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"HOODWINKED" (2005) (voices of Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor None Moderate *Moderate Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Minor Moderate None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence None None Minor Mild Mild QUICK TAKE: Animated Comedy: After being arrested by the police in relation to a spate of goody thefts, four participants in the classic Red Riding Hood tale tell their version of the story. PLOT: Little Red Riding Hood, a.k.a. Red (ANNE HATHAWAY), is on her way to see her Granny (GLENN CLOSE), but isn't fooled by the Wolf (PATRICK WARBURTON) who's dressed up like her in bed. Just as she outs him and Granny literally comes out of the closet, the Woodsman (JIM BELUSHI) comes crashing through the front window, wielding an ax and an anxious look on his face. Soon thereafter, the cops arrive in the form of Police Chief Grizzly (XZIBIT) and his subordinate Bill Stork (ANTHONY ANDERSON) who wonder if this might be related to the work of the Goody Bandit who's been stealing recipes from local shops. The four participants try to tell their version of the story, but it's up to debonair detective Nicky Flippers (DAVID OGDEN STIERS) to listen to each tale and then try to figure out who's telling the truth. As Red, Wolf, the Woodsman and Granny tell their stories one by one, and we hear of other characters that might be involved such as Wolf's hyperactive squirrel assistant Twitchy (CORY EDWARDS) and Red's questionable rabbit acquaintance Boingo (ANDY DICK), Nicky and the others try to sort through their tales that all are told from similar yet different perspectives. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Since it's a computer-generated, animated film, many younger ones probably will (if they've seen any material promoting it). WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For some mild action and thematic elements. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: RED is the young woman who can easily hold her own and tries to prove her point about what really happened. GRANNY is her extreme sports loving grandmother who's not the pushover some might be expecting. THE WOODSMAN is an aspiring but somewhat dimwitted actor who inadvertently gets involved in the story. WOLF turns out to be a newspaper reporter who's trying to get to the bottom of the thefts and finds himself as part of the story. NICKY FLIPPERS is the debonair detective who tries to figure out who's telling the truth about what really occurred. POLICE CHIEF GRIZZLY is the grizzly bear police chief who just wants a quick resolution and will book whomever it takes. BILL STORK is his subordinate. TWITCHY is Wolf's hyperactive squirrel assistant who talks a mile a minute without any help from caffeine. BOINGO is the unbalanced rabbit who turns out to be the villain responsible for the goody thefts. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this animated comedy that's been rated PG. Various colorful phrases are present, but no profanity, while other behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Various characters hit or otherwise strike other characters, but it's all portrayed in more of a light comedy and action fashion rather than realism (helped by the crude look of the computer animation). Others get knocked around or fall into or through stuff in somewhat of a slapstick fashion. Some of those scenes and a few other moments may be unsettling or suspenseful to very young viewers (but probably to no one else and most of the scenes are later explained to reveal that they really weren't scary after all). Some bad attitudes are also present, and a character admits to putting an unknown substance into his goodies to make them addictive. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Although we never know what's in it, Boingo states that he adds (what sounded like) "boingonium" to his snacks to make them addictive. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE We hear of the Goody Bandit who's been knocking off snack stores and such. The character who then turns out to be that thief has a bad attitude toward others. A pig cop zaps Wolf with some sort of zapper prod (excessive police force). After she tries striking him, Boingo tells Red that she "hits like a girl." FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed here and under "Violence" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to very young viewers but probably to no one else, but most of that is played for comedy and/or light action rather than true suspense or scares. Red goes into Granny's house to encounter Wolf in her grandmother's bed wearing a fake-looking grandma mask. We see that it's obviously Wolf, and some younger kids might be unsettled by that, but Red is not scared (and asks if she needs to get a restraining order on him). Red falls from a cable car moving above the woods and bounces off various large tree branches before landing on the ground (she's okay). We then see a large wolf footprint by her and she then sees large, menacing eyes staring out at her from the dark woods. The wolf then just chats with her, but eventually lets out a loud roar in her face that causes her to run away (we later learn why he did this, and it wasn't to be scary). He then chases after her, but she sprays some sort of spray into his face, stopping him. Red and a mountain goat go flying down a roller coaster type track in a small, open train cart (we occasionally see the point of view camera shot from it going up and down the hills). An avalanche then comes roaring over the mountainside and races behind them. They end up going through a tunnel but then see that the tracks suddenly end, sending them and their cart flying through the air (both end up okay). Wolf and Twitchy end up in a water filled tunnel where some large, menacing eyes (in the dark) and a loud growl scare them and they rush out. Thinking it's a candle, Twitchy lights a stick of dynamite, and as Wolf tries to put it out, the stick falls into the back of their train cart and ignites the rest of the dynamite's fuses. He then tosses all of them out behind their car, causing explosions that take out the track immediately behind them. An enormous tree trunk careens down a hill, "chasing" the Woodsman until it's stopped by two trees but not before whacking and sending him flying through the air, eventually crashing through Granny's window (from before). Granny sets off two explosives that create an avalanche that "chases" after her. She eludes it, but it rushes over a bunch of skiing villains. We see Red tied up in a cable car that's going down the cable, filled with explosives and a lit fuse. Granny and then others "surf" down the cable line to get to Red. She ends up hanging below the cable car, but is rescued by Granny although she must avoid being hit by some quickly approaching branches along the car's side. Granny tries to stay hidden from some villains below her (she's wedged herself against the ceiling), but a drop of sweat that falls from her nose alerts them. GUNS/WEAPONS Thinking it's a candle, Twitchy lights a stick of dynamite, and as Wolf tries to put it out, the stick falls into the back of their train cart and ignites the rest of the dynamite's fuses. He then tosses all of them out behind their car, causing explosions that take out the track immediately behind them. Granny sets off two explosives that create an avalanche that "chases" after her. She eludes it, but it rushes over a bunch of skiing villains. A cable car filled with explosives falls into a river and explodes, sending fish into the air and then falling all around a fisherman. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Save it, Red-fu," "Crazy flannel pants," "I'll get you, and your little granny too," "Hold the phone, fuzzy-whuzzy," "Rick Shaw...from Japan" (after being asked, what a person answers is their name), "Creepy," "Are you pulling the wool over my eyes?" "You little brat," "Candy gram," "What can I say, I was raised by wolves," "Maybe you should ax him yourself," "This guy's a loon," "Watch it, chief, my mom's half loon," "I'm getting schnitzelled left and right," "Oh, schnitzel," "Time to shred some powder" (snowboard), "What up, my homey?" "Fo-shizzle," "Aight," "Bring it, homey," "Oh, applesauce," "Hold on a pea-picking minute," "Easy-peasy," "They can both take a hike," "You're a bad bunny," "You hit like a girl," "I'm top of the woods now, baby," "You've been hoodwinked, baby," "You dimwitted Eurotrash" and "This squirrel ate the wrong nuts." Some kids might be enticed to imitate Twitchy's hyperactive behavior and speech. The same holds true for other characters and their attributes and/or behavior. A rock goes through a window and Red reads the message "You're next" that's written on it. We see that Granny has three G's tattooed on the back of her neck. Granny "gets down" and talks "jive" with other characters. JUMP SCENES The Woodsman comes crashing through Granny's window wielding a large ax (we later learn how and why). MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY None. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Red and Granny have some tense family moments when the former learns the latter lied to her (about not being involved in extreme sports when she really was). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The comment that you can't judge a book by its cover. First impressions and how they affect one's view of another person. How people's perceptions of the same event can be quite different. Police investigations. VIOLENCE The Woodsman comes crashing through Granny's window wielding a large ax (we later learn how and why). A pig cop zaps Wolf with some sort of zapper prod. After a magazine falls onto a car's windshield, we hear the resultant crash, along with the driver yelling out that he's okay. A rock goes through a window and Red reads the message "You're next" that's written on it. Red falls from a cable car moving above the woods and bounces off various large tree branches before landing on the ground (she's okay). Later, Wolf seemingly chases after her, but she sprays some sort of spray into his face, stopping him. Wolf ends up falling off a cliff and into the river below, but is fine. Stork whacks Wolf's hand. Wolf lets out a loud yell (earlier interpreted as a roar at Red) when Twitchy accidentally winds Wolf's tail in his camera as he's trying to advance his film. Red hits and kicks Wolf several times in the woods in a martial arts style. We see Wolf fall into the river again (the same scene as before, but different footage). The Woodsman accidentally hits his head on a low door opening. The Woodsman chops down a tree that then accidentally crushes another character's car (the character is unharmed). An enormous tree trunk careens down a hill, "chasing" the Woodsman until it's stopped by two trees but not before whacking and sending him flying through the air, eventually crashing through Granny's window (from before). A villain whacks his ski pole against a girl, eventually knocking her over despite her attempts to defend herself with the same. Other such contact occurs, while characters hit others with snowballs (including to the face). The first villain ends up struggling with Granny, with the latter ending up dangling off the side of a cliff, holding onto his arm. He then lets her go and she falls a long distance, but we later see she caught a lone branch. She then manages to get herself back to the top to safety. Granny sets off two explosives that create an avalanche that "chases" after her. She eludes it, but it rushes over a bunch of skiing villains. Granny floats down her chimney via a parasail parachute, but her ceiling fan catches the chute and ends up wrapping that around her, sending her flying across the room and into a closet. While tied up, Granny repeatedly bangs Twitchy against the inside of a closet door to try to free herself. Red tries hitting and kicking Boingo, but his long ears block her blows. He then spins her around with those ears and then kicks her to the floor. We see various characters fighting with the Woodsman behind a rock that's in the foreground of the shot (thus we just see bodies flying up from behind it, played for laughs). Trying to stop the cops from going the wrong way, Twitchy ends up slamming into their windshield and then flies off and hits the road when they hit the brakes. One of those cop cars then slams into the back of another. Granny lands on two villains after hiding above them and then strikes more, while Wolf grabs Boingo who then kicks him. Granny smacks Boingo in the face with what looks like a muffin tin. A cable car filled with explosives falls into a river and explodes, sending fish into the air and then falling all around a fisherman. The Woodsman accidentally drives his truck into a tree, sending the latter falling onto another vehicle (the owner is okay). Reviewed December 2, 2005 / Posted January 13, 2006

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