Review of Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil (2011) by Thomas W — 04 Aug 2011
The first Hoodwinked was mildly successful because it never aimed too high and it knew (itself) that it was only a B-movie that could never compete with the Pixar gems movie-goers are treated to every year.
The first one took a clever little spin on the Red Riding Hood tale and wittily brought it to life with the tart-tongued heroine (voiced by Anne Hathaway) and a misunderstood Big Bad Wolf. In Hoodwinked Too!, Hathaway is MIA and Heroes' Hayden Panettiere takes over the voice of Red.
Hathaway turning down this script was the first clue that Too! was a stinker. Since the end of the last one, Red has joined a covert group called the Sisters of the Hood and her assistance is now needed by her frog-friend, Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers - Beauty and the Beast).
It appears as if a wicked witch (Joan Cusack - In & Out) has kidnapped two unsuspecting, innocent children named Hansel and Gretel (oh no ... darn the luck, no!?) and Red is needed to get them back! The wit from the original is missing along with the former leading-lady and the animation isn't good (the first one wasn't praised for this either; but at least a decent story kept one from complaining about what their eyes were looking at onscreen).
Hansel (Bill Hader - Superbad) and Gretel (Amy Poehler - Baby Mama) are two of the most-annoying movie characters in years and we begin to wonder why on earth Red would want to save them (or even why they'd be kidnapped!).
The dim-witted Wolf (Patrick Warburton - The Emperor's New Groove) and kick-boxing Grammy (Glenn Close - 101 Dalmatians) are back to give Red a hand (and the film needed MORE Wolf); but we actually have too many characters on-hand here to keep the story moving smoothly.
It is pretty-bad when you find yourself telling a cartoon character to "shut up!"; but I found myself doing that a few times in Hoodwinked Too! The first Hoodwinked! film was a pleasant surprise because it's joy and humor was so unexpected; but the only thing surprising about this one is how un-alike it is from its winning predecessor.
Because of the first ... we were Hoodwinked! into thinking this was going to be watchable ... and darn(!) all our luck.
This review of Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil (2011) was written by Thomas W on 04 Aug 2011.
Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil has generally received mixed reviews.
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