Hoodwinked! facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hoodwinked!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Cory Edwards
Produced by	Katie Hooten Maurice Kanbar David K. Lovegren Sue Bea Montgomery Preston Stutzman
Screenplay by	Cory Edwards Todd Edwards Tony Leech
Story by	Cory Edwards Todd Edwards
Starring	Anne Hathaway Glenn Close Jim Belushi Patrick Warburton Anthony Anderson David Ogden Stiers Xzibit Chazz Palminteri Andy Dick
Music by	John Mark Painter
Editing by	Tony Leech
Studio	The Weinstein Company Kanbar Entertainment Kanbar Animation Blue Yonder Films
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company
Release date(s)	December 16, 2005 (2005-12-16) (Los Angeles, California) January 13, 2006 (2006-01-13) (United States)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	< $8 million
Money made	$110 million

Hoodwinked! is a fun computer-animated musical comedy movie with a mystery twist. It takes the classic fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood and turns it into a police investigation. The story is told from different characters' points of view, like a puzzle, to solve a big mystery!

This movie was one of the first computer-animated films made without a big movie studio. This meant the filmmakers had more creative freedom. However, it also meant they had a smaller budget. Because of this, the animation was done in the Philippines. It had a unique look, inspired by stop-motion movies, which helped save money.

A company called The Weinstein Company decided to release the movie near the end of its making. They changed some voice actors, but mostly kept the movie as it was. Hoodwinked! came out around the same time as the popular Shrek movies. Like Shrek, it's a fairy tale parody, but it tries to be different in its humor and story. The creators wanted to make sure it wasn't too cynical for kids.

The movie got mixed reviews. Many people liked its script and the voice actors. However, some criticized the animation quality. Despite this, Hoodwinked! was a big success! It earned over $110 million, which was more than thirteen times its small budget of less than $8 million. A sequel, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, was released in 2011.

The Mystery Unfolds: Plot Summary

The story begins when Little Red Riding Hood (Anne Hathaway) arrives at her grandmother's house. Inside, the Big Bad Wolf (Patrick Warburton) is disguised as Red's Granny. The Wolf attacks Red! But then, Granny (Glenn Close), who was tied up, suddenly jumps out of a closet to help. Just then, a woodsman (Jim Belushi) with an ax crashes through the window.

Soon, the police arrive, led by Detective Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers). He questions everyone to figure out what really happened.

Red's Story: A Delivery Gone Wrong

Red, whose real name is Red Puckett, explains her side. She was delivering goodies for her grandmother. She found a threat from a mysterious "Goody Bandit" who was stealing recipes! To save her Granny's business, Red decided to take the family recipes to Granny's house on a nearby mountain. On her way, she fell out of a cable car run by a bunny named Boingo (Andy Dick). She then met the Wolf, who asked her many suspicious questions. Red avoided the Wolf and met an old singing goat named Japeth (Benjy Gaither). He joined her for the rest of the trip to Granny's house. When she arrived, the Wolf was already there, waiting.

The Wolf's Investigation: An Undercover Reporter

What seemed like a simple case gets confusing when the Wolf shares his story. Everyone is surprised to learn that the Wolf is actually an investigative reporter! He was looking for clues about the Goody Bandit. He thought Red and Granny might be the culprits. With his super-fast squirrel assistant, Twitchy (Cory Edwards), the Wolf tried to question Red. When she got away, the Wolf and Twitchy rushed to Granny's house. They got there before Red by using a shortcut Boingo knew. At the house, they found Granny already tied up in the closet. The Wolf then pretended to be Granny to trick Red into telling the truth about the Goody Bandit.

The Woodsman's Tale: An Actor's Audition

When the Woodsman, named Kirk, is questioned, he says his appearance at Granny's house was just a coincidence. Kirk is actually an actor trying out for a commercial role as a woodsman. After his schnitzel truck was robbed by the Goody Bandit, Boingo comforted him. Then, Kirk got a call back for the commercial! He spent the day chopping trees to get into character. At sunset, a big tree fell and pushed him right through Granny's window.

Granny's Secret Life: Extreme Sports Enthusiast

The investigation then turns to Granny. Red didn't know this, but Granny is an extreme sports enthusiast! Earlier that day, she was in a ski race. Boingo was there, pretending to be a fan. During the race, Granny was attacked by the other team. She won the race and learned that the team was hired by the Goody Bandit to stop her. Granny explains that while parachuting home, she got tangled in her parachute strings. This snagged on her ceiling fan and threw her into the closet.

Unmasking the Goody Bandit

Feeling hurt by Granny's secrets, Red walks off alone. Detective Flippers realizes that Boingo was in all four stories. He must be the Goody Bandit! Boingo sneaks into Granny's home and steals the Puckett family recipes. Red sees him and follows him to his hideout at a cable car station. The police chase Boingo in the wrong direction.

Granny, the Wolf, and Kirk find Boingo as he's explaining his evil plan to Red. Boingo plans to add a special substance called "Boingonium" to the stolen recipes. Then, he wants to bulldoze the forest to build a new Boingo-themed business empire!

The Wolf and Kirk go undercover to distract Boingo. Granny sneaks into Boingo's lair. But they are all soon discovered, and a big fight starts! Boingo sends a tied-up Red down the mountain in a cable car filled with explosives. Granny chases after Red, with Boingo and his helpers right behind her. Red manages to free herself and escapes with Granny. Meanwhile, the police, redirected by Twitchy, are waiting at the bottom of the mountain to arrest Boingo and his helpers.

Later, Kirk finds success in a yodeling group. Red, Granny, the Wolf, and Twitchy are asked by Flippers to join a crime-solving team called the Happily Ever After Agency!

Meet the Voice Cast

Movie Music: The Soundtrack

The official soundtrack for Hoodwinked! was released in December 2005. Due to some legal issues, the CD was taken off the market a month later. It wasn't available again until November 2009. It was then re-released on iTunes in January 2010.

The Sequel: Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil

A sequel to the movie, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, came out on April 29, 2011. The original writers, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech, wrote the script. However, they decided not to direct the sequel. Cory Edwards explained that he had some difficult experiences working on the first film. He also wanted to try directing other types of movies.

In March 2007, Mike Disa was chosen to direct the sequel. Many of the original voice actors returned for the sequel. But, Anne Hathaway was replaced by Hayden Panettiere as Red. Jim Belushi was replaced by Martin Short as Kirk the Woodsman.

The sequel did not do well financially. It earned only $16.9 million worldwide, which was about half of its budget. Critics also gave it mostly negative reviews. Cory Edwards was disappointed with the final movie. He said it was changed a lot from the original script.

Images for kids

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  The film's production was privately financed by entrepreneur Maurice Kanbar.

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  Hoodwinked! is a parody of the European fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood.

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  Director and co-writer Cory Edwards also co-wrote two of the film's songs, performed one of them, and voiced the character Twitchy.

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  Harvey (pictured here in 2011) and Bob Weinstein distributed Hoodwinked! as one of The Weinstein Company's first films.

See also

In Spanish: Hoodwinked! para niños