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 2005 PG / Animated Fantasy Directed by: Starring: |
- Trouble In The Hood
Summary Capsule
- A bad crime's gone down, and only through clever sleuthing, multiple POVs, and enthusiastic singing can it be solved.
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Justin's Rating: Wolves and hoods, living together, mass hysteria!
Justin's Review: Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Red Riding Hood, who was traveling through the forest to bring her grandmother some goodies. When she got there, the wolf had disguised himself as her grandma to fool her, but she saw through the not-so-clever disguise and brought out her kung fu defense. The wolf, an investigative reporter trying to get to the bottom of a string of robberies, was flummoxed, right about the time when a yodeling aspiring actor who was discovering his passion for chopping down large trees burst in through the window. And the less said about Grannie's wild past, the better.
I wouldn't be surprised if you gave this flick a pass in theaters or home video; after all, it has the same lack of visual polish that we've started to see from all these studios cranking out CGI "quickies" to cash in on some of that Pixar love. It also taps into the fairy tale tradition, which we've been pelted with since Shrek 1-10 and trash like Happily N'ever After. And it goes berserk with Disney-esque short songs every five minutes or so. Sold, yet?
Nah, neither was I. For the first fifteen minutes or so, there wasn't a lot to keep my attention on the TV screen and away from my extensive collection of stolen prosthetic limbs (Hey, everybody's gotta have a hobby, okay? It's not like those people can't get a replacement.). Yet as Hoodwinked rolled on, it got a few good chuckles and Japanese schoolgirl giggles from me, whether it be from the goat who had to sing everything, or the subversive dark humor of The Schnitzel Song.
Speaking of The Schnitzel Song, and why shan't we, for as much singing that's present, the eclectic soundtrack is incredibly fun - a diverse mix of passionate ballads, techno fight scenes, catchy tunes and a decent score. Comedies have a large leeway (that's like a freeway, only with more Dukes of Hazzard) when it comes to using unorthodox songs, so… why not?
Neither rabidly great nor pathetically poor, Hoodwinked might be the unbalanced midday snack you're craving.
 One little murder-suicide, and the party crashes to a halt.
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- Wizard of Oz reference
- When Red and Japeth ride the minecarts, you can see a cart with Wolf (and presumably Twitchy too) passing beneath her.
Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?
Sure -- there's a little fun scene at the end.
Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]
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The scene where Boingo tells Keith to change his name was not scripted. It was ad-libbed by Andy Dick while recording his lines.
According to Todd Edwards at Anderson University's Chapel, this is the first fully independently-funded computer-animated feature film.
A sequel to the film, titled Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil is currently in the making and is expected to be released in 2010.
Groovy Quotes
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The Wolf: [receiving a lit stick of dynamite] What kind of candles are those?
Twitchy: [pointing at writing on dynamite] Dee-na-mee-tay. Must be Italian.
The Woodsman: What the Schnitzel?
Red: [about the medallion she found in Granny's drawer] Huh? What's this?
Granny: Oh, it says "World's Greatest Grandma".
Red: Grandma, I can read. It says "Battle of the Iron Cage Gladiators".
The Wolf: I'm allergic to yodeling.
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This review page was last updated on 8.20.08
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