What a very pleasant surprise is to be found in this unassuming little film. Fine fare for the whole family that is neither cringe-inducing, nor overrun with bodily function humor.
Truthfully, the trailer did not do the film justice. I watched it several times at the theater and generally decided that it was "ho-hum." Well, that's easy to do when they show you bits and pieces of a very cleverly scripted, very nicely crafted little mystery.
Loosely based on the infamous "Red-Riding Hood" case, in which the wolves once again were fiercely and unfairly maligned, this story goes way beyond to expose the multiple layers of the tale--and boy is it a tale--no one is completely innocent--nope, not even Granny!
The story starts where the story you know ended and throughy the aegise and intellect of Mr. Flippers, the frog, we eventually learn the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, as he strips away the layers of lies and deceptions that form the stories of the four principle participants--Red, the Wolf, Granny, and Mr. Axeman.
Sam enjoyed it, and there were parts that were laugh-out-loud funny for the adults. Cleverly scripted, capably animated, an enjoyable treat for child and adult alike. Don't let the poor showing of the trailers deceive you, Hoodwinked is major family entertainment.
And one of the best parts about it is that it was profitable its first weekend (as it only cost $15-$20 million to make, paltry by the standards of Pixar, Disney, and Dreamworks), so we'll very likely be seeing similar fare from these folks in the future.