Released: 01/13/06

Viewed: 3:40pm 01/20/06

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, Patrick Warburton, James Belushi, Anthony Anderson, Andy Dick, Xzibit, David Ogden Stiers

Directed by: Cory and Todd Edwards

Official Site of the movie

About the comic: A brief introduction to Rosa Jun Darko my little niece. Cute as can be and in love with her uncle Joe. The first half of this strip is actually based on our first real conversation. She became a lot more fun once she started talking. Even more fun when she started recognizing and saying my name. Even more fun when she started saying it correctly. Now I just need to train her to bring me a soda, and we're all set. Love you Rosa!

Oh and just for those of you paying attention I have hair in this strip when over the past month I have not had hair. It's because I saw thins movie about a month ago before the big cut. It took me a month to get it done because I wanted to get it right, and no one was really begging to hear my thoughts on a kid's movie.

Animated movies are on a cycle. Every couple of months one will come out synced up with a breakfast cereal sponsorship, kid's meal toy, and video game available on four platforms. The characters never make the cereal taste any better, the kid's meals toys will soon be broken, and the video game is too easy. It's all part of the cycle. All part of the movie, and somehow they kill at the box office.

It's because of the kids. They need the cereal, the toys, the games, and they need to see the movie. I don't have any kids but I've been in lines at the post office with kids that were begging their parents so hard to go see the crappy kid's movie of the month, which I would have taken them to if they would just shut up for five seconds so I could buy my stamps.

Kids sell tickets and as long as they do we'll have this cycle. Most of the cycle is garbage. Same old thing, same old animation, bust out a sequel 2 years later and watch the money role in. Like any kid's movie most stories will be sweet, entertaining, and sort of giggly funny, but rarely can the story be described as inventive, revolutionary, and creative. It's just part of the cycle.

Going into Hoodwinked I was pretty damn skeptical. I'm a cynical New Yorker, just accept it. As the movie started I slumped into my chair and was kicked in the stomach by the piecemeal junior class project quality animation. I cringed as Red Ridding Hood jumps on her bike and petals off into a world that could never, even mistakenly, be confused as the same level of existence as she is on.

I'm not sure if it's the diverse character design (I actually liked it over all), a rushed schedule to get to the release date, or clashing departments going in different directions but something was off. It's like the people working on the characters and the people working on backgrounds were making two different movies. When Wolf falls in the water and the worlds collide you can hear the deafening splash of someone getting fired. And the cycle spins on.

The voice acting is good. That seems to be the easy part of an animated film. Lock down 2 or three big names and pad the rest of the cast with really talented, experienced voice actors that will save your ass if you're A-listers have trouble stringing two words together.

Those A-listers are Anne Hathaway as Red and Glenn Close as Grandma. Both are pretty good actually. Hathaway's voice and performance are well suited to the role of a street-smart heroine that every kid can look up to. And with her huge eyes and giant head Red actually looks a little like Anne. It works.

Close I would not have recognized if I didn't know going in that it was she. She plays it like an old lady with a slow quiver and the constant threat that she might call someone one a whipper-snapper at the drop of a pin.

I loved the supporting players. Patrick Warburton is perfectly cast in any voice role and shines as the wolf. Xzibit gives his most convincing performance since XXX: State of the Union as a bear chief of police. I believed he was a bear. You could hear it in his voice. At no time was I expecting him to pimp out anybodies ride. Ok, that was a little sarcastic, but he was fine and it's nice that he's jumping on to projects like this. He's building himself a pretty tight little resume.

Scene-stealer of the show is David Ogden Stiers as the detective on the case. Doesn't have the best lines, he doesn't do anything particularly funny, but he was just a joy to listen to. I checked the guy's history and he's a voice-acting machine. Video games, movies, TV, the guy won't stop. Nice work if you can get it. It's one of those industries where you see the same 12 people over and over, because they're that good. People like Cree Summer and Billy West show up all over the place because they're good. Did you know that Phil Lamar (Mad TV, Marvin from Pulp Fiction) is Samurai Jack? He's that good! He's in the cycle.

Somewhere around 5 minutes in she starts singing and I roll my eyes hard. I can take a musical, even an animated musical, but that jaded cynical New Yorker that shuffled into the theater 10 minutes ago was not ready for it. The good news is it's sparse. 3 or 4 songs tops. None great, but none intrusive or annoying either. The most effective music in the film is one not sung by a character at all. It's a ballad by Ben Folds that comes along right in the middle of the movie and helps you settle in and reflect on the situation. Very effective.

