Parents' Guide to

Hoodwinked

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Red Riding Hood redo; bland with a bit of fun.

Movie PG 2006 80 minutes
Hoodwinked Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 5+

Based on 11 parent reviews

Sincerely_sierra
Sincerely_sierra Adult
September 22, 2021
age 2+

Animation for its time, good twisting plot, great soundtrack

Okay so like I said the animation is def stale and the little yodel kids are creepy, but it’s not that bad. I watched this when I was a kid and understood the plow twist and enjoyed it then. I’m rewatching it now so I can watch the 2nd one I’ve never seen. I ready something where they were going to delete the goat but kids loved him the best so they kept him. He is def the best character and once his scene came on I instinctively knew every word. “Be prepared” & “red is blue” are great, catchy little songs. The movie is cute and funny and I disagree that it’s complete trash like most of the reviews I’ve read. But I did see someone say it’s so bad that it’s good. I kinda agree. This movie is just different than other cartoons. 3D animation didn’t really live on as much as normal cartoons but this was the time they were testing it out. Also the badness of the animation is funny at times. It’s like it’s own little cult movie
PixarMan2001 ..
PixarMan2001 .. Adult
January 14, 2021
age 5+

A fable with a comedic twist. Very wholesome family fun.

This is an animated film that was not very popular at the time (it was released in January 2006, and January is the month where movies go to die) but it has gained a significant cult following, especially from Generation Z kids, such as myself, who remember watching it on DVD, and are now showing new appreciation for it with internet memes. The story is basically "Little Red Riding Hood" but formatted as a mystery film from 4 different perspectives (in the vein of the film "Rashomon") to try to figure out who has stolen the recipes from the bakeries around the forest. We hear testimonies from 4 suspects, those being Red Riding Hood, The Big Bad Wolf, The Woodsman, and the Granny. It is fun, action-packed, funny, and has a great soundtrack too. I wouldn't say there's much in the way of objectionable content. But it does have a message about keeping secrets and doing what's right to protect the ones you love. All in all, you will definitely have a blast. If you loved "Shrek", you'll love "Hoodwinked!". The 2011 sequel unfortunately sucks though.

This title has:

Great messages
See all 11 parent reviews

What's the Story?

At the center of HOODWINKED is a mystery wherein police investigate a break-in at Grandma's house by the Goody Bandit. Granny (Glenn Close) is worried that her secret goody recipe book is missing, one of a series of similar thefts in the forest. The suspects are questioned by detective frog Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers), aided by Detective Bill Stork (Anthony Anderson) and Chief Grizzly (Xzibit). Each story ends in the bedroom: Red (Anne Hathaway), pausing during her deliveries of baked goods for Granny, discovers Wolf (Patrick Warburton) in the old lady's bed and Granny herself tied up in the closet; Wolf reveals that he's an investigative reporter hunting the recipe thief; and the Woodsman (Jim Belushi) is an actor in the process of practicing for a role who stumbled and accidentally crashed through Granny's window.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (11):
Kids say (36):

The stories sort of intersect at repeating points of action, but the film lacks coherence and tact: all the gags slam against one another, like a set of sketches more than any sort of plot. This narrative sloppiness is hardly helped by the unimpressive animation, which makes the characters seem bloated and blocky, rather than engaging. The storytelling grows increasingly tedious (as does Andy Dick's twitchy bunny, Boingo), leading at last to a denouement full of extreme sports tricks and thuggy villains, all more frantic than amusing.

The target audience also seems conceptually mushy: most of the verbal gags aim at adults, the slapsticky violence might please kids, but these tracks remain divergent. Plus, with all its energy directed toward the hyper-actionation, the movie loses the fairy tale's creepy focus, namely, the little girl's engagement with the fuzzy beast pretending to be her grandma. Here, Red's martial arts skills rather undermine the threat, and place big bad Wolf -- and everyone else for that matter -- at a disadvantage. Bland rather than lively, Hoodwinked eventually peters out.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Red's relationships with her friends and grandmother. How is it that everyone has secrets hidden from their closest friends?

  • How does the crime bring together a community in search of a common goal?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate