‘Hoodwinked’ on DVD, Gives Different Views of Little Red Riding Hood’s Story
Hoodwinked, released on DVD by Vivendi Entertainment, earned a nomination for a Saturn Award in 2006 as Best Animated Film from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA, from its theatrical release. KIDS FIRST! film critic Gabriella Chu (age 14) tells us about the movie. (See her video on YouTube.)
Hoodwinked
Reviewed by Gabriella Chu
This movie is sweet and funny. It made me laugh out loud a couple of times. The movie’s message isn’t new – “don’t judge a book by its cover.” However, the message is delivered with a lot of creativity and originality by presenting the points of view of each of the characters.
You would expect Hoodwinked to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood and it does, but with a new angle. The movie starts off with Red delivering goods to her Granny, but once she arrives home, she sees a wolf disguised as her Grandma, her grandma is tied up and locked in the closet, and then a crazy woodsman breaks into their house screaming with an ax in his hand. As crazy as it sounds, there is an interesting explanation for everything that happened at this scene. The movie adds a lot of twists to the original story of Little Red Riding Hood as it depicts the viewpoints of all of the characters involved at the scene to keep you guessing what really happened. When you piece the different perspectives of the characters in the movie together, you will be shocked at the true story!
Hoodwinked stars the voice talent of Anne Hathaway as Red, Glenn Close as Granny, James Belushi as the woodsman and Patrick Warburton as the wolf. The movie is written and directed by Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech.
The animation of the movie didn’t wow me when I compare it to films such as Shrek, Ice Age, Toy Story and similar. 
On the other hand, the voice talent is great. Anne Hathaway does a great job at portraying Red’s character as a tough yet charming girl, especially in the scene when she is about to perform kung-fu on the wolf. Glenn Close’s voice is a perfect match for the grandmother.
I recommend this movie to children ages 7 and up. Younger kids may not be able to understand some of the jokes. This is a fun family film and something I would enjoy watching with my friends. It is a sweet comedy with an interesting plot!
PHOTO: Gabriella Chu
See Gabriella’s video on YouTube.
