User reviews

The original Hoodwinked was a clever movie, giving us a twist on the Little Red Riding hood fable, making it into a crime caper. It was well written and very funny.

The sequel seems uninspired and poorly conceived. Nothing clever here. A few witty moments strung together into an adventure movie that isn't nearly as clever. Some characters were just thrown in because they were liked (the goat) and didn't serve any other purpose, other characters just seemed odd and uninteresting (the harp), and the main characters, while true to their original conceptions, were stuck in a weaker, more convoluted plot.

At least the first half of the movie had its funny moments. The last half of the movie seemed tired and uncreative.

I am not in the movie's primary demographic however (being 45). My sons, ages 4 and 7, enjoyed the movie very much and laughed quite a bit. So if you are a parent, take your kids. They'll probably enjoy it. If you're not a parent and you like computer animated features, don't set your expectations very high.

Picking up the story where the previous one left off (more or less) this film continues a fairy tale world where Red Riding Hood is not quite as helpless as she is in the original tales and where Granny is something else entirely. The characters are, to an extend, the same as they were in the first film - but quite sadly that is the end of the comparability of the two.

Where the original film is a quirky "whodunnit" that attempts to solve a crime by having the audience sit through several viewpoints on the events that happened this sequel is a sequence of standard events that seems to be stolen from several other films - and stolen poorly at that.

As a comedy it doesn't work - good scenes are few and far apart. As a twisted fairy tale it doesn't work either - it's not convoluted enough by far. As an animation film it doesn't work either - it's bland and many scenes feel overly easy.

All in all, an insult to the first film and I only didn't feel cheated out of paying because my kid did seem to like it (he's never seen the original though) 5 out of 10 sequels too many

Think back to 2005 when the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood was rewritten in a cute format, full of mediocre comedy, ridiculous antics, lots of loud screaming, an X-Files approach to getting the answers and a demented bunny that tied everything together. Yes it was none other than the first Hoodwinked. Today I watched the sequel to this cute spin of Red Riding Hood and I'm here to report that it has deviated from this formula.

Hoodwinked Too begins with a quick, exciting chase scene involving a witch, two fat kids, a wolf, a coffee induced squirrel, and a couple of background animals. Granny is still the master daredevil and shows us the amazing moves shes famous for from the first one, except this time its on a hog. However after this brief, thrilling, funny scene, the movie takes a quick turn to Red and her secret training ground. Here we learn about her attitude problem and how she has to work with a team instead of being alone. Once these scenes are done, the movie essentially is laid out for you to predict. You clearly can guess who the bad guys are, you can guess what is going to happen to the accomplices, and you pretty much can guess everything that is going to happen in this movie. As a result, this movie really has no twists to it.

So is this movie worth watching? Well in my opinion it depends on what you want to see. One great thing about this movie is that Twitchy the squirrel has a lot of screen action and has a lot of hyperactive, funny movements and skills that will make kids laugh their heads off, and maybe some adults as well. The squeaky voice may get on some parents nerves, but I assure you that kids will love this funny colorful character. A second thing that parents might enjoy a little more, or adults who like CGI movies is the constant references to James Bond and the catchy one liners that this movie can throw at you. The wolf in particular has a couple of shrek like lines that adults will get more than kids, but it still doesn't match the brilliance that the green ogre has shown. A third thing I will say is good about this movie is that its not slow at all. The movie keeps a brisk pace and allows anybody with a short attention span to be centered on the movie and not drifting to sleep, which I find as a big positive. Also the woodsmen yodelers were pretty good as well, but their role in the movie was too short for me and should have been expanded.

If you're a fan of Granny however, then you may not enjoy this movie as much as the master spy plays a very low key role in this movie. Aside from that beginning scene I mentioned, Granny has a few quick flips, tricks, and kicks that are diluted from her classic role. Some of the comedy in this movie is also very slap sticky and beat you over the head, especially gags about disguises and what not, which does get a little old. The story is weak as well, and really did not impress me as much as the first one did. Although the first story was not a masterpiece, it still was a creative look on the red riding hood story. This one deviated a little too much for my taste and should have tried to get another story going, without putting in so much secret agent warfare.

