In the annals of fastest sequels given a studio greenlight, Hoodwinked 2 takes the gold medal. Its predecessor, Hoodwinked!, was released on January 13, 2006, the weekend of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States. On January 17, 2006, the first business day after the title’s opening weekend, the Weinstein Company announced that there would be a follow-up outing for its fractured fairy tale. The why of such a quick decision is not hard to explain. The $15 million production earned $16.9 million over the extended holiday four-day period on its way to $51.4 million in domestic receipts and a grand total of $110 million worldwide. Here there be profit.
For those of you who did not watch the first film, it is a mix of Shrek and Rashomon. Yes, I’m serious. Utilizing Shrek’s premise of taking well known fairy tale characters and giving them personality quirks, Hoodwinked! then proceeds to fracture time on a repeated basis. A police investigation is taking place in order to find out what has happened at Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s house. What follows is a series of descriptions of that day’s events, each of which contains a unique perspective that in no way matches the others. The little girl herself tells a story wherein she is the innocent victim while the Big, Bad Wolf paints himself as a reporter doing some investigating of his own. Meanwhile, Granny provides the biggest shock of all when she reveals that she is an extreme sports athlete (again, I’m still serious)and gives herself a reasonable alibi. In the end, the villain is revealed to be Andy Dick, just as should always be the case in movies. Hoodwinked! finishes with an offer for the four people who have told their stories (the three listed above plus The Woodsman) to join the Happily Ever After Agency, which is presumed to be the setting for the sequel.
The only surprise about the sequel is how long it is taking to get made. The title was expected to be churned out quickly but there will instead be a four-year gap between releases. In the four year interim, some changes have occurred with the voice cast. Anne Hathaway is out and Hayden Panettiere is in as the voice of Little Red Riding Hood. Martin Short also replaces James Belushi as The Woodsman. Joan Cusack has been added to the cast as a witch, and Brad Garrett will voice the giant of Jack and the Beanstalk fame. (David Mumpower/BOP)
Vital statistics for Hoodwinked Too!: Hood vs. Evil |
| Main Cast |
Hayden Panettiere, Glenn Close, Patrick Warburton |
| Supporting Cast |
David Ogden Stiers, Andy Dick, Benjy Gaither, Martin Short, Joan Cusack, Wayne Newton, David Alan Grier, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader |
| Director |
Michael D'Isa-Hogan |
| Screenwriter |
Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech |
| Distributor |
The Weinstein Company |
| Trailer |
http://hoodwinkedtoomovie.com/
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| Official Site |
http://hoodwinkedtoomovie.com/ |
| Rating |
PG |
| Running Time |
85 minutes |
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Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture |
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