HOODWINKED

REVIEWED BY CARISSA HORTON

Our rating: 5 out of 5

Rated:

It’s going to be another one of those days in the forest. Little Red Riding Hood (Anna Hathaway), "Red" to family and friends, is off paying a visit to her Granny (Glenn Close). It’s the typical story with Granny tied up in the closet, the Wolf (Patrick Warburton) ready and waiting in the bed, and the woodsman (James Belushi) bursting in to save the heroine. But wait, there’s more to it than that. The members of this little fantasy are arrested for "breaking and entering, disturbing the peace, intent to eat, and wielding an axe without a license." Hmm, something smells halfbaked, and that’s just what the police officers are thinking, Chief Grizzly (Xzibit) especially.

Just as the chief opens his mouth for questioning in comes detective Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers) and he at least has a head on his shoulders. Aware that not all is as it seems, he interviews the parties in question separately and what remarkable tales come of it. There is far more to this fantastical farce than meets the eye. A thief is stealing all of the priceless recipes from the bakeries, snack shops, etc. in the forest. And Granny’s recipe book was his last stop. The "Goody Bandit" is the true culprit, but his identity is yet to be known. But the twinkle in Detective Flippers’ eye lends credence to the suspicion that justice is just around the corner and the real criminal will be hoodwinked!

Dragging my younger sister in to see this movie was no small task, but by the time we reached Wolf W. Wolf’s story, she and I could hardly catch a breath between the laughter. I was ecstatic to find this film enjoyable, a little corny in places, but overall Hoodwinked is good clean family fun. The characters are lively, even though the storyline is rather cliched in that young girl dreams of finding adventure and than adventure finds her. I’ve heard that more times than I care to remember, but many fresh new ideas were thrown into the mix. A snow-boarding grandmother, a squirrel photographer, and a frog detective? Who would have thought!

The animation is not the best I’ve seen. Hoodwinked cannot compare with films like Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc., but it still held a charm all of its own. The actors chosen to voice the roles were excellent, from Anne Hathaway’s spunky, karate-chopping Red to the delightfully British, reminds-me-of-a-certain-detective Nicky Flippers played by David Ogden Stiers. It may not be the best in the business, but it’s a heck of a lot cleaner than most, and tickles your funny bone like nobody’s business. With movies such as Shrek making such a huge impact on children today, a film like Hoodwinked makes a good addition. I went into the movie hoping I would enjoy it and that it wouldn’t be overly bizarre. Well, it was bizarre, but guess what, that didn’t matter in the long run. For one afternoon, I enjoyed taking a trip down fairytale lane where everything is tilted topsy-turvy.