From the classic Brother’s Grimm tale “Red Riding Hood” comes this movie with a few twists hidden up its sleeve, or should I say hood? With the sequel, Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil coming out later this year, it’s smart that they finally released it on Blu-ray after six years of originally coming out so those who are interested can go out and buy the first one. If you do purchase the Blu-ray format, you will also receive a DVD version of the movie as well.
As Red Riding Hood (Anne Hathaway) is on her way Granny’s (Glenn Close) to deliver an important package, she runs into the Wolf (Patrick Warburton) who plays a reporter for the paper that has a striking resemblance to Fletch with the coincidence of a being a Lakers fan, constantly having to wear disguises in order to get information and even a similar theme song. Once Red arrives at Granny’s she bumps into the Wolf again, but now the Wolf is disguised as Granny. When Red starts questioning the Wolf, Granny hobbles out of the closet tied up in rope and the Woodsman (Jim Belushi) comes flying through the side of the house violently swinging an axe. This is exactly how the movie begins, leaving us with questions on how all of this came to be.
During the interrogation of this public disturbance, Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers) takes over the impatient Chief Grizzly’s (Xzibit) messy crime scene. Nicky Flippers is the formal detective who is determined to get to the bottom of this crazy incident. Most of the movie is made up of each characters story on how they happened to all arrive at Granny’s house. While everyone is telling his or her story, the package Red delivers happens to get stolen by the one and only Goody Bandit. The Goody Bandit has been going around town stealing recipes and putting shops out of business. They can only assume that Granny’s bakery is the next to go out of business. After the robbery Red, the Wolf, Granny, and the Woodsman team up to try and catch the mischievous bandit along with some assistance from Boingo (Andy Dick) who plays the innocent looking cute bunny.
Since the movie did come out in 2005 and is just being released on Blu-ray, the picture is still not the best. The animation looks outdated and lacks detail compared to the new animated movies coming out lately. I’m sure back in 2005 it looked acceptable but is difficult to enjoy because you’re constantly distracted by it. If you can get past the weak animation and look into the story, the movie itself is actually good. The movie begins near the end and is told from different point of views that eventually to all intertwine. It is a fresh and interesting take on the Brother’s Grimm classic story that we all know so well. The cast is well assembled and includes a variety of names. From the earlier paragraphs you saw most of the names, but the cast also includes Anthony Anderson, Chazz Palminteri and Ken Marino. For being only about eighty minutes long, the movie is easy for little ones to watch and there are enough action scenes to keep them invested. As for adults, you will enjoy the cast and even the story. Hopefully the sequel has better animation (which it should since it’s 2011) and just as good of a story.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The DVD special features include deleted and extended scenes that have optional commentary with writer/director Cory Edwards. With that there is also a feature commentary with some of the crew. You will also find a “Critters Have Feelings” music video featuring characters from the movie. If you are curious to see how an animated movie is made, there is a segment where they show you the technical process of it all. The Blu-ray disc includes those features and a bonus behind the scenes short.
"Hoodwinked" is on sale February 15, 2011 and is rated PG. Animation. Directed by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech. Written by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards . Starring Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, James Belushi, Patrick Warburton.