Okay recommended audience for this movie, definitely viewers who have kids that like squeaky, hyperactive characters, this movie has a lot of them. Fans of the fairy tale parodies may appreciate this film as well, though may not be as impressed by this film as others. Overall for this kind of movie I'll say a 6.5 maybe 7 at the most for a good try at a fun kids film. However, it just doesn't reach out to a large audience like Pixar and Disney do in their work. Until next time, this is rgkarim signing out. Please email me if you have any ideas to improve my writing at rgkarim@mail.roanoke.edu

I have to admit that I enjoyed the first Hoodwinked, while it was not perfect, I loved the fun story, the voice cast, the clever dialogue and catchy soundtrack. Although I hadn't heard many good things about Hoodwinked Too! I naturally wanted to see if it was at least watchable. Watching it online, while I was not expecting it to be better than or as good as the original, I was in all honesty expecting much better than this.

The only real reason why I don't rate it any lower is the voice cast, the standouts being David Ogden Stiers, Joan Cusack and Patrick Warburton, even if the latter's material isn't anywhere near as as funny or clever here he still does a credible job with the delivery. Hayden Panettiere also does a spirited job as Red, and Glenn Close while like Warburton not having standout material does what she can.

On the other hand, I just wasn't engaged with it at all. The story is a big reason why. I loved the idea, and it started off great, but it very quickly became very predictable, part of me felt that some of the plot seemed over-stretched sometimes and the film generally lacked the first film's snappy pacing. Another problem is the script, I missed the clever wit and the sly references here. Everything seemed rather obvious and tired.

Hoodwinked Too! also suffers from the characters not having any likability or charm. Almost all of them are underused and very bland. Although Ogden Stiers does do all he can, his character is rather thankless. In fact for me, only Big Bad Wolf and Cusack's Witch sparked any interest. What there is of the soundtrack is very forgettable, nothing's there to make it catchy.

And I didn't like the animation here. I have heard much from those who didn't like the first film's animation, I personally liked the colours and backgrounds there, but some of the character designs in that film took some getting used to. The animation here though is in my opinion pretty messy. The backgrounds are tolerable if nothing special, but the colouring is dull and the character designs blocky.

In conclusion, a bland and uninspired sequel to a surprisingly enjoyable film. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Six years after "Hoodwinked!" we get "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil." Hayden Panettiere took over the duties as the voice of Red Riding Hood while Glenn Close remained as the voice of Granny, Patrick Warburton was kept as the voice of The Big Bad Wolf, and David Ogden Stiers stayed on as the voice of Nicky Flippers.

Red went off to Hood training to become a ninja master of sorts, which left Granny and the Wolf as the star agents of the HEA (Happily Ever After) agency. Granny and the Wolf were trying to stop Verushka the Witch (Joan Cusack) from eating Hansel and Gretel (Bill Hader and Amy Poehler) when Granny was kidnapped. It seems that Granny was the true target because of her knowledge of a secret truffle recipe that imbued its consumer with unstoppable powers.

This sequel wasn't as good as the first which is normal for sequels. I don't think it was as terrible as the IMDb rating. It was a little more adult than I would have liked, but it wasn't appalling. Hansel and Gretel were funny and the hoodwinking was creative. As far as sequels go I think this was more than adequate.

This movie made me forget what I liked about the first one!!! This sequel was terrible!!!! The plot was so stupid, from the very beginning to the end I was thinking, "Why on earth did they make this movie at all??!!" All the charm of the first film was missing from this one!!! I think people in the theater laughed maybe twice! The jokes were not funny at all! Even my young daughter thought it was bad! With such an all star cast, it was a big let down. There have only been maybe 2 times in my 40 year life that I walked out of the theater feeling I wasted my money, and this was one of them! Honestly I wouldn't even waste my $1.00 on this at Redbox!

Very much like Shrek 2.... Plot is not nearly as clever or well written as the original. However, since the characters are already developed, the the jokes are well presented, well timed and come quickly. This movie is far more action driven than the original. The plot seems merely the vehicle. Don't expect unique take on an old tale as the movie primarily moves forward developing current characters and back stories. Additional fairly tail intersections are used for story structure. Overall, if you have conservative expectations and want to enjoy old friends, I give it a 7. This move is a ton of fun with lots of reference to pop culture that adults will enjoy. If you want to see more from the Hoodwinked gang you will not be disappointed.

