Hoodwinked! parents guide

Hoodwinked! Parent Guide

Brilliant comic timing, a witty script, zany sing-a-long songs, and unforgettable characters make Hoodwinked a home run for family viewing.

Overall A-

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Was it Red (voice by Anne Hathaway), The Wolf (Patrick Warburton), The Woodsman (James Belushi) or Granny (Glenn Close)? This computer-animated spoof of Little Red Riding Hood bakes up a quadruple serving of suspects and perspectives.

Release date January 12, 2006

Violence B
Sexual Content A
Profanity A
Substance Use A

Why is Hoodwinked! rated PG? The MPAA rated Hoodwinked! PG for some mild action and thematic elements.

Run Time: 80 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Someone’s stealing cookies from the cookie jar, or at least the recipes for them. As a result, snack shacks and goody shops are being forced out of business all over the woods at an alarming rate. With the populace is in an uproar, Chief Grizzly (voice by Xzibit) and his deputy (voice of Anthony Anderson) are anxious to catch the thief.

They think they might have found the culprit when an incident at Granny Puckett’s cottage leaves them with four suspicious characters: The Wolf (voice by Patrick Warburton), Red (voice by Anne Hathaway), The Woodsman (voice by James Belushi) and Granny (voice by Glenn Close) herself. After a brief investigation, the chief is ready to book them all and throw them in the slammer. But Nicky Flippers (voice by David Ogden Stiers) isn’t sure they have the whole story yet. Questioning each of them separately, the detective gets a quadruple serving of perspectives as each one of the characters relate their activities over the past 24 hours. With the new information on his plate, Nicky tries to deuce the real story and uncover the Goody Bandit.

Considering the success of the Shrek franchise, it is not surprising fairytales are becoming popular material for movie scripts. Like Shrek, this screenplay runs on two levels, mixing jokes aimed at adults with childhood humor. However, it manages to do so without sinking to the use of sexual innuendo or potty jokes. In fact, the only real concern is the violence that occurs when the Goody Bandit finally gets cornered. He (or she as the case may be) straps a character to a cable car full of dynamite and engages the help of some thugs when the law starts to move in. Other incidents of peril turn out to be little more than a logical misunderstanding once the facts come out.

Although the movie makes some references to other tales, this spoof on Red Riding Hood is built on the retelling of the same incident four times. Luckily, the directors do an excellent job of making all the puzzle pieces fit and tying up all the ends. They also break common stereotypes, give fresh life to well-established characters and introduce some new animals to the story including a yodeling goat (voice of Benjy Gaither) who is under an evil spell.

A snitching sheep and some mild insinuations of trafficking behavior (muffins instead of drugs) will likely going over the heads of youngsters making Hoodwinked a fresh take on an enchanted folk story that is apt to engage older children and their parents alike.

Directed by Cory Edwards. Starring Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, and Patrick Warburton. Running time: 80 minutes. Theatrical release January 12, 2006. Updated

Watch the trailer for Hoodwinked!

Hoodwinked!
Rating & Content Info

Why is Hoodwinked! rated PG? Hoodwinked! is rated PG by the MPAA for some mild action and thematic elements.

While traveling to her Granny’s house, Red meets The Wolf and resorts to her martial arts training to scare him off. Later during a sporting event, some characters are attacked on the slope by a group of thugs who try to take them out of the competition. When Granny finds herself threatened, she relies on her rolling pin to fend off the assailant. A naturally high-strung squirrel finds himself bouncing off the trees after he downs a large mug of coffee.

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Hoodwinked! Parents' Guide

What does Nicky Flippers discover when he questions all the suspects? What different clues to the mystery does he expose? Why is it important to listen to all sides of a story?

What interests does Red’s grandma have? Should a person’s activities be limited simply because of their age?

Loved this movie? Try these books…

​Kids who enjoy this fractured fairytale detective story will doubtless get a kick out of Michael Buckley’s The Sisters Grimm series. These books combine fairytale themes with girl power and modern ideas, leading to laughter from readers of all ages.

Young readers will get a kick out of some fractured fairytale picture books: John Scieszka’s The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs and Eugene Trevizas’ The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig are surefire winners. Robert Munsch’s The Paper Bag Princess also appeals to kids over 3.

Fractured fairytales come to the American West in Rapunzel’s Revenge, a graphic novel by Shannon, Dean and Nathan Hale.

Teen readers will enjoy Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. This story, with roots in Snow White, turns into a tale of court intrigue where danger and romance are both at hand.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Hoodwinked! movie is February 15, 2011. Here are some details…

Hoodwinked releases in a Blu-ray/DVD combo package on February 15, 2011.

Hoodwinked releases to DVD on May 2, 2006.

No Big Bad Wolf will be able to pull the wool over your eyes after listening to the audio commentary included on the DVD release of Hoodwinked. The disc also features deleted scenes and a music video. Audio tracks are available in English (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Related home video titles:

Anne Hathaway also plays a gangly teenager who discovers she really is royalty in the fairytale-like film The Princess Diaries. Hathaway also stars as a cursed young lady in a magical world in Ella Enchanted. Glenn Close appears in her role as the evil Cruella DeVil in 102 Dalmatians. An alternate take on fairy tales can also be seen in Disney’s Maleficent

or Dreamworks’ Shrek.

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