With Red pedaling into minute 10, singing her song and beginning her adventure, I'm clenching my fists and cursing the cycle. I'm in for another 80 minutes of hell. But like a blessing from the animation gods there's a crack in the cycle. The singing stops and the story gets good. Red's story ends, and another begins. The same story told from another characters perspective.

I pinch my arm hard to make sure it's real and sure enough I'm 20 minutes in to the Pulp Fiction of kid's movies. A movie that would end up being bare bones in the animation department, but a heavy weight powerhouse super supreme collectors edition of story and creativity. Hold on tight, I say with a gasp. This shit is getting good

The rest of the adventure is amazing. I loved seeing how they tied together the story told from four different perspectives. They build up a pretty interesting mystery with the question of who is stealing all the recipes in the land, and even though I figured out who it was by the end of the 2nd perspective, I couldn't figure out why. That's cool. Kept me guessing. Kept me interested. And it kept me looking for clues.

My favorite aspect was the pop culture references. Normally this doesn't fly with me. The references in Shrek are completely ridiculous. Just insane. To the point where the movie lost all it's charm. Hoodwinked comes at it's references from a completely different direction. It's not in your face or crystal clear, but you're watching it and you say "Is Grandma supposed to be Vin Diesel from XXX?" And she totally is!

Even better is the Wolf. As soon as he comes on screen I say to myself "he's dressed like Fletch." I decide it's probably just a case of the animators having a little fun, but no. He's totally Fletch. They reveal that he's a reporter hunting down a story. They even show him in many of the same disguises used in the Fletch movies including the basketball player with the huge aphro! I could not stop laughing. I'm a male born between 1975 and 1985. I know who Fletch is, and I couldn't have been happier with this reference. From that moment on the movie was a hit; I didn't care how sour it turned.

Thankfully it holds strong. Gets a little weird in the middle and the ending could have wrapped up a little smoother, but I enjoyed it like a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. Just an honest to God smart movie - for kids. Who knew? The cycle has layers. The Rating:

7 out of 10 for hands down the best kids movie of the year so far. I mocked it last fall saying it would be crap and be forgotten, but not many animated movies are worth your attention, and this one is. Add it to your Netflix cue and have a good time!

DVD worthy?:

The animation was so washed over but I was beyond charmed by the movie overall. Could have been an awkward combination of low expectations, genuinely entertaining content, and sheer glee of being able to watch a children's movie without a bunch of kids there to ruin it. I probably won't buy it but will definitely rent it. Yeo will really get a kick out of it I'm sure.

If you liked this movie check out: Fletch

It's kind of not really a real match, but after the brilliant Fletch parody in Hoodwinked I was SO in a Fletch mood. God I love that movie. Seriously, depending on what aspect of the film you really liked I would recommend completely different movies.

If you liked the animation, watch Ice Age. The animation is different, still 3D, but rendered differently. The real similarity is in the character design. They both took the obvious and pushed it a little bit further. It's not just a wolf; it's a wolf with a stylized snout and eyes. It's not just a woolly mammoth; it's a mammoth with a stylized trunk and tusks. They used less obvious design and still made it believable. Refreshing.

For storytelling I would point you right at Pulp Fiction I know it's weird to get that vibe from a kids movie, but Hoodwinked takes the structure that Pulp Fiction made famous, and works it to the bone. It's awesome! If you enjoyed the way the story turns in on itself, and haven't seen Pulp Fiction, go see how crazy a floating structure can really be.

Trailer Hitch: The Wild

In The Wild a lion gets shipped from a New York city zoo to Africa and his pals have to break out and go rescue him. And along the way they might stop and See Madagascar.

Seriously, that's WAY too close of a connection. These animation companies need to get together and at least talk about basic subject matter. This is worse than the Antz vs. A Bug's Life fiasco of the late 90's. I'll give it a chance though. You never know what's really going on. It could be it's own thing.

Vote Bonus:

If you vote today you'll get an image of Rosa and I at the movies. See how my niece and I deal with the pressure of a scary movie.

Non movie related stuff:

I'm so happy to announce our newest advertiser Multiplex. We've been real lucky in that since we starting offering ad space we've attracted some really kick ass strips. It makes our job of supporting them and singing their praises that much easier.

Multiplex is very near and dear to me. Partly because it's another movie themed strip, and partly because it's just flat out good. Gordon tells the jokes from the perspective of the theater workers, which is a completely untapped unique way to go about cracking movie jokes. Think about it. It's hard service industry work where you're required to wear a bow tie. Extra bitterness.

Check it out. It's the perfect beer chaser to your shot of JLCM. More of my thoughts on Multiplex in the next review.

Last thing. Over at Clickwheel I've added a sneak preview for the Final Destination 3 comic. Thanks for reading everyone!