The first Hoodwinked had poor animation, but was made on a budget and had a fantastic script. It was witty, clever, and most of all likable. Hoodwinker Too seems like it was created by a new batch of film makers that completely missed the point. It wasn't. The original writers return, but I don't know what happened to the humour. The animation isn't great, but that could be excused by quality content. What isn't excusable is the awful shot composition. There's a fight scene that looks like a 2D side- scrolling platformer. The jokes are few and far between, and as the movie tries to expand on its forest origins into a big city, it only shows the lack of funds and resources, as you see the same characters over and over again. The voice work isn't terrible, but it's hard to care towards the end. The original had clever mystery with a Rashomon narrative. Here it's all linear, and tries to spoof too many action movies.

When I saw the cover for the movie on Netflix I thought it was lame. But after I forced myself to watch it I saw a world of good come out of it. It was funny and the wolf was funny to. The animation was way better than the last. Also the characters were more interesting and had their own personalities. The parts that I didn't like in the movie was that the ending was a little dry, but it was still acceptable. Some people think its lame but honestly this is a show for only kids not adults. First, its based off fairy tales. Second, it was made for Kids!

In conclusion, this movie was beyond the best and lots of funny references to the original fairy tales. I recommend this movie to kids from 5-13 yrs old.

With the same quick and zany humor of the first film still fresh in my mind, this movie has multitudes of clever slapstick. every scene is filled with fun and quick humor. I recommend this to anyone of any age that likes fun, full out silly movies. The cast is amazing and ranges from super well known, lesser known, and legendary actors. they all put 100 percent into their voice acting in this film. never a dull moment between the action and comedy. there is so much hidden messages and innuendo humor that it would take several viewings to get it all. the amount of gags in this movie far out weights any Disney movie any day all day. I highly recommend this one for everyone!

This movie doesn't work like the first one and if possible the computer graphics have deteriorated with sometimes ridiculous effects. The villain of the first movie was obvious but credible despite everything. The villain of this movie, on the other hand, makes absolutely no sense and I think there is also a bit of fatshaming.

"Why are you reading that book? Nobody reads books anymore! Movies are always better, especially sequels." Red (Panetiere), Granny (Close), Twitchy and the Wolf are back. This time they are part of a detective agency that is set up to give everyone their happy endings. When an evil witch kidnaps Hansel & Gretel it is up to Red and the gang to find and rescue them. Being an adult and father I am required by law to watch cartoons with my kids. Some of the recent ones were a struggle. This one I was more excited about then they were. The first one was hilarious and this one held up very well. This is a "Shrek" like cartoon in the way that 90% of the jokes are geared toward grown-ups. There is a "Silence Of The Lambs" and a "Goodfellas" reference thrown in, which most kids will not understand. To be fair though, my kids laughed at the slapstick aspect and it kept my 2 year old interested, so it is good for kids as well. When compared to the first one, I will have to say that they are equally funny. This one had more adult humor then the first one though. Overall, a great movie for adults that kids will enjoy. I love these movies. I give it an A.

Would I watch again? - Absolutely. I would buy these movies.

*Also try - Hoodwinked & Megamind

With the surprising hit of Hoodwinked, it was only natural that a sequel would get greenlit. Unlike the first film that was funded by Kanbar Entertainment and distributed by the Weinstein Company, this one was co-sponsored by the Weinsteins, thus providing less creative freedom to the original filmmakers. By the time the film came out in 2011, five years following the original film's release, critics were more harsh on it and the box office was even less kind, grossing only $16 million on a $30 million budget. As of ten years since, it is now regarded as one of the worst animated features ever made, and for good reason unfortunately.

Set sometime after the first film, Red Puckett is now in training with a mysterious group called the Sisters of the Hood and the Wolf is working undercover to stop the evil witch Verushka from stealing more Puckett recipes. It's not up to both of them to rescue granny and Hansel and Gretel from Verushka and restore the recipes to their rightful owners. Now unlike the first film which twisted the original red riding hood story with a cleber who dunnit take, this film goes for a more straightforward buddy cop scenario where two unlikely heroes have to rescue their loved ones and a macguffin. Sadly, this is where the plot becomes incredibly predictable from start to finish, and there are very little surprises along the way, even by the time we get to the villainous Verushka. What's even worse is that whatever sly wit or clever humor that made the original film work is no longer present in this film. All that's left are tired pop culture references, questionable world-building, and some of the worst running gags in film history. Knowing how little the original filmmakers were involved in this one, it shows in too many ways.

