“Hoodwinked Too” Premieres
Okay, so I actually saw this movie on a movie screen at a real theater so apparently it’s really done. I still find that hard to believe. After many years of poking, prodding and tweaking (and converting the whole thing to 3D), “Hoodwinked Too: Hood Vs. Evil” premiered at The Grove in Los Angeles. I was there along with many of the cast and some of the original creators (missed you, Tony!!). Shout out to Patrick Warburton (The Wolf) for always hyping “Team Hoodwinked” and for being a stand-up guy. Shout out to a bewildered Martin Short (the Woodsman) and David Alan Grier (the Troll) who gave me the time of day for 30 seconds as they went to get popcorn. And a big shout out to Heidi Klum (a “Happy Yodeler”) — for not only being hot, but for also helping sponsor the premiere event and bringing a lot of kids from Children’s Hospital, all with little red hoods & capes, to see the screening. Awwww.
(Here with Todd Edwards, Co-director, co-writer, co-creator and master of all-original songs on “Hoodwinked.” And like me, a co-writer on the sequel. You can see that our expressions say, “We are being supportive, and we are not entirely tortured by watching a bunch of other people raise our baby.”)
So now that I’ve seen it, what is my review? It’s fun, but it’s very different than “Hoodwinked 1.” As for the story, there are lots of good twists in it and I’m happy that it is basically intact… although major edits said goodbye to some great moments and reveals that I really miss from our original script. Great action scenes, but also a lot more slapstick and a lot less of the mundane banter that we worked so hard to bring to the first one. My 4 year-old son was my “plus one” for this, and his review was that he loved it and — spoiler alert — “the giant spider is the best part.”
The 3D conversion actually looks very good. It was never invasive or gimmicky or odd to my eyes. There are a few subtle moments that were very nice — suddenly being aware of a pane of dirty glass in front of a character, hovering over a living room by the foreground chandelier, flying in and out of a field of windmills.
If you are a family with kids, you will like this. If you are older than ten, you might have to hang on a while until Cheech and Chong show up as angry pigs. As I’ve said in past entries, this has a different tone than the original, but I salute director Mike Disa for getting it done and making it his own. I’ll admit, I’ve had an odd mix of feelings as this film hits theaters. On one hand, it’s deflating to give this thing away and watch others run with it in ways I would not. On the other hand, I am so happy to see Red, Wolf, Twitchy, and Granny all have another big adventure. I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Glad to hear that you at least thought it was fun, but it sounds like they may have ruined a lot of what made the original so good. I’ll still probably see it opening day or close to it, but my expectations aren’t too high.
April 20th, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Seeing the movie is already on our list of things to do the weekend after Easter. We are looking forward to seeing the characters you created back on the screen.
April 22nd, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Cory,
Just wanted to take a moment to publicly thank you for everything you did on Hoodwinked Too; Hood vs. Evil. You, Todd, and Tony created a marvelous world that I have been honored to spend time in it. Your help, advice, insights, and performance as Twitchy were generous, professional, and very welcome. (And funny! Dude, you are just a funny guy!)
Being a huge Hoodwinked fan I was always very concerned about making just a pale imitation of the first film, so there was a definite creative decision to expand the world into new places. But I hope that the film resonates with my respect and admiration for the characters you guys created. They are wonderful, well conceived, unique characters in animation that I came to care about deeply. I believe Red is the best female hero in Animation and wish there were more like her out there. I hope Hoodwinked Too is just another step in what will be a long life for Red, the whole crazy gang, and their world. I’m sure you and Team Hoodwinked have many stories left to tell.
For myself, I can only again express my gratitude for your support and hard work on this chapter of the Hoodwinked saga. Good luck with all your projects in the future. I’ll be first in line.
All the best,
Mike Disa
Director
Hoodwinked Too
April 28th, 2011 at 8:59 am
Mike,
Thanks, you’re so nice to say all that! Congrats on the new film & good luck with it this week!
April 29th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Cory,
Loved the first movie, looking forward to the sequel. I was very impressed by Mike Disa comments, good luck with any future projects.
Rob Hawley