Review of Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil (2011) by Zãnê D — 12 May 2011

"Movies are always better [than books]. Especially sequels." -Boingo The Bunny (Andy Dick) in what could not be a less legitimate statement.

Did "Hoodwinked!" really need a sequel? I can understand that it was a moderately successful hit a few years back and has gained a modest following, but were people desperately craving a follow-up? I myself was never onboard for the original. In fact, I hated it. To me, it was the poster child of everything that could possibly go wrong with modern computer animation times ten. The animation itself was prosaic, the jokes were stupid and unimaginative, and the terse eighty-minute running time felt longer than "The Shawshank Redemption" (how dare I even mention that movie in the same sentence?). I guess somebody at the animation studio forgot to mention that a little-known movie called "Shrek" had not only beaten them to the punch in creating a 'fairytales-gone-awry' universe, but perfected the very notion and made it accessible to both kids and grown ups alike.

Which leads us to "Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil," which may very well be one of the worst animated outings I have witnessed in recent memory. Certainly the most baffling sequel since last year's "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore." Now I know that I should fairly consider the target demographic in my reviews, but in a day and age when we are surrounded by an endless array of smart, funny, touching and exciting animated features like "Up," "Toy Story 3," "How To Train Your Dragon" and even "Rio" (which, keep in mind, is still in theaters near you), I should not have to make excuses. So with that said, "Hoodwinked Too!" is a dull, monotonous and unfunny mess of a film that never misses an opportunity to pander contemptuously to the developing minds of this nation.

But who exactly is the film made for? I would assume it is for young children and their families. But this sequel has been five years in the making and I am assuming the kids who liked the original will be too old or will have forgotten about the whole thing since then. And also, this is so cluttered with broad pop culture references that it makes Dreamworks look like Pixar. I was so unacquainted with the fact that children are familiar with movies like "Die Hard," "The Silence Of The Lambs" and "Goodfellas," but I am sure they will find the references just as tired as the adults will.

And finally we get to the story. This is going to be tough for me to recall, considering I would forget important plot elements even as I was watching. The crew from the first, including Red Riding Hood (Hayden Panettiere, replacing Anne Hathaway), The Big Bad Wolf (Patrick Warburton) and Granny Pucket (Glenn Close), have all joined the Happily Ever After agency, an organization operated by the amphibious aficionado Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers) to guarantee that every fairytale disturbance ends with a happy ending. Their mission: to rescue the abducted Hansel and Gretel (Bill Hader and Amy Poehler) from the evil witch Verushka (Joan Cusack). Throw in those pesky 3D glasses and a dopey subplot about a stolen truffle that contains all-powerful side effects for the consumer and you have the unappetizing recipe that is "Hoodwinked Too!".

If I could say one optimistic thing (and trust me, I am reaching), it is that the animation is marginally improved in comparison to the original. But then again, that ain't saying too much considering even old Ray Harryhausen stopmotion is less clunky and jerky. As if we needed a rap song strategically placed in the end credits stating, "you just got hoodwinked, too" over and over again. I am very aware of this news and I am dreading the day when it is announced in 2016 that "Hoodwinked Three! The Hood, The Bad And The Ugly" is in production.

1/4.