Hoodwinked! 2005

Peter Debruge, Miami Herald: It's bound to disappoint grown-ups who've been spoiled by the Pixar polish, but it's certainly worth a gander down the road on DVD. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The digital animation ranges from competent to clunky, the jokes too often feel tossed-off and random, and the movie too often descends into dullness, only to be yanked back from the abyss by the goat. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Hoodwinked -- which is the latest cartoon recycling of that oft-told fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood -- may be a bit scrappy-looking, but it's also pretty funny at times. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Offers a few laughs but overall is pretty tired. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: It's got a couple of clever ideas. I thought the animation was uninspired and it's kind of forgettable. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Shrek-style nudge-nudge jokes aimed at adults are tiresome. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Someone give these folks a real budget so they can make a movie that looks as good as it sounds. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: This animated tale about 'what really happened' among the Wolf, Grandma, Red and the Woodsman doesn't excel in any department, from unspectacular computer animation to routine voice talent. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: It takes place in a fantasy world whose cheaply rendered surfaces resemble Teletubbieland reupholstered with Naugahyde. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Hoodwinked is an irreverent, hard-edged retelling of Little Red Riding Hood -- a high-energy, imaginative entertainment aimed at younger audiences. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: Feels as warmed over as day-old muffins in Little Red Riding Hood's basket. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It's a moderately enjoyable escapade that isn't quite clever enough for adults and not quite imaginative enough for children. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Does exactly what a police procedural should: keeps us guessing. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The visuals are passable. The story's a lot of fun. And the story is what sells the movie. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Hoodwinked's most radical feature is that it's a ride without heroes -- unless, that is, you count the filmmakers, who could end up doing for independent animation what Soderbergh and Tarantino did for indie film. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: A computer-animated feature that maintains a moderate level of cleverness without being the least bit engaging. Read more

Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: It doesn't rival the artistry of Pixar or DreamWorks, but it's got an upstart charm, a clever premise, appealing characters voiced by a terrific cast and a script that should make you laugh out loud more than once. Read more

Mark Olsen, L.A. Weekly: The animation style of Hoodwinked is dated by at least a handful of years, marked by that glassy smoothness that dominated previous generations of CGI. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: Lacking a budget for big-time effects, the makers of Hoodwinked clearly had more time to work on the jokes. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Bit by bit, we fall asleep. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: Features lackluster character design, so-so animation and only fitful bursts of cleverness. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Even though it's basically a 10-minute short puffed up to fill 80 minutes, Hoodwinked has laughs and plenty of them. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The production contains enough positive elements to make it worth a look, but not until it reaches DVD or TV. As a theatrical offering, it disappoints. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Feels uncannily like a too-chipper children's computer game that has somehow become unlinked from its best feature, the interactive menu. Read more

Tony Wong, Toronto Star: A warped, but mildly amusing twist on the childhood favourite. Read more

Anna Smith, Time Out: A breezy, passably funny spin on a children's classic, mixing slapstick and farce with character humour and delighting in demolishing stereotypes. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: Why would a distributor suddenly yank an animated family film from its intended wide December opening until mid-January? Could it be that the advance word of mouth wasn't very good-winked? Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: A fast-paced, fitfully clever 3-D-animated feature that will entertain tykes but provide scant novelty for auds who've had their fill of revisionist fairy tale gags and postmodern 'tude from the Shrek franchise. Read more

Matt Singer, Village Voice: Finally, a Rashomon for the whole family. This cartoon version of 'Little Red Riding Hood' tells and retells its story from a variety of perspectives, all of them boring. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: As marketing theory, Hoodwinked makes a little sense. Too bad, then, it's so crummy. Read more