Review: Hoodwinked

This was one Zach had picked up for us. He'd seen it long before I had, and said we had to get it. Usually it's the other way 'round in this house. Finally got time to give a whirl the other night, and here ya' go: Hoodwinked.

Like most animated movies that Hollywood releases, it was impossible to escape trailers for it. Still, it was a couple years ago, so to review, this is one of the fairy-tale-with-a-twist movies. This time, the story of Little Red Riding Hood is reinvented as a crime caper. An assortment of furry detectives are interviewing the familiar characters, to determine what actually happened in a domestic disturbance call. As the conflicting tales unwind, it looks like this break-in could be connected with the Goody Bandit currently at large in the Woods! So, who will the culprit turn out to be?

Admittedly, as both an animation and a fairy-tale junkie, I watch a lot of these sort of movies, and want to rate them highly. There were things that irritated me with this one, but overall, I really liked it. Definitely a fun family movie, but with tons of visual and side jokes for adults to enjoy as well. Look closely for a group of moles dressed as the Village People, for example. The characters are new for this particular fairy tale, but are rather stereotypical from this genre. The rebellious, hard-core granny, the young girl who wants to see the world, etc. Still, there are some new twists in the story, and some very clever writing that makes it an enjoyable film, even if you don't have kids. Good for the young and the young at heart, as the cliche goes :)

Voice acting: awesome. Patrick Warburton is one of my favorite voices, period. Not one of the prettiest, just-read-the-phone-book-to-me-and-I'm-happy voices, but so good nonetheless. So dry and deadpan, delivering some of the funniest lines in whatever show he's in. For those that don't know, he's Kronk in Emperor's New Groove ("My spinach poofs!") and he's Joe Swanson in Family Guy ("Let's WASSSAIL!!"). He was the Wolf in this one. Anne Hathaway is Red, and I'm more and more impressed with her as a representative of the actresses of my age. There are so many others in the early 20s that are sadly disappointing. And this isn't her first voice work, either; she was the lead in a Studio Ghibli movie, The Cat Returns. Good taste in roles, not that I'm biased or anything :) Glenn Close (Granny) and David Ogden Stiers (Nicky Flippers, the froggy detective) are both classy voices too.

The biggest downside was the animation. This was well done, certainly better than the CG cartoons on Saturday morning (some of which REALLY grate on me aesthetically) but not in the same league as Pixar or Dreamworks (Shrek films). Still good animation, but lacking a lot of the detail and smoothness of the other studios.

And yes, I looked it up. If you've seen Over the Hedge, they have another hyper squirrel character who saves the day drinking coffee and moving at hyper speed. This one came out a year before Over the Hedge. Just in case you care (I was curious myself) ;)

Overall: 4 of 5. Very cleverly written, and great characters. A lot of stereotypical characters, mind you, but treated in such a fun way that it's enjoyable. The animation is only par, but the writing definitely makes it worth the watch.

SPOILER:

Andy Dick is wonderfully cast as the insane culprit. His voice always has that "I'm cute and adorable and mostly insane" sort of sound to it. Perfect for the Goody Bandit. Remember, "never trust a bunny!"