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Hoodwinked!

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Hoodwinked!
Directed byCory Edwards
Todd Edwards
Tony Leech
Written byCory Edwards
Todd Edwards
Tony Leech
StarringGlenn Close
Anne Hathaway
James Belushi
Patrick Warburton
Music byJohn Mark Painter
Daniel Rogers
Ben Folds
Distributed byThe Weinstein Company
Release dates
January 13, 2006 (US)
29 September, 2006 (UK)
Running time
86 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20,000,000

Hoodwinked! is an American computer-animated family musical 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 nation-wide 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, James Belushi, Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, David Ogden Stiers, Xzibit, Anthony Anderson, Chazz Palminteri, and Benjy Gaither. An alternate title of the film was Hoodwinked! The True Story of Red Riding Hood.[1]

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 86 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 Hood vs. Evil is currently in the making and is expected to be released in 2010.

Main cast

Plot

The story begins in medias res, with Red (Anne Hathaway), the Wolf (Patrick Warburton), Granny (Glenn Close), and the Woodsman (James Belushi) in their confrontation at Granny's house. 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. Because the film uses a police interrogation as a framing sequence, it is evocative of the 1995 crime thriller The Usual Suspects. Because the four participants’ stories converge at points prior to the meeting at Granny’s, and are at times self-serving, the format is also evocative of Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon.

Red's Story

Red, 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 also). When she gets to Granny’s she sees through the Wolf’s transparently obvious Granny disguise, and just as he reveals himself and the two confront one another again, a bound and gagged Granny jumps out of her closet, followed by a crazed-looking axe-wielding Woodsman, who bursts into the living room through the window, screaming, to the horror of the other three.

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 whose prior stories Flippers is 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 it), he roared in pain, which Red took as an attack, and beat him up far more extensively than in her version of the tale. 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. 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, as Boingo pops in on the scene. 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 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 grenades to delay the ski team, 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. 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.

After the questioning

The police are back to square one, as none of the four appears to be culprits, but then the basket of Granny’s goodies and the recipe book is found to be missing, as is Red. But we then see Red following the real thief, the one who was present during all four accounts: Boingo, just as Flippers figures it out. Red follows him on the air tram up to the mountain, where he and his henchmen, the aforementioned opposing snowboarding 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 is discovered, tied up and gagged, and placed in the air tram filled with dynamite to destroy the forest. While a caffeine-induced 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 became a world-famous yodeler) that he is a member of the "Happily Ever After Agency", and offers to enlist the four to work for him.

Crew

Soundtrack

Soundtrack by Todd Edwards & 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

  • 1. Into the Book
  • 2. Great Big World - (Anne Hathaway)
  • 3. Critters Have Feelings - (Todd Edwards)
  • 4. Nicky Intro
  • 5. Red is Blue - (Ben Folds)
  • 6. Be Prepared - (Benjy Gaither)
  • 7. Go Flippers
  • 8. Little Boat - (Daniel Rogers)
  • 9. Red/Wolf Staredown
  • 10. Runaway - (Josh Greene)
  • 11. The Schnitzel Song - (Fleming K. McWilliams/Jim Belushi)
  • 12. Tree Critter - (Todd Edwards)
  • 13. Three G's
  • 14. The Real G - (Cory Edwards)
  • 15. Blow Your House Down - (Pupil)
  • 16. Hoodwinked Theme (Granny Techno Mix)
  • 17. Eva Deanna - (Todd Edwards)
  • 18. Chopping for Actors
  • 19. Glow - (Todd Edwards)
  • 20. Nicky Knows
  • 21. Top of the Woods - (Andy Dick)
  • 22. Delivery Girl
  • 23. Lair Rescue
  • 24. Cable Car Rescue/End of the Line
  • 25. Bounce - (Todd Collins)
  • 26. Bossa for Boingo
  • 27. Hoodwinked Theme (Surfer version)

DVD release

Reaction

On Rotten Tomatoes, as of August 2007, the film's overall score is 48%, which is Rotten.[2]. On Metacritic it received a score of 45/100 ("mixed or average reviews").[3] 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.[4] 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 film was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Animated Film. 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 and similarities to other works

