Hoodwinked!

Infobox Film
name = Hoodwinked!


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Cory Edwards
Todd Edwards
Tony Leech
producer = Maurice Kanbar
David K. Lovegren
Sue Bea Montgomery
Preston Stutzman
writer = Screenplay:
Cory Edwards
Todd Edwards
Tony Leech
Story:
Cory Edwards
Todd Edwards
starring = Anne Hathaway
Glenn Close
Jim Belushi
Patrick Warburton
Anthony Anderson
music = John Mark Painter
Kristin Wilkinson
editing = Tony Leech
distributor = nowrap|The Weinstein Company
released = December 16, fy|2005
January 13, fy|2006
runtime = 80 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget = $15,000,000
gross = $110,011,106
followed_by = ""
imdb_id = 0443536

"Hoodwinked!" is a 2005 computer-animated family comedy produced by Blue Yonder Films with Kanbar Entertainment. It was released by The Weinstein Company in selected markets on December 16, 2005, before expanding nationwide on January 13, 2006. It was written and directed by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech, and stars the voices of Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, Jim Belushi, Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, David Ogden Stiers, Xzibit, Anthony Anderson, Chazz Palminteri, and Jerry Cantrell. An alternate title of the film was "Hoodwinked! The True Story of Red Riding Hood". [imdb|id=hoodwinked|title=Hoodwinked]

Based on the "Little Red Riding Hood" folktale, structurally, it borrows from the films "Rashomon" and "The Usual Suspects", as well as frequently intertwining various plots. The film's setting uses the same type of anachronistic and satirical mixing of modern and fantasy culture as the "Shrek" films. It is 80 minutes long and is rated PG for mild action and thematic elements. A twenty-two minute behind the scenes video podcast is available for free in iTunes.

A sequel to the film, titled "" is currently in the making and is expected to be released in 2010.

Plot

The story begins in medias res; Little Red Riding Hood (Anne Hathaway) arrives at her Granny's (Glenn Close) house and encounters the Wolf (Patrick Warburton), seeing through his transparent Granny disguise. As the Wolf reveals himself anyway, Granny jumps out of the closet, bound and gagged, followed by a crazed-looking, axe-wielding Woodsman (Jim Belushi) bursting through the window, screaming, to the horror of the other three. Mid-scene, the story jumps ahead to the police cordoning off Granny's house following the opening events. The lead investigator, frog-form Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers), interrogates each of the four participants, with each character giving their own version of how and why they arrived at the house.

Red's Story

Red Puckett, the first interview subject, is a fiesty preteen who uses her "innocence" to convince Flippers that she is not guilty. She tells Flippers that she is merely a delivery person for her Granny's "goodies", and that when she came across the ransacked home of another goody-maker, the latest in a recent string of such attacks by a thief known only as the Goody Bandit, whose crimes have resulted in the closure of many goody makers in the forest, Red decided to take the hidden recipe book in the house for safekeeping. This admission appears self-ruinous, as it casts Red in a suspicious light, but Red asserts her innocence, adding that on her way to Granny's house, she fell from an air trolley she was riding with the rabbit Boingo (Andy Dick), and when she landed in the forest, she ran into the Wolf, who, after questioning her, appeared to become hostile. After using a "Wolf Away" spray (much like pepper spray) on Wolf, Red (with the help of some birds) tricks the Wolf into falling into the river. She then continues on her journey using a mountain railway system manned by Japeth, a singing goat with detachable horns with different uses. The two soon find themselves in the middle of an avalanche which they barely escaped using the tunnel, but as the railway cart they were riding emerged from the mountain, Red saw that the tracks far ahead of them were apparently destroyed, and an image of her Granny appeared in the sky above her instructing her to use her hood as a parachute, which Red successfully did (the goat used a pair of helicopter-horns to land safely himself). She enters Granny's house, and the confrontation unfolds.

