With the surprising hit of Hoodwinked, it was only natural that a sequel would get greenlit. Unlike the first film that was funded by Kanbar Entertainment and distributed by the Weinstein Company, this one was co-sponsored by the Weinsteins, thus providing less creative freedom to the original filmmakers. By the time the film came out in 2011, five years following the original film's release, critics were more harsh on it and the box office was even less kind, grossing only $16 million on a $30 million budget. As of ten years since, it is now regarded as one of the worst animated features ever made, and for good reason unfortunately.
Set sometime after the first film, Red Puckett is now in training with a mysterious group called the Sisters of the Hood and the Wolf is working undercover to stop the evil witch Verushka from stealing more Puckett recipes. It's not up to both of them to rescue granny and Hansel and Gretel from Verushka and restore the recipes to their rightful owners. Now unlike the first film which twisted the original red riding hood story with a cleber who dunnit take, this film goes for a more straightforward buddy cop scenario where two unlikely heroes have to rescue their loved ones and a macguffin. Sadly, this is where the plot becomes incredibly predictable from start to finish, and there are very little surprises along the way, even by the time we get to the villainous Verushka. What's even worse is that whatever sly wit or clever humor that made the original film work is no longer present in this film. All that's left are tired pop culture references, questionable world-building, and some of the worst running gags in film history. Knowing how little the original filmmakers were involved in this one, it shows in too many ways.
Adding on to that, while the returning characters are all there, they lack much enthusiasm and charisma to warrant sticking with for another adventure. Red and Wolf are just reduced to mediocre differing partners and not even Granny, Kirk the woodsman or detective Nicky Flippers are given enough time to shine like before. It doesn't help that other returning roles like the hyperactive Twitchy and the singing mountain goat either crack rancid humor or are just poor running gags. The newer characters aren't all that memorable either, down to Verushka being nothing more than a former rival of Granny's, harboring a grudge against her superior baking skills. Hansel & Gretel may seem like innocent victims of kidnapping, but they are revealed to be more than they appear in one of the lamest outcomes possible. Despite most of the cast returning, outside of Hayden Panettiere replacing Anne Hathaway for Red, not even their best efforts can save the weak characters, although Bill Hader and Amy Poehler give a hammy amount of charm as Hansel & Gretel.
Moving on to the animation, which was made on a significantly higher budget than the first film, this is where even the objectively better visuals can't do much to the movie either. While the characters look slightly more polished in terms of design and movement than beforehand, a lot of the lip-synch is noticeably off to the point of questioning what went on behind the scenes. In terms of the production design, there are a lot more places to travel to throughout, from a Giant's beanstalk, to a mysterious witch hideout, to an ancient Mandarin-like sisterhood and even the big city. However, the art direction comes off rather lackluster and is really only saved by the occasional long shot or quick paced action scenes. Part of the film's original charm was the jarring animation because it allowed for a grimey yet satisfying approach to smaller scaled fairy tale adaptations. Because the animation is more polished and more pristine than before, that charm has been sucked away in favor of a more lavish yet unimpressive take on the overall scope. Who knew more ended up being less.
Where the first film's shortcomings and unconventional plot structure managed to make it watchable and charming, Hoodwinked Too falls short of its predecessor by feeling too straight forward for its own good and lacking any of the sly wit from beforehand. Considering that even Cory Edwards doesn't look at this film with high values either, it's safe to say that this is not worth your time unless you're a die hard Hoodwinked fan. It goes to show you that once a major corporation does their own take on someone's property, the chances of it coming out well are too dodgy to be taken at ease.
Set sometime after the first film, Red Puckett is now in training with a mysterious group called the Sisters of the Hood and the Wolf is working undercover to stop the evil witch Verushka from stealing more Puckett recipes. It's not up to both of them to rescue granny and Hansel and Gretel from Verushka and restore the recipes to their rightful owners. Now unlike the first film which twisted the original red riding hood story with a cleber who dunnit take, this film goes for a more straightforward buddy cop scenario where two unlikely heroes have to rescue their loved ones and a macguffin. Sadly, this is where the plot becomes incredibly predictable from start to finish, and there are very little surprises along the way, even by the time we get to the villainous Verushka. What's even worse is that whatever sly wit or clever humor that made the original film work is no longer present in this film. All that's left are tired pop culture references, questionable world-building, and some of the worst running gags in film history. Knowing how little the original filmmakers were involved in this one, it shows in too many ways.
Adding on to that, while the returning characters are all there, they lack much enthusiasm and charisma to warrant sticking with for another adventure. Red and Wolf are just reduced to mediocre differing partners and not even Granny, Kirk the woodsman or detective Nicky Flippers are given enough time to shine like before. It doesn't help that other returning roles like the hyperactive Twitchy and the singing mountain goat either crack rancid humor or are just poor running gags. The newer characters aren't all that memorable either, down to Verushka being nothing more than a former rival of Granny's, harboring a grudge against her superior baking skills. Hansel & Gretel may seem like innocent victims of kidnapping, but they are revealed to be more than they appear in one of the lamest outcomes possible. Despite most of the cast returning, outside of Hayden Panettiere replacing Anne Hathaway for Red, not even their best efforts can save the weak characters, although Bill Hader and Amy Poehler give a hammy amount of charm as Hansel & Gretel.
Moving on to the animation, which was made on a significantly higher budget than the first film, this is where even the objectively better visuals can't do much to the movie either. While the characters look slightly more polished in terms of design and movement than beforehand, a lot of the lip-synch is noticeably off to the point of questioning what went on behind the scenes. In terms of the production design, there are a lot more places to travel to throughout, from a Giant's beanstalk, to a mysterious witch hideout, to an ancient Mandarin-like sisterhood and even the big city. However, the art direction comes off rather lackluster and is really only saved by the occasional long shot or quick paced action scenes. Part of the film's original charm was the jarring animation because it allowed for a grimey yet satisfying approach to smaller scaled fairy tale adaptations. Because the animation is more polished and more pristine than before, that charm has been sucked away in favor of a more lavish yet unimpressive take on the overall scope. Who knew more ended up being less.
Where the first film's shortcomings and unconventional plot structure managed to make it watchable and charming, Hoodwinked Too falls short of its predecessor by feeling too straight forward for its own good and lacking any of the sly wit from beforehand. Considering that even Cory Edwards doesn't look at this film with high values either, it's safe to say that this is not worth your time unless you're a die hard Hoodwinked fan. It goes to show you that once a major corporation does their own take on someone's property, the chances of it coming out well are too dodgy to be taken at ease.