Just a reminder: Red Riding Hood and her friends hit the big screen again in “HOODWINKED TOO: HOOD VS. EVIL” this weekend, April 29.

I had to post this because it’s so cool. Remember those super-detailed Muppet figurines from Palisades Toy Company? Well one guy got so obsessed that he created a miniature working Muppet Theater for them to all hang out in. Lance Cardinal is a design student who has gone to great lengths to recreate the classic set from the classic show. It’s really quite impressive. Check out the working floor lamps, the velvet curtain, the fly-away sets and the best part of all, the back brick wall with props galore. It’s the Muppet Theater you remember from the series, plus more that you only imagined.

Check out Lance’s whole blog for more pics and commentary on how he built it.If you like miniatures or if you like Muppets, you will OOO and AHH at these pics. And if you’re a fan of both, you’ll probably make some “OOOAAAHGGAGA!” sound.

You can also catch this recent report on the  Discovery Channel. Nice work, my Muppet-crazed fan.

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.

Many of you know that I’m on Twitter now. And if you’ve been following me @RealCoryEdwards you’ve already experienced the joy of reading my up-to-the-minute thoughts! But if you haven’t, you’ll want to join Twitter very soon and follow along. It’s quick and it’s free, and in the next few weeks I’ll be doing something on Twitter that no one’s ever done before. That’s right. A first. I’ve made a bold claim. More details to come, but keep your eyes peeled for the hashtag #cosmonkey. Viva new media!

One of the things I want to do more of here is promote creativity by others, wherever I see it. Adele Enersen is a writer in Finland who has invented some amazing scenes with her sleeping infant. She does this with only bedsheets and nearby items, and her little model sleeps through it all (And I just found out she’s a “Hoodwinked” fan, so I like her even more). These images have entertained so many that Adele is publishing a book of them, “When My Baby Dreams,” due in 2012 by Balzer + Bray.

This is a favorite. Guess why?

It goes to show that inspiration can take surprising forms, and create art in ways we never thought of before.

See more here at Mila’s Daydreams (Images used with permission).

** BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER, PLEASE KNOW THAT THE FOLLOWING WAS AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE. SORRY FOR RAISING ANYONE’S HOPES! **

Well, since we’re not having much luck with the movie these days, I’m pleased to announce another venture that will bring the classic show to life. As of this week, I have been brought on as Chief Creative Consultant on “FRAGGLE ROCK: THE MUSICAL.”

This show will be a live Broadway-length, music-filled extravaganza, performed by people and giant puppet costumes, ala Julie Taymor’s “The Lion King.” We thought it would be important to keep the element of puppetry, while at the same time giving our human performers the chance to fully shine and express themselves.

The movie has had some major hurdles, but Fraggle Rock has always been ideal for Broadway. It’s very musical, it has a colorful, non-real tone that makes it easy to leap to the Broadway stage. The producers (who I am not at liberty to reveal right now) want to take the music of the series and really “upgrade it” for a modern audience. So there is talk of bringing in a major dance/hip-hop producer to bring an “urban sensibility” to the Fraggles. Names discussed have been Will.I.Am., Usher, Justin Timberlake and Dr. Dre.

While the plot is under wraps at the moment, I can tell you that the general premise is that Doc rents his old house to a rock band, and they set up in his old lab to start rehearsing. The Fraggles are drawn up through their Fraggle hole by the music, and end up joining the band on a bus tour across the United States. This allows the show to stage lots of musical numbers in many settings and genres. There’s also strong interest in adding a NEW FRAGGLE to the core cast. Right now we’re calling him “KATAPPY,” the son of Cantus the Minstrel from the series. Katappy loves dance and the producers want to base him on Savion Glover. The plan is to have Katappy Fraggle played by the winner of the next “So You Think You Can Dance.” There will be a huge tie-in with the show this year. If all goes well, GOBO FRAGGLE will appear as one of the judges (look out, Mia Michaels! Who’s gonna have the craziest ‘do?).

Yes, rest assured there will be an ALL-GORG dance number and that Sprocket and Doc will do their own pots-and-pans solo, right out of the hit show “Stomp.”

This is all in the very early planning stages, but I wanted to at least announce this new venture today. I’m excited to be a part of the Fraggle Rock universe, whatever form it may take.  And if there’s anything we’ve all learned from “Spider-Man: Turn On The Dark,” it’s not to put anyone in a flying harness.

UPDATE: 10:30 pm

Thanks for indulging my silly attempts at an April Fool’s joke.  I hope I got some of you. If you want to buy a “Katappy” T-Shirt, they are $65.00.