Hoodwinked! (2005) Reviews

• Stop dogging the animation

  MattSteele2005-12-05

  I'm annoyed at all the "know-it-alls" on these boards who are judging this film solely based on what they think they see in the trailer. One guy went so far as to say that it was shoddy script-writing. Let me just say this... I spend most of my time helping to make feature animation look really good... it's my job. I've been involved with some very slick looking films. However, no matter how good it looks, if it's not a good story, it's still a crappy film. Like the old saying goes: "you can polish a turd, but in the end all you're gonna have is a shiny turd." I've seen Hoodwinked. I can say from experience that the animation isn't the greatest, the deformations aren't the greatest and the general tech of the film isn't the greatest. There have been many "prettier" films to hit the silver screen. After all, this movie was made on a shoe-string budget by CG standards. Having said that, I fell in love with this movie after five minutes. The characters are endearing, the humor was fantastic and there's a level of originality and sophistication in the scriptwriting and storytelling that have not been seen before in the area of animation, not to mention a level of "cleanness" that is rare nowadays. And, I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who has this opinion... after all, Bob and Harvey Weinstein decided to distribute it. Go see the film... you won't be disappointed. -Matt Steele (edited for misspelling)

• Great on a Curve!

  kidkosmic2005-12-13

  Hoodwinked is an ultra low budget affair compared to the average 3D CGI-animated film (it was shot for a reported 15 million vs 70 to 90 million for films like Finding Nemo or Shrek 2). If you want a fairer comparison in terms of animation quality, you'd have to look at something like Jimmy Neutron (30 million budget). What really made the animation work in terms of style is...the style. Hoodwinked almost looks like a revved up Rankin-Bass stop motion animated film in the vein of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Once you get absorbed in the world of Hoodwinked, you stop comparing it to Pixar and simply enjoy the magic little world the creators obviously put so much care into creating. And the film is indeed absorbing! It starts a little slow, but once the story picks up steam, it is non-stop fun. It's clear that the writers weren't going to let a lower budget stop them from writing a clever and often laugh-out-loud funny script. My kids, aged 12, 8, and 3, giggled throughout the film. Your kids will LOVE the squirrel, the granny, and the singing goat, and adults will pick up more culture references in terms of homage scenes (not in adult content) to pictures like Fletch, Kill Bill, and the Matrix. One thing comes across very clearly in Hoodwinked--love of the craft. So many seemingly throw away gags end up being very important to the story later on. Enjoy this little gem of an "indie" animated film, and imagine what these young guys could do with a bigger budget next time around!

• It's the inside that counts!

  sunk852006-01-11

  Lots of people bitch about the animation being pretty stone age in this film, and for a reason. Technically, "Hoodwinked" is far behind "Finding Nemo" or "Incredibles". However, if you look past the unpretty exterior, there is plenty of goodies to found inside. Hilarious punchlines and a clever script by far makes up for the lack of jaw-dropping animation. Actually, I found the outdated CGI to add another layer of quirkiness to this little flick! When comparing "Hoodwinked" to other recent releases in the genre, it comes out with flying colors. Where "Chicken Little" and "Valiant" fail, this one really excels! Dialogues are well written and full of treats that makes this one a movie to see more than once. And for once, I even enjoyed the musical numbers, catchy and well performed. It doesn't have any scenes that - like "Shark Tale" - fell plastic or numb, instead it's an 80 minute, twisting and turning roller-coaster that doesn't stop until the credits start rolling. All you have to to is buckle up, and enjoy the ride

• Loved Hoodwinked! Hope there is more like it coming!

  roccoand2006-05-02

  A few months ago I was speaking with a friend who runs a drive-in movie theater. He asked me what movies I may want to see when he opens for the season. I remembered seeing ads for "hoodwinked" but never caught it in the theater so I told him I'd like to see it. He remembered the film and played it last weekend. As it turned out, I could only bring my 9 year old daughter and 2 year old son because my wife had some sort of meeting. I really wasn't looking forward to seeing it with a 2 year old but surprisingly he watched the entire movie! That was a first for him. My 9 year old girl loved it laughing out loud every few minutes. Her favorite characters were the singing goat and the squirrel. I thoroughly enjoyed it too and will buy the DVD on my way home today so I can show the rest of the family (and see it a few more time myself). Thanks for making such a wholesome and clean movie that is NOT lame in any way at all. It was genuinely clever, original, entertaining and funny, very very funny. I sincerely hope you make movies like this for years to come and that each one is more successful. Thanks!

• A fun film--regardless of how it looks.

  groon2006-01-14

  I'll confess something up front which seems to be place me in the minority--I didn't go to see this movie hoping for great animation, a break-through in story-telling, or the chance to see self-proclaimed "artists" waxing philosophic about their personal world views. I went to have fun and enjoy myself. On that score, Hoodwinked fully delivers. A brief glance at any trailer will tell you the animation is not the greatest, and I know some people have taken that to mean the movie itself is not worth seeing. However, that assessment is just wrong. I walked into the theater not really knowing what to expect, and spent the next hour and however long basically laughing the entire time--sometimes so hard I had to make myself stop to catch my breath. It's a really funny movie, and when it comes down to it, isn't that the point of a movie like this? Hoodwinked basically tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but as seen through the eyes of several different characters. Not an original plot, by any means, but once you get into the story the quirkiness and eccentricities of the characters wrap you up so much you don't care. Bottom line: If you want to have fun and see a good movie, check out Hoodwinked. If you want cutting edge technicality that may or may not reflect on the actual quality of the story and writing, go look elsewhere.