Sunday Matinee - Hoodwinked

Sunday afternoon matinee at the Wayne Manor Cinema has become a new tradition and as such, this is the first of what will be a weekly review. This Sunday's presentation was Hoodwinked, a twist on the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

All the usual suspects are there, Red, Granny, the Wolf, with a couple of surprise characters altering the storyline of the old fairy tale. There are always three sides to any story...in this case, at least that many. The film analyzes what really happened out there on the way to Grandmother's house. It's not what we were led to believe as naive kids.

Character voices are expertly casted with Anne Hathaway in the role of Red, Patrick Warburton (best known as Seinfeld's "Puddy"....yeah, that's right) as the Wolf, and Glenn Close as the more-hip-than-you know Granny.

Appearances are very decieving as the Wolf turns out to be an undercover news journalist and Granny is actually an extreme-sports enthusiast going by the moniker of Triple G. She even sports a GGG tat on the back of her neck. I won't divulge who the real villian turns out to be. It's a shocker.

While the animation is not on par with Pixar's efforts or Dreamwork's animation techniques, the movie's animation style is still fun to watch with its almost video game like appearance. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack works well, highlighted by various booming explosions that occur in key scenes. Catchy songs highlight the storytelling with a couple, notably the old goat's "Be Prepared" which nearly caused my wife to pee herself.

The true test of these reviews will be our two-year old's reaction. While fidgety throughout, he seemed to appreciate the Strassberg Method character development and the complexity of the principal role scoring. Alright, so he liked the pretty colors and the squirrel.

All in all, a fun time for kids and adults alike. The action, songs and colorful characters are more than enough to hold a two-year old's interest and there are enough innuendos and side jokes to keep a grownup's attention. Those who love the movie Fletch will crack-up at the Wolf's spot-on take on the classic Chevy Chase character.

Highly recommended.