Monday, May 16, 2011

No Foolin' - Hood is Still Good

You might remember Josiecat showed us Hoodwinked and I adored it.  I said you could be sure we’d be seeing the sequel, Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil.  We did.  And for one reason or another, this review slipped me by… but it’s here now.

Josiecat, Bart and I all really enjoyed it.  I’d been especially excited since Amy Poehler played one of the characters - Gretal.  Heidi Klum, too!  She plays, well, Heidi, of course.

It’s comprised of the same delightful silly wit that made the first one a joy.  However, I’d give the original movie an 11 out of 10 [yes really] and this one receives an 8 out 10.  Not too shabby for a sequel, though!

Perhaps it’s because part of what wowed me in the first movie had been the structure of interlocking stories.  But then, to simply repeat that would feel quite rehashed.  So I didn’t expect them to do it.  That said, it did have great writing this time around as well.  Same blend of slapstick and heady humor.

In fact, each of us were…well, okay, I’ll say it:  hoodwinked.  It’s true.  They managed to fool us with a twist that not one of us saw coming.  A turn which boosted the tale with new vigor, just when it started to become complacent.  Never bad, just otherwise ‘standard’ for this kind of setup.  But no, they wound up keeping us laughing and guessing.

Loads of fun to see them work with other fairy tales, too.  Well-known folktales of old made fresh with references, both subtle and obvious.  The new characters had been just as fun and great as the ones we’d met before.

I would venture out for a third.  But quite frankly, I see it working better as a television series.  Done with the same caliber, of course.  And I’d suggest not wrapping up the whole dilemma in one episode.  A contiguous string of related episodes would be ideal.  That way they could get the complexity and depth found in the movies.

I’m a fan.

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