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Hoodwinked! More at IMDbPro »

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377 out of 463 people found the following review useful:

Stop dogging the animation

Author: Matt Steele from United States
5 December 2005

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)

179 out of 223 people found the following review useful:

Great on a Curve!

Author: kidkosmic from USA
13 December 2005

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!

126 out of 157 people found the following review useful:

It's the inside that counts!

Author: sunk85 from Sweden
11 January 2006

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

116 out of 155 people found the following review useful:

Cheesy animation; top-notch writing highlight new 'toon

Author: Greg Eichelberger from San Diego
8 December 2005

Despite low-budget animation, the newest feature by the Weinstein Company, "Hoodwinked," is saved by some silly animal and human characters, as well as great writing and hilarious jokes.

Basically, it's the story of Little Red Riding Hood as told from the vantage point of Red (voice of Ann Hathaway), the Big Bad Wolf (Patrick Warburton), Granny (Glenn Close) and a dimwitted, axe-wielding woodsman (Jim Belushi).

The four are arrested, accused of stealing goodie recipes and interrogated by a long-legged frog, Inspector Flippers (David Ogden Stiers). Each suspect tells a different story that somehow cleverly ties the whole event together. In other words, it's like a version of Kurosawa's "Rashomon" as produced by computer animators who could not get work at Pixar, Disney or Dreamworks.

Seeing the studio's press release, I noticed the poor computer work and thought this would be another "Valiant," but the crisp dialogue and truly funny situations made me laugh almost all the way through this film, which is director Cory Edwards' feature debut.

It's also a much more entertaining picture than "Chicken Little" or "Shark Tale" could ever hope to be. And while the puns are pretty much aimed at adults, the kids will enjoy the many animal characters, such as pigs as policemen (get it?!), a singing, hillbilly goat (Benjy Gaither), a squirrel on speed (director Edwards), a Huggy bear-type stool pigeon sheep (Chazz Palimeri) and a tricky little bunny, Boingo (Andy Dick).

This film runs 85 minutes and opens for wide release on Friday, Jan. 13.

105 out of 139 people found the following review useful:

A fun film--regardless of how it looks.

Author: groon from United States
14 January 2006

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.

102 out of 142 people found the following review useful:

Story and delivery overcome animation flaws

Author: BillyGoat3 from United States
23 November 2005

This is a very fast paced movie that plays to the two levels successful animated films play to: The kids are entertained, but so are the parents. There are zingers that come out of nowhere, some but not all of which are shown on the trailer. Some of those zingers will only catch the attention of the adults in the house, but don't detract from kids' enjoyment. But some will get all generations to laugh, like the "Run!!!" sequence from the trailer. A four second bit.

I was at a screening attended by families in the business, but mostly kids. Hard laughter throughout the movie. As for quality of animation, which was clearly done on the cheap, you don't notice it. The basic story quality is there. I think it is also possible that this film may nab a best song nomination. Some very catchy original tunes, well orchestrated and well sung. All in all, worth the trip to the theater, and worth buying the DVD.

Sequel probable.

59 out of 72 people found the following review useful:

Loved Hoodwinked! Hope there is more like it coming!

Author: roccoand from United States
2 May 2006

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!

74 out of 104 people found the following review useful:

Awesome - This movie is a hoot and a half!

Author: ebrady-1 from New York, NY
11 January 2006

I got a sneak peak and had the pleasure of seeing this film at the Cannes Film Festival in May. I was blown away by how clever this movie is. Sparking, fresh witty dialog. Original engaging characters. I was rolling in the aisle. I see a lot (I mean a lot) of movies and this film is better than everything out there. I would highly, highly recommend this to everyone I know. Let me tell you the average everyday movie goer is not looking at all the effects and cgi .. WE LIKE A GOOD STORY - DON'T SELL THAT ASPECT OF A FILM SHORT! Plus their were clever references and homages sprinkled throughout which the any intelligent moviegoer will appreciate. It is refreshing to see an Independent Animated Feature. Someone comment something negative about who was in it. Who cares? Its animation. The story is paramount, I don't care about whose voice it is. Hoodwinked is clever start to finish. I think this film is going to do well at the box office. And I think it will open the world up animation to other independent filmmakers. This film is original and a whole lot of fun.

80 out of 119 people found the following review useful:

Very entertaining. Definitely worth seeing.

Author: shadleym from United States
13 December 2005

To me, the animation didn't seem to be quite state-of-the-art, but the movie as a whole was very creative and entertaining. I loved it, as did my wife and my two children (ages 7 and 4). I think the PG rating is appropriate - I don't think it's quite a G, but neither did I have to give a whole lot of parental guidance. I certainly have no qualms about having taken my kids. Very enjoyable for all ages.

The animation was good, just not the best I've seen. And I think it's FAR better to have a good story and a good script than to have eye-popping animation.

We saw the Tulsa premier. We liked it enough that we will see it again in the theatres when it opens (per my children's insistence), and will buy it on DVD when it's available.

71 out of 110 people found the following review useful:

Great, funny movie!

Author: mgomezsaucier69 from United States
15 January 2006

This movies was absolutely hilarious! We laughed so hard we were all crying! We would have liked to see more of Japeth the Goat. We would see this movie again and tell everyone to go and see it and get the DVD when it comes out! Definitely worth spending some money on and a great family movie! I didn't have any problems with the animation. I am not an expert but it was not about the animation but the story line. The writing was great and so was the plot line. All the characters were funny and they picked the right actors/actresses to voice the characters. I give "Hoodwinked" two very major thumbs up and so does my daughter, my neighbor and her little girl! Very intelligent humor and very witty!

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