  • In Red's account of the events, as the wolf is being carried away by the river, he says "I'll get you, and your little granny too!", a reference to the scene in Wizard of Oz, when the Wicked Witch of the West says "I'll get you, my pretty... and your little dog too!"
  • After Red finishes giving her statement and Wolf is about to give his, the music during the brief confrontation as they pass each other is similar to Kill Bill.
  • The reporter Wolf W. Wolf is (as mentioned in the DVD commentary) a parody of Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher from the movie Fletch, starring Chevy Chase. Both characters are investigative reporters. Wolf wears the same L.A. Lakers jersey, has the same type of music during his telling of the story and uses the same gags as Fletcher (e.g. a large afro, buck teeth, and impersonation in order to get information). Wolf W. Wolf is also an apparent parody of "Fletch F. Fletch," one of Fletch's aliases.
  • When Wolf knocks on Granny's door, one of the things he says through the door is "Candygram." This is a reference to the "Landshark" sketch on Saturday Night Live, where "Candygram" is one of the ruses used by the Landshark. It is also another reference to Chevy Chase as the voice of the Landshark was provided by Chase.
  • Granny's command to Red to "Use the hood" is a parody of the famous line from Star Wars where Obi-Wan Kenobi instructs Luke Skywalker to "Use The Force."
  • In the scene where the police find Grandma's trophies, Flippers sees GGG tattooed on the back of Grandma's neck. This is a reference to the movie xXx. Nicky even says the exact same line as Sam Jackson: "I noticed you have three G's tattooed on the back of your neck. That's appropriate, since there are three strikes against you." A similar reference occurs in the scene where Granny causes the avalanche. This is a frame-by-frame parody of a similar scene in xXx.
  • Another film reference occurs when Granny is climbing on the ceiling and a drop of sweat falls from her brow. This again is a frame-by-frame parody of a similar scene from the 1995 film Mission: Impossible or drop of blood from the 2002 film Spider-Man.
  • In the film Over The Hedge, another hyperactive squirrel (Hammy) saves the day after being given a caffeinated drink. It should be noted here that Twitchy appeared onscreen first, although Hammy predated Twitchy in comic form. In their compulsive behavior, Twitchy and Hammy both bear similarity to Scrat (the popular sabertooth squirrel of the Ice Age movies) and Foamy (the main character and cult icon of illwillpress). Twitchy is primarily an homage to many other fast talking rodents in animation, such as Disney's Chip 'n Dale, Alvin & The Chipmunks, and the baby bunny saved by Bugs Bunny (running from Pete Puma in an early Looney Tunes short).
  • When Twitchy discovers dynamite in the coal car, he tells Wolf that he has found candles labeled, "Dee-Na-Mee-Tay" ("dynamite"). He goes on to say, "Must be Italian." This is a direct reference to a line spoken by "The Old Man" in "A Christmas Story" (regarding a package marked "Fra-Gee-Lay" -- "Fragile.")
  • Just before Boingo starts singing his "Top of the Woods" routine, the first claim of being "top of the woods" seems like a loose reference to James Cagney's last line in White Heat: "Made it Ma! Top of the world!".
  • When Red mentions that Kirk "finally made it", she holds up a card saying "Der Happy Yodelers / The Sound of Munich". The card is a clear reference to Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music."
  • Boingo tells Keith to change his name to Boris (as his name is not scary enough). Keith looks very similar to Boris (played by Alan Cumming), a henchman of Alec Trevelyan in the James Bond film GoldenEye. Also, he bears a resemblance to Bandit Keith from Yu-Gi-Oh! Also, in a short look at his snowshoes, he has Triforces on them.
  • In the scene where Twitchy tries to tell the officers what's happening, they parody Lassie. At one point, Bill even says, "Timmy's stuck in the well!"; a reference to that film.
  • In Granny's extreme sports montage, she is shown drinking "Forest Dew", an obvious parody of the extreme sports scenes featured in some Mountain Dew commercials. In the last scene, there is also an ad for the drink, promising "Clean Taste! Pine Scent!". The ad's blurb is "Taste the Mountain!" The ad also appears on Granny's refrigerator, below her shopping list.
  • During the end credits, a graphic of Twitchy and the Wolf doing a parody of Batman and Robin appears.
  • Nicky Flippers has a flashback of his glory days as a disco dancer. His outfit and the set are a direct reference to "Saturday Night Fever."
  • Some of the scenes involving hand to hand combat are obvious adaptations to the style (and camera angles) of The Matrix fight scenes, as well as classic Kung Fu movies.
  • The opening title of the film is remarkably similar to the opening header for the 1988 film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, that also features a villain planning to make profits from an enormous conglomerate.
  • Dolph, Boingo's lead henchman bears a striking resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger in both appearance and voice.
  • Dolph is also a reference to Dolph Lundgren, who had his breakthrough as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.
  • Detective "Flippers" resembles Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective with the same mustache and characteristics, "Hercule Poirot".
  • Detective "Flippers" is primarily based on Nick Charles (The Thin Man (film). He is accompanied by a terrier similar to Asta who acts as stenographer in the film.
  • 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 (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)

References

  1. ^ Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
  2. ^ Hoodwinked at Rotten Tomatoes
  3. ^ Hoodwinked at Metacritic Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  4. ^ Hoodwinked at Box Office Mojo Retrieved January 10, 2008.
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