Adding on to that, while the returning characters are all there, they lack much enthusiasm and charisma to warrant sticking with for another adventure. Red and Wolf are just reduced to mediocre differing partners and not even Granny, Kirk the woodsman or detective Nicky Flippers are given enough time to shine like before. It doesn't help that other returning roles like the hyperactive Twitchy and the singing mountain goat either crack rancid humor or are just poor running gags. The newer characters aren't all that memorable either, down to Verushka being nothing more than a former rival of Granny's, harboring a grudge against her superior baking skills. Hansel & Gretel may seem like innocent victims of kidnapping, but they are revealed to be more than they appear in one of the lamest outcomes possible. Despite most of the cast returning, outside of Hayden Panettiere replacing Anne Hathaway for Red, not even their best efforts can save the weak characters, although Bill Hader and Amy Poehler give a hammy amount of charm as Hansel & Gretel.

Moving on to the animation, which was made on a significantly higher budget than the first film, this is where even the objectively better visuals can't do much to the movie either. While the characters look slightly more polished in terms of design and movement than beforehand, a lot of the lip-synch is noticeably off to the point of questioning what went on behind the scenes. In terms of the production design, there are a lot more places to travel to throughout, from a Giant's beanstalk, to a mysterious witch hideout, to an ancient Mandarin-like sisterhood and even the big city. However, the art direction comes off rather lackluster and is really only saved by the occasional long shot or quick paced action scenes. Part of the film's original charm was the jarring animation because it allowed for a grimey yet satisfying approach to smaller scaled fairy tale adaptations. Because the animation is more polished and more pristine than before, that charm has been sucked away in favor of a more lavish yet unimpressive take on the overall scope. Who knew more ended up being less.

Where the first film's shortcomings and unconventional plot structure managed to make it watchable and charming, Hoodwinked Too falls short of its predecessor by feeling too straight forward for its own good and lacking any of the sly wit from beforehand. Considering that even Cory Edwards doesn't look at this film with high values either, it's safe to say that this is not worth your time unless you're a die hard Hoodwinked fan. It goes to show you that once a major corporation does their own take on someone's property, the chances of it coming out well are too dodgy to be taken at ease.

Most animated sequels have come on strong over the past 15 years. Considering the small launch the first movie had and the following it earned, this was a real disappointment. The opening feels like they were given a time limit and crammed as many jokes and action as they could into it. The movie doesn't flow like the original, with a storybook feel and side flashes to build the plot. This is a jumbled mash of sarcasm, too much action (and not good action) and wasted opportunities. Note to the producers of this film: Throwing in all your supporting characters from the first film as street extras doesn't help. And, while we are on that subject, during the big climax, no purple hotrod getting smashed? There was a missed opportunity.

IN my opinion: 1. Red Riding Hood is in my personal opinion a violent, impulsive girl. Not a good example for display. 2. She preaches the Good by practicing physical violence. Not a good example for display either. 3. She can't control herself, she has a attitude problem. I can't get how this movie is out there for kids. 4. There are scenes with armed characters trying to shoot (or kill) other characters. As a matter of a fact, I understood as a childish way to show Homicide Attempt. 5. Physical violence is shown as something funny, like in a comedy atmosphere when it is just not OK to pass this message to children. 6. A psychiatry award is shown as a disgusting place when it is a place where unhealthy people seeks therapy and deserves be treated with dignity. I totally dislike the movie and regretted to bring my child to watch it.

I didn't like the first movie very much but I can watch it without feeling insulted by what it tries to pass as comedy. The same can not be said for Hoodwinked Too! Now, before I go on, let me just say that I have not seen the whole movie -- I saw a little over half of it. But even still, I have rarely witnessed a movie so bad that it made me want to meet one of the writers in person just so that I could see what kind of person would actually think this garbage was good. I sat there watching it, hoping that it would redeem itself somehow mid-way through. I was willing to give it a chance even though it was hurting me. My five year old daughter, on the other hand, had seen enough. I have to admit that I felt relieved when she got up to eject the DVD that she looked woefully unimpressed with -- she spared me the torment of sitting through the rest of it with her -- but I was even more relieved to see that my child could tell the difference between a good animated movie and an awful one.

