Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked is rated PG: for some mild action and thematic elements.

Someone's stealing cookies from the cookie jar, or at least the recipes for them. As a result, snack shacks and goody shops are being forced out of business all over the woods at an alarming rate. With the populace is in an uproar, Chief Grizzly (voice by Xzibit) and his deputy (voice of Anthony Anderson) are anxious to catch the thief.

They think they might have found the culprit when an incident at Granny Puckett's cottage leaves them with four suspicious characters: The Wolf (voice by Patrick Warburton), Red (voice by Anne Hathaway), The Woodsman (voice by James Belushi) and Granny (voice by Glenn Close) herself. After a brief investigation, the chief is ready to book them all and throw them in the slammer. But Nicky Flippers (voice by David Ogden Stiers) isn't sure they have the whole story yet. Questioning each of them separately, the detective gets a quadruple serving of perspectives as each one of the characters relate their activities over the past 24 hours. With the new information on his plate, Nicky tries to deuce the real story and uncover the Goody Bandit.

Considering the success of the Shrek franchise, it is not surprising fairytales are becoming popular material for movie scripts. Like Shrek, this screenplay runs on two levels, mixing jokes aimed at adults with childhood humor. However, it manages to do so without sinking to the use of sexual innuendo or potty jokes. In fact, the only real concern is the violence that occurs when the Goody Bandit finally gets cornered. He (or she as the case may be) straps a character to a cable car full of dynamite and engages the help of some thugs when the law starts to move in. Other incidents of peril turn out to be little more than a logical misunderstanding once the facts come out.

Although the movie makes some references to other tales, this spoof on Red Riding Hood is built on the retelling of the same incident four times. Luckily, the directors do an excellent job of making all the puzzle pieces fit and tying up all the ends. They also break common stereotypes, give fresh life to well-established characters and introduce some new animals to the story including a yodeling goat (voice of Benjy Gaither) who is under an evil spell.

A snitching sheep and some mild insinuations of trafficking behavior (muffins instead of drugs) will likely going over the heads of youngsters making Hoodwinked fresh take on an enchanted folk story that is apt to engage older children and their parents alike.

Studio: 2006 Weinstein Company.

While traveling to her Granny’s house, Red meets The Wolf and resorts to her martial arts training to scare him off. Later during a sporting event, some characters are attacked on the slope by a group of thugs who try to take them out of the competition. When Granny finds herself threatened, she relies on her rolling pin to fend off the assailant. A naturally high-strung squirrel finds himself bouncing off the trees after he downs a large mug of coffee.

What does Nicky Flippers discover when he questions all the suspects? What different clues to the mystery does he expose? Why is it important to listen to all sides of a story?

What interests does Red’s grandma have? Should a person’s activities be limited simply because of their age?

Anne Hathaway also plays a gangly teenager who discovers she really is royalty in the fairytale-like film The Princess Diaries. Glenn Close reprises her role as the evil Cruella DeVil in 102 Dalmatians.

No Big Bad Wolf will be able to pull the wool over your eyes after listening to the audio commentary included on the DVD release of Hoodwinked. The disc also features deleted scenes and music video. Audio tracks are available in English (Dolby Digital 5.1)