Hoodwinked II

I remember years ago watching "Hoodwinked" and really enjoying the animated film because of its great wit and crazy characters. The film went on to be a surprising success. It made the Weinstiens millions of dollars and the creators became minor media celebrities. I heard talk of a sequel to exploit the great success of "Hoodwinked", however, the new film project kind of dropped off the animated radar. I'd hear little hints of conflict between the producers Harvey and Bob Weinstien, and the creators of the new film imaginatively titled it "Hoodwinked II." There were even rumors of angry words and lawsuits. So now that the film is finally released... years later, I was excited to see it.

I have a number of complaints. The biggest is the character design and development. Visually they are ugly and clunky as hell. Also they're there mostly to speak the jokes so it's hard to invest much emotion into the characters. But hey that's never been my strong suit either. Also the backgrounds and art direction - especially the color choices are very amateurish. However I did enjoy the humor and the voice acting. The voices are particularly well suited for the characters and they have a truly casual and realistic tone, especially Patrick Warburton. Also the jokes (when I can hear them) are especially hilarious.

I think the writers have a great career ahead of them working as script writers for either animation or live action. I'd love to read a book about their experiences working with the Weinstiens (good and bad.) It would sell a million. I give "Hoodwinked II" a score of C+.