06/29/06 Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked (2005), directed by Cory Edwards & Todd Edwards, Tony Leech

watched w/ Leslie; DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

Trying to keep pace with the animated juggernaut that is Pixar/Disney, this iconoclastic feature comes from a more independent market...where the animators even took their production level to Manila in the Philippines to complete the project. Yes, as with any good fairy tale rendition, this one both in fiction and reality took us on quite an adventure to get to its ending. I've read up some about the animation alone on the movie's website, where it seems they took to the grand ol' tradition in modern day America by out-sourcing a bulk of the digitally rendered images to quicken the pace of production...but to also bank on the fact that many outsiders are influenced by our Westernized or Americanized pop-culture, so as not to let any of the story's gags and dialogue be lost in translation. I mean, we all probably know about the classic story of "Little Red Riding Hood," but with the cutting-edge technology of the filmmakers, we also see a fresh take on the traditional tale. Here, Red (Anne Hathaway) serves as a delivery girl for her Granny's (Glenn Close) sweet goody shop; when there is a criminal Goody Bandit running loose in the woods of fairy-tale land. To go along with those two classic characters, we see the usual suspects of both the Woodsman (Jim Belushi) and the Wolf (Patrick Warburton), along with newcomers Boingo the Bunny (Andy Dick), Chief Grizzly (Xzibit), and Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers). The story begins at the end, where their is a huge mix-up at the typical crime scene (Granny's house), but with no clear-cut evidence of foul play...we get to delve into all four main characters' versions of what happened leading up to the end. We get to see the updated players' traits, such as Red's black belt martial arts, Granny's extreme sports loving lifestyle, the Woodsman's blubberings about landing an acting gig, and the Wolf's private investigator's tact. Both Flippers and Grizzly serve as the law enforcement, trying to determine the truth out of all these made-up stories from made-up literary figures. There's plenty of action and slapstick animation for the kids to enjoy, but smartly inserted sight gags and over-their-head jokes for the adults. A priceless one is the look that Warburton's wolf goes with in homage to Chevy Chase's brilliantly goofy private dick, Fletch (see L.A. Lakers jersey under his hoodie). The animation may seem at times more basic, but it's very colorful and keeps great momentum with the intertwining four stories. Twisted characters, haphazard chronology, and pop culture references by cartoons...now if only they could tackle a family-friendly animated "Pulp Fiction."

4 out of 5 stars