Movie Review Hoodwinked 2 Hood Vs. Evil

Hoodwinked 2 Hood vs. Evil (2011) 

Directed by Mike Disa 

Written by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech, Mike Disa 

Starring Hayden Panattiere, Patrick Warburton, Glenn Close, Cory Edwards 

Release Date April 29th, 2011

Published April 29th, 2011

It's rare when a sequel is better than the original. Then again, few movies as bad as 2005's "Hoodwinked" actually get sequels. We're not exactly talking about "Godfather 2" surpassing the original "Godfather" here. "Shrek" vs. "Shrek 2" is barely a fair comparison. "Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil" had a low bar to exceed to improve on the first film and in that way it succeeded.

Hansel & Gretel

Red (voice of Hayden Panettiere subbing for Ann Hathaway) has gone off to train with a mysterious sisterhood of bakers who hold the key to an ancient truffle recipe that could give the one who eats the truffle unending power if they can guess the secret ingredient. Meanwhile, Red's Granny (Glenn Close) and her partner the Wolf (Patrick Warburton) with his sidekick Twitchy (Cory Edwards, writer and co-director of the first "Hoodwinked") are on the case of two children kidnapped by a witch living in a Gingerbread house.

Yes, Hansel & Gretel (Bill Hader and Amy Poehler) have been kidnapped by an evil witch (Joan Cusack) and she won't release them until Granny gives up the secret truffle recipe secret ingredient. Eventually, Granny is taken hostage and Red must break off her training to team with the Wolf and Twitchy to rescue her.

James Bond, Kill Bill and Granny

"Hoodwinked 2" shares with the first film the idea of 'Happily Ever After' as a secret law enforcement agency, led by Freddy Flippers (David Ogden Stiers), which assures happy endings to all fairy tale creatures. Where the first film took the "Rashomon" multiple stories from different perspectives, "Hoodwinked 2" goes for straight forward action with nods to Kill Bill and James Bond.

You have to admire the high minded film references of both "Hoodwinked" films but "Hoodwinked 2" gains something from not convoluting the references and instead telling a straightforward action comedy story with mere nods toward what influenced them. It's a cleaner, clearer and funnier approach than in the original which was far too proud of how clever the filmmakers thought they were.

Better than the original

The animation of "Hoodwinked 2," which is playing in both 3D and 2D, is a nice counterpoint to the slick CG animation that has become the standard. It's not nearly as beautiful but it's not as distractingly arty or disturbingly uncanny either. The characters are reminiscent of computer generated Rankin and Bass characters with their chubby faces and limbs.

"Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil" is far from brilliant. In fact, it is exceptionally minor entertainment. You could do better if there were a Pixar movie out there or if your kids have yet to see "Rio" or "Rango" but if they have seen those movies, "Hoodwinked 2" is a fine third choice, a modest and mildly funny kid's movie that surpasses the original.

Movie Review Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked (2006) 

Directed by Cory Edwards 

Written by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech

Starring Glenn Close, Xzibit, David Ogden Stiers, Anne Hathaway, James Belushi 

Release Date January 13th, 2006 

Published January 14th, 2006

The idea is pretty clever. Take a well known fairy tale, in this case Little Red Riding Hood, cross it with references to The Usual Suspects, Rashomon and Law & Order and make it a CGI-animated cartoon. Well not all good concepts make good movies. Hoodwinked, the result of this ingenious premise, is a hackneyed sub-Nickelodeon channel animated film that fails to deliver on its attractive premise.

Four characters, four different versions of the same event. A wolf (voiced by Patrick Warburton), a woodsman (James Belushi), a delivery girl named Red (Anne Hathaway), and Red's grandmother (Glenn Close) all arrive at grandma's house at the same time through a series of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and a major crime in which each is somehow a suspect.

The film unfolds as four separate flashbacks under a police interrogation by detective Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers) and the chief of the forest, police chief Grizzly (Xzibit). The two were investigating the continuing disappearances of recipe books throughout the forest by a criminal called the "Goody Bandit." Each of the four principle characters has made themself a suspect, and their stories somehow have led them all to grandma's house.

I cannot say enough how intriguing the setup of Hoodwinked is. It's so intriguing that it's not surprising that creators Cory and Todd Edwards screw it up. The execution of the film's premise plays out in a fashion that is simpleminded and predictable. Granted this is a kids movie and thus cannot be made too difficult to follow, for fear of losing the core audience, but the simplicity undermines the interesting premise. This could be forgiven if the jokes in the movie were funny enough to justify the predictable setups, but hackneyed gags about grandma playing extreme sports fall desperately flat.

Maybe more egregious than screwing up the rich premise of Hoodwinked are the awful pop songs included to fill out the film's 82-minute runtime. Even with an interesting idea for a plot, Cory and Todd Edwards have little idea what to do with it. So in between the unfunny and predictable flashbacks they sandwich in awful original pop tunes that serve as inner monologues for the characters. The songs are more simpleminded than the rest of the script and are a trial to listen to.

It's tough to screw up a computer animated movie. Because the technology is often so impressive, many audiences will tend to forgive a bad CGI cartoon. However, as the technology has aged that impression seems to be wearing off and like the equally insipid Shark Tale, Hoodwinked cannot skate on its technology, which is even less inspired than that wretched godfather underwater cartoon.

The animation of Hoodwinked is similar to Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron, only more lifeless. The characters are bulbous and oddly rendered and look more like a really dull videogame and not a big screen movie. The animation reminded me of a videogame circa 1997, something played on Super Nintendo. This may be a function of the film's budget which was admirably small and independently financed. Nevertheless, the movie is unimpressive to look at.

Hoodwinked is a brutal trial of a kids' movie with all of the worst traits of the genre. Hackneyed simpleminded jokes, unimpressive animation, even the voice acting is underwhelming save for Warburton as the wolf whose sarcasm drips from every word even when he is attempting sincerity. Warburton's occasional presence is not nearly enough to rescue this slapped together mess of cheap animation. It's an inspired idea that goes nowhere and fast.