Here's one for the "what the heck were they thinking" files: The Weinstein Company not only decided to release Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil - a film that earned back slightly more than half its $30 million budget in theatres - on Blu-Ray, but went even farther in throwing good money after bad by releasing it in 3-D Blu-Ray.
Unfortunately, the 3-D treatment further highlights this film's visual flaws. This, combined with a laugh-free script, makes this film something to be endured rather than enjoyed.
Kanbar Animation and The Weinstein Company Presents Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
While Red (Hayden Panettiere, replacing Anne Hathaway) is off training under the mysterious Sisters of the Hood, Granny (Glenn Close) and Wolf (Patrick Warburton) must save Hansel and Gretel (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' Bill Hader and Amy Poehler) from an evil witch (Toy Story 3's Joan Cusack). Naturally, the rescue goes hideously awry and Granny gets captured.
Meanwhile, Red is close to completing her training: her final task is to bake up a truffle that will make the consumer all-powerful. But the recipe has disappeared. Is this theft somehow linked to Granny's kidnapping? Will Red once again team up with Wolf to solve the mystery? And why are Hansel and Gretel involved?
The animation in Hoodwinked Too! would have been incredible for a video game, but look cheap as hell in a feature film. Hair and fur don't move and skin often has a plastic gloss and harsh angles. In one sequence, the characters try to interact with a Ford Gran Torino that looks like it was inserted as an afterthought.
Scriptwise, there's no joy either. The fractured fairy tales ship sailed when DreamWorks Animation canned the Shrek franchise, and reference jokes are pretty played out as well. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the scriptwriters, which is why the witch's gingerbread house looks like the Bates Motel and Granny wears Uma Thurman's jumpsuit from Kill Bill. That's about as good as it gets, folks.
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil Blu-Ray Extras
Viewers can either watch this film in regular Blu-Ray or 3-D (makes the animation look even cheaper!). Everyone else can check out this film on plain old DVD or load it onto your iPod or other digital device.
There's a music video for Hayden Panettiere's "Can Do It Alone" which features the actress sitting in a chair with a microphone in front of her, flying through clouds. Hoo boy. At least Lavay Cole's "You Know It" and CeeJ's "Perfect Two" looks like there was some effort put into them.
'The Voices of Hoodwinked Too!' featurette shows various members of the cast discussing their characters and Mike Disa saying how wonderful they all are. Finally, there are some storyboard sequences plus some production art that actually looks better than the final product.
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil an Exercise in Masochism
While the first film somehow managed to find gold in the 'fractured fairy tale' film genre, Hoodwinked Too! proves that ship has sailed long ago. A bad idea turned into an excruciatingly film that no one will enjoy, it gets a 1/5.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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