| 21st
August, 2006
DAVID
ADAMS
Hoodwinked
(PG)
 |
THE
USUAL SUSPECTS?: The Big Bad Wolf, the Woodsman,
Granny and Red Riding Hood under police guard.
"Hoodwinked
is a cleverly scripted Agatha Christie-meets-the
Brothers Grimm frolic with an ending which leaves
open the possibility of further woodland fun (a
sequel is apparently coming) and, as a bonus, a
terrific soundtrack. Definitely one that parents
will enjoy as much as their kids."
|
It’s a fairytale mystery story - the sort where Goldilocks
could easily end up doing a stint in prison for breaking and
entering the Three Bear’s place. Based very loosely
around the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Hoodwinked
starts with our four suspects - Red herself (voiced by Anne
Hathaway), the Wolf (Patrick Warburton), the Woodsman (Jim
Belushi) and dear old Granny Puckett (Glenn Close) arrested
on a variety of charges after a being found disturbing the
peace in Granny’s forest house. There’s definitely
more than a hint of Shrek in this tale as the audience’s
notions of what really went on in Granny’s house - and
indeed our perceptions of the characters themselves - are
challenged as froggy sleuth Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers,
aka Charles Winchester from MASH) leads an investigation
into what happened at the house. His hunt soon broadens into
a probe into the identity of the mysterious ‘Goody Bandit’,
a notorious criminal of the forest underworld who’s
being making off with everyone’s ‘goody’
recipes. It’s a fun take on the fairytale genre and
has plenty of laughs along the way (although it takes until
about halfway through the movie before all the funny bits
you’ve seen in the previews are used up) with main characters
ably supported by a wide array of bizarre characters - most
notably the crazed singing sheep with an amazing array of
horns called Japheth (played by Benjy Gaither). The animation’s
not quite a sharp as some other recent CGI films but maybe
we’re just getting a little too fussy. Hoodwinked
is a cleverly scripted Agatha Christie-meets-the Brothers
Grimm frolic with an ending which leaves open the possibility
of further woodland fun (a sequel is apparently coming) and,
as a bonus, a terrific soundtrack. Definitely one that parents
will enjoy as much as their kids.
SEE
THE SIGHT ON THE SCREEN ARCHIVES FOR MORE... |