Yeah, bad....

Animation was awful--wooden--cheap! I liked Anne Hathaway's voice better as red, the new girl doesn't fit the character. The writing was terrible. Ugh. Martin Short as Kirk was a waste of valuable finances that should have been put towards animation and hiring Anne Hathaway.... Oh, and why is Joan Cusack still around? She is barely tolerable with her brother carrying her, but by herself...just go away. Glenn Close barely sounded like Granny--lazy! Red's poorly animated face annoyed me even more so then her new voice. I had high expectations of this movie, being a huge fan of the first, but they just destroyed the whole franchise.

Boo!

So inspirational. I absolutely love this movie so good for children.

It sure took Hoodwinked some 6 years before a follow up film got made, and while based primarily on the characters in Little Red Riding Hood twisted into that featured in the first film, any semblance of what you know from that fairy tale got totally thrown out the window in his sequel, as it focused more on the action with the narrative by the quartet of Mike Disa, Tony Leech and Cory and Todd Edwards turning this into something of a mission impossible, with Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers) running an agency called the HEA whose operatives are out to save Hansel and Gretel (Bill Hader and Amy Poehler) from the evil clutches of Verushka the Witch (Joan Cusack).

You can smell the formula it's trying to emulate from the Shrek franchise with its many fairy tale characters peppering the landscape, with side show characters such as The Giant (Brad Garrett) from Jack and the Beanstalk, the three little pigs, and countless others including a not so blind mouse. Comedy comes courtesy of the many pop culture references yet again that adults will catch, but I can't say too much of the same from the little ones, judging by bored looks and less than enthusiastic responses throughout the show. If it's something animated films need to know and that is never alienate your targeted audience although it's a fine line to tread upon, given the accompanying adults that you have to consider as well.

It's also strange that the bulk of the budget probably went to securing the class act of voices to return and feature in this follow up, featuring the likes of Hayden Panettiere (taking over Anne Hathaway) as Red Riding Hood, Glenn Close as Granny, Patrick Warburton as the Wolf, and others such as Cory Edwards, Martin Short, and even model Heidi Klum, although her Heidi character probably didn't more than 10 sentences throughout the film in her character's short appearance. No doubt they do a good job trying to breathe some life into their animated roles, but alas they all got let down by what's primarily essential in an animated film, besides the lack of a solid storyline, and that's the animation.

I was quite surprised to note that there was even some stereoscopic transfer from 2D to 3D for this film (the 3D version didn't make it here), given none of the scenes called for something to pop out of the screen, so it's a complete rip off. Worse, the animation lacked the detail and vividness of modern day CG animation, with character expressions being really stiff that you may be mistaken that it's something done from our animation factories that produced films like Sing to the Dawn - no offense here, but it's really quality that took many steps backward to where we are currently, at the infancy stage.

That already meant the battle got lost halfway since the visuals fail to engage, coming off as quite cheap looking, and the storyline or the lack thereof in something with a little more punch, with its villainous gags coming up really short and being repetitive. Riddled with plenty of clichés, such as Red Riding Hood being sent away to tutor under the Sister Hoods, which is a pseudo martial arts monastery cum bakery school, that really, baking and kung fu? Give me a break please and leave that to the Panda, although the positive message to come from the film for the little ones include that of working together and cooperation, since Red and Wolf can't partner together for the most parts, and have to learn through the hard way.

I'm not sure why this film even got made as it went really off tangent from the first one, and seriously could have been called anything else and still it won't matter. It's its own film that somehow didn't work, if only it had worked on both the quality of animation, and storyline.

Red Riding Hood is training in the group of Sister Hoods, when she and the Wolf are called to examine the sudden mysterious disappearance of Hansel and Gretel.

While the film has a great cast, it is so light on quality, it could have been a television episode -- this is not feature film quality. A few good jokes here or there, but a weak story and just nothing that really grabbed my attention.

It seems the game these days is to make terrible sequels. "Shrek 4" was a letdown, "Open Range 3" was just average... this one, though, sets a new low bar in effort. Nobody involved gave a hoot about it (except maybe the voice talent, and they must have been in a very good contract, because I do not know why they would want to be in this after reading the script).