Wolf's Story

Flippers then interrogates Wolf W. Wolf, who it appears certain is the culprit. But Wolf reveals that he is an investigative reporter, modelled after Chevy Chase's character Fletch, whose prior stories Flippers are familiar with, and tells him that he and his hyperactive photographer, a squirrel named Twitchy, were investigating the recent thefts of various recipes by the Goody Bandit, and became suspicious of Red when he saw her traipsing through the forest with goodies in a basket. He explains that he was merely questioning Red because it was his job, and that when his tail got caught in the film chamber of Twitchy's camera (which Twitchy was fixing after he accidentally swallowed his camera), he roared in pain, which Red mistook as an attack, and beat him up far more extensively than in her version of the tale. After being tricked down the river by Red and the birds, the Wolf decided to beat her to Granny's. After using a shortcut provided by Boingo the rabbit, the Wolf and Twitchy used the mountain railway system, which was destroyed when Twitchy lit a candle in the cart that turned out to be a stick of dynamite (which he pronounced Dean-Uh-Meet-Eh). It turns out that the ensuing explosions are what destroyed the track and caused Red to ramp into the air. The duo arrive at Granny's house, and Wolf throws Twitchy in the closet to hide, but Granny is already there, and already tied up, which complicates the authorities' view of the Wolf as the culprit. Wolf puts on a Granny disguise, and the confrontation is again seen. Twitchy then shows Flippers the photographs he took that provides Wolf's alibi which clears suspicions that Wolf was the culprit.

The Woodsman's Story

The Woodsman is then interrogated. He reveals that he is an aspiring actor, and that for money, he drives a goody truck, selling schnitzel on a stick to children. He tells Flippers that after a disastrous audition for a bunion cream commercial, where his thick Bavarian accent hurt his chances, he then discovers that his goody truck has been robbed in another attack by the Goody Bandit. The Woodsman, the children, and Boingo, who was apparently passing through the area, were all surprised. The Woodsman is distraught, but receives a callback for the commercial, and decides to prepare for the role of a woodsman by chopping down trees. After chopping away most of a giant tree, he finds himself atop it as it rolls down the hill towards Granny's house, and he is thrown through the living room window, hollering the entire way. This makes him the only person there completely by accident.

Granny's Story

Granny Puckett is the last to be interviewed. She reveals that she is an extreme athlete known as Triple G (a homage to the Vin Diesel character Triple X in "xXx") who prefers activities like snowboarding to being the stereotypical goody-making grandmother. She explains that she enjoys such activities, and that at the Extreme Dream Snow Sports competition between her teammates and an imposing European ski-team, Boingo the rabbit even asked for her autograph. She tells Flippers that during the race down the mountain, the opposing team physically attacked her and her team. Despite knocking two out with snowballs, the largest of the group nearly knocks her off the cliff. With Granny clutching onto his arms, he admits that he and the team were hired by the Bandit, before pushing her off the cliff. However, she managed to get back onto the mountain, causing an avalanche with two explosive charges to delay the ski team, and is the same avalanche that almost got Red in her story, before escaping via a parachute (winning the race in the process). As she approached her home, she saw Red below her in the railway cart, and advised her to use her hood as her own parachute (Which Red assumed was just a spiritual guide of somesort). Shortly after, Granny arrived in her bedroom. Her parachute became caught in the ceiling fan, and she ended up wrapped up in it and thrown into her own closet. The familiar confrontation with Red, Wolf and the Woodsman then ensued where Granny popped out of the closet by banging Twitchy against the closet door to force it open. The revelation of Granny's other life is a shock to Red, who is hurt that Granny kept her other life a secret from her, and leaves.

After the questioning

The police are back to square one, as none of the four appears to be culprit, but then the basket of Granny's goodies and the recipe book is found to be missing, as is Red. Before the police jump to the conclusion that Red was the culprit, Flippers deduces that there was only one other figure who was present during all four accounts: Boingo. As soon as he makes this revalation, Red witnesses Boingo in possession of the stolen recipie. Red follows him on the air tram up to the mountain, where he and his henchmen, the aforementioned opposing skiing team, plan to corner the market on goodies, and make them highly addictive to kids. Flippers and the police learning of the missing tram go down the mountain, just as the group discovers the villains heading up the mountain, while Red confronts Boingo, engages him in a fight, and loses due to the bunny's suprising ability to use his ears for impressive karate. After revealing their plan to her, she is tied up, gagged, and placed in the air tram filled with dynamite to destroy the forest. While a caffeine-enhanced Twitchy goes to alert the police that they are heading the wrong way, Wolf, Granny, and the Woodsman follow, and foil Boingo's evil plans. Red is freed from the air tram before it explodes, and Boingo and his henchmen are captured by the police. The next day, Flippers tells Red, Granny, the Wolf, and Twitchy (the Woodsman went on to become a world-famous yodeler) that he is a member of the "Happily Ever After Agency", and enlists the four to work for him.

