A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Hoodwinked

Date Viewed: 2/4/06

Details:

Voice talent: Glenn Close (Granny)

Anne Hathaway (Red)

James Belushi (The Woodsman)

Patrick Warburton (The Wolf)

David Ogden Stiers (Nicky Flippers)

Xzibit (Chief Grizzly)

Chazz Palminteri (Woolworth)

Andy Dick (Boingo)

Cory Edwards (Twitchy)

Benjy Gaither (Japeth the Goat)

Written & directed by: Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leech

Score: +

The Review: Taking a page from Iain Pears' literary masterpiece An Instance of the Fingerpost, Hoodwinked tells the identical tale -- in this case, one somewhat more familiar than Pears' -- from the viewpoints of four different participants: Red Riding Hood (Hathaway), the Wolf (Warburton), the Woodsman (Belushi) and Granny (Close). "Tale as old as time," indeed -- we all know about Red's trip to visit Granny and her shock at finding the Wolf, but I'll warrant you've never heard about the recipe thefts, levitating birds, secret tunnels to the mountain's summit, hood-hang-gliding, extreme sports, the woodsman's film career, and a grand conspiracy? "You are about to participate in a great adventure..."

The animation is decent and the voice casting pretty good, but it's the characterization that is worth the trip. It's all about attitude, deeply embedded in noir pastiche, with a bit of toonish immunity to harm (in the sense of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?). The Wolf's sidekick, Twitchy (Edwards) is a hoot! As usual, there are visual puns galore and homage to things Hollywood as well as Eric Stanley Gardiner and Robert Parker.

(19-Feb-06)

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