Movie Review: Hoodwinked

With big shoes to fill as a computer-animated film, Hoodwinked is a few steps away from Toy Story or Shrek in its visual production. But that is to be expected, considering it was shot at less than a quarter of the budget those films had to work with. Still, the congenial presentation of the "true story" of Little Red Riding Hood is worth applause and the price of a movie ticket for your little ones.�

Rookie animation directors Cory and Todd Edwards and Tony Leech stacked a cast of celebrity voices for their co-creation. Granny (Glenn Close), her granddaughter Red (Anne Hathaway), a dim-witted woodsman (Jim Belushi), and the Big Bad Wolf (Patrick Warburton) are all suspects in a twisted criminal scheme. The question: who stole Granny's recipe book? As each character testifies, trying to clear his or her name, viewers are led into a comic world of forest chaos where the animals talk, pieces are put together one at a time, and something funny is definitely going on.�

It's a good story and doesn't lend itself to any holes in the plot or missing info in the end. And there's something else to note: the characters give a wonderful example about how you must work together as a group to find out the truth-what really happened.�

Fans of silly voiceovers in chipmunk-like proportions will get a kick of out listening to small woodland creatures sing and carry on like humans. Pigs play policeman, a squirrel drinks coffee to move in warped speed, and a hillbilly goat plays music and sings to the other characters' annoyance. Also notable is the film's penchant for good, clean humor - no need to reference "potty" jokes when you've got an original script and likeable characters who are entertaining enough to get caught up in. The end of the film does unravel a few secrets that viewers won't see coming, which is also a plus.�

Hoodwinked is cute and kind-hearted, but its jokes get lost somewhere between the comedy range for a young child and that of an adult. The films puns and humorous jabs could be over some kids' heads, but adults may not be into the cartoonish genre to begin with. When all else fails, children will laugh at the animals.