Cast

* Anne Hathaway as Red Puckett
* Glenn Close as Granny Puckett
* Jim Belushi as The Woodsman
* Patrick Warburton as Wolf W. Wolf
* Anthony Anderson as Det. Bill Stork
* David Ogden Stiers as Det. Nicky Flippers
* Xzibit as Chief Grizzly
* Chazz Palminteri as Woolworth
* Andy Dick as Boingo
* Cory Edwards as Twitchy
* Benjy Gaither as Japeth
* Joshua J. Greene as Jimmy Lizard
* Ken Marino as Raccoon Jerry
* Tom Kenny as Tommy
* Preston Stutzman as Timmy
* Tony Leech as Glen
* Kevin Michael Richardson as P-Biggie
* Tara Strong as Zorra

pecies featured

* Human (Red Puckett, Granny Puckett, Kirk, Sandwich Guy, Evil Ski Team, Fisherman)
* Gray Wolf (Wolf W. Wolf)
* Squirrel (Twitchy)
* Grizzly Bear (Chief Grizzly)
* White Stork (Bill Stork)
* Frog (Nicky Flippers)
* Rabbit (Boingo)
* Sheep (Woolworth)
* Mountain Goat (Japeth (Brandon Fuller))
* Gecko (Jimmy Lizard - Commercial Director)
* Raccoon (Raccoon Jerry)
* Pig (Timmy, Tommy and Glenn. Voices: Tom Kenny, Preston Stutzman)
* Woodpecker (Quill, seen talking to Red. Voice: Kathryn J. Lovegren)
* Hummingbird (Flock seen carrying Red away)
* Antelope (Seen on police force)
* Deer (Seen on police force)
* Striped Skunk (Drummer, Creatures of Habit)
* Beaver (Owners of Snack Shack)
* Turtle (Seen "running" from falling tree branch)
* Wire fox terrier (Nicky Flipper's dog, unnamed, same breed as the film Asta; also Nicky Flippers' stenographer)
* Mole (Seen singing Great Big World, dressed as The Village People)
* Duck (Seen recklessly driving, when magazine falls on windshield)
* Woodchuck (Vocalist, Creatures of Habit; voice of Todd Edwards) (Note: Identified by species only in the commentary, and in the song "Critters Have Feelings")
* Polar Bear (P. Biggie, member of Granny's team. Voice: Kevin Michael Richardson)
* Red Fox (Zorra, member of Granny's team. Voice: Tara Strong)
* Penguin (2-Tone, member of Granny's team. Voice: Michael Primiano)
* Rattlesnake (Tambourine player, Creatures of Habit)
* Porcupine (Seen with car being crushed under falling tree... three times)
* Caterpillar (Seen conversing with another caterpillar)

oundtrack

The soundtrack by Todd Edwards and John Mark Painter was released with the film. Due to legal wrangles, the CD has not been available since the first run. This has resulted in a higher resale value than the list price.

Track listing

# "Into the Book"
# "Great Big World" - Anne Hathaway
# "Critters Have Feelings" - Todd Edwards
# "Nicky Intro"
# "Red is Blue" - Ben Folds
# "Be Prepared" - Benjy Gaither
# "Go Flippers"
# "Little Boat" - Daniel Rogers
# "Red/Wolf Stare-Down"
# "Runaway" - (Josh Greene
# "The Schnitzel Song" - Fleming K. McWilliams and Jim Belushi
# "Tree Critter" - Todd Edwards
# "Three G's"
# "The Real G" - Cory Edwards
# "Blow Your House Down" - Pupil
# "Hoodwinked Theme (Granny Techno Mix)"
# "Eva Deanna" - Todd Edwards
# "Chopping for Actors"
# "Glow" - Todd Edwards
# "Nicky Knows"
# "Top of the Woods" - Andy Dick
# "Delivery Girl"
# "Lair Rescue"
# "Cable Car Rescue/End of the Line"
# "Bounce" - Todd Collins
# "Bossa for Boingo"
# "Hoodwinked Theme (Surfer version)"

Reaction

On Rotten Tomatoes, as of August 2007, the film's overall score is 48%, which is Rotten. [rotten-tomatoes|id=1155109-hoodwinked|title=Hoodwinked] . On Metacritic it received a score of 45/100 ("mixed or average reviews"). [metacritic film|id=hoodwinked|title=Hoodwinked Retrieved January 10, 2008.] On its opening weekend the box office totaled up to $16,879,402. It has grossed $110,011,106 worldwide, including $51,386,611 in the United States. [mojo title|id=hoodwinked|title=Hoodwinked Retrieved January 10, 2008.] The film missed the number one box office spot by less than $50,000, a record race for that weekend. On home video, "Hoodwinked" was the number one DVD its first week of release. The soundtrack was one of the top 25 soundtracks on iTunes in its first week. This soundtrack is no longer available, but can be found periodically on Ebay.

References

External links

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