Film Reviews

Hoodwinked

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Anne Hathaway
• Details: US / 80 mins (G).

Little Red Riding Hood gets a parody makeover in this Shrek-style comedy. Called to Granny's (Close) house after a domestic disturbance, the police piece together the puzzle as to why a wolf (Warburton), a little girl (Hathaway) and a woodsman (Belushi) are in Granny's house in the first place. Told from the different perspectives of the three suspects, a plot to steal Granny's finger-licking treat recipes unfolds, but the real villain is the last one you'd expect. At first glance Hoodwinked doesn't make the slightest bit of sense, and it looks like the writers had a few jokes and dreamt up a crazy story around it; but as the stories rumble on and one story makes sense of the previous one and so on and so on, it all gets tied up in a neat little package. The best episode by far revolves around the wolf; witty, quick and more than a nod and a wink to Chevy Chase's Fletch (even down to the Lakers T-shirt), the wolf's version of the story gets most of the laughs. Don't be expecting a breakthrough in animation (which is slick, by the way), thigh-slapping guffaws, or a rollercoaster-ride plot (despite that there is a rollercoaster) - but Hoodwinked is perfect for younger viewers, and those dragged along won't mind it at all, either.

Review by Gavin Burke