5.6 | / 10 |
Users | 2.9 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
Red Riding Hood is training in the group of Sister Hoods, when she and the Wolf are called to examine the sudden mysterious disappearance of Hansel and Gretel.
Starring: Glenn Close, Hayden Panettiere, Cheech Marin, Patrick Warburton, Joan CusackFamily | 100% |
Animation | 88% |
Comedy | 60% |
Fantasy | 58% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
Digital copy (on disc)
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
It's not just a fairy tale, it's an adventure.
If originality is the spice of life, then Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil is the wrong ingredient. Director Mike Disa's bland, uneventful,
slow-paced, tries-too-hard animated film is the woefully inadequate followup to the halfway charming Hoodwinked. It falls completely flat,
certainly not adding anything to the series or the animated genre at-large, instead leaving audiences with a sour taste in their mouths. And the movie
is all about recovering a secret, almighty powerful recipe to boot. Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil is so off that it needs to be scrapped, the
recipe thrown away, and the entire thing reworked or maybe given up on entirely. It's not even close to being figuratively edible; it's not just shy a
pinch of this or a dab of that. No, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil is so bad that even gallons of chocolate syrup, mounds of sugar, piles of
frosting, or a heaping helping of sprinkles couldn't even begin to cover up the foul taste this one leaves in the mouth. From its horrid pacing to its
uninspired animation, there's almost nothing here of value. The fairy tale characters-meet-the-21st century is at least somewhat novel, but this is a
paper tiger recipe, one that looks good
on the cover of the cookbook but that tastes far worse than even those cardboard-textured "healthy" frozen pizzas that merely replicate the basic look
of the real thing.
Too bad that's not Pinhead's Puzzle Box...it would have made for a more interesting movie.
Anchor Bay enters the Blu-ray 3D fray with Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, and the results are predictably acceptable but far from extraordinary.
The 2D-only release sported a fine 1080p transfer that was pretty much lacking
thanks only to the inherent quality of the animation. That carries over into the 3D presentation. This one is serviceably bland; there's little here beyond
general depth, and even then the image never really captures the same sense of natural space as the superior animated 3D titles. The film opens with a
storybook lying flat on a table; there's an obvious sense of space from the table to the top of the book whether it's open or closed. The nighttime raid
that follows squeezes out some perceptible depth, a rarity with blackened or very dark backgrounds. Longer shots with more complex animation -- the
overhead shot of the lounge where Jimmy Ten Strings performs, for instance -- enjoys a very nice "realistic" scope and scale. A staircase seems to
extend back into the screen in one shot, but the effect is somewhat lessened by the innate softness that characterizes the further steps. There are no
real "pop out of the screen" moments; a missile shoots towards the audience at one point, but it hardly seems to penetrate the screen. All in all, this is
a very average, very plain, but baseline effective 3D image.
As for the image's more generalized attributes, it stacks up quite well against the 2D-only image (also included on a separate disc identical to the
standalone release). The transfer yields good strong details -- when the film allows. Faces and more complex textures such as city street and sidewalk
pavement remain flat, with a few scattered niceties in the form of wooden planks on the bridge where Red fights a troll early in the film. Still, the image
is decidedly lacking in that area, but fault the feature and not the transfer. Colors are accurate and pleasant, whether Red's bright cape or Jimmy's
polished golden mug. Black levels yield mostly accurate shades, though they appear to lighten up in a few scenes. Banding is evident but not
detrimentally so, and blocking is mostly a non factor. Again, the transfer is only as good as the source; Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil has a
very cheap, lower-end feel to it, and that's readily evident from the beginning. All things considered, however, it could be worse. The 3D is fair but
never really pops, and the general quality of the transfer isn't lessened when combined with the added third viewing dimension.
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil features the same frustrating DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that accompanies the aforementioned 2D-only release. While clarity leaves little to be desired, the track is completely lacking in volume and energy at reference levels. It plays almost timidly, like it's afraid to really stand up and do what's required of it. Even heavier sound effects -- an explosion, the roar of a jet engine, the zipping of a motorcycle -- seem underpowered, but the basic delivery in terms of directionality, spacing, and the like is fine. Likewise, surround use is sporadic at best, and the track never really does much to draw the audience into the film. On the other hand, dialogue is crisp and accurate as it flows from the center channel while music enjoys a full front-half delivery, but again, though, both sound a little tinny and underpowered. Make sure to crank this one up a bit past normal levels.
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil arrives on Blu-ray 3D with the same handful of mostly inconsequential standard definition extras found on the
2D release. However, the package does include the 2D disc (where all of the extras may be found) and a digital copy. Interviews with the voice
cast and storyboard comparisons represent the highlights.
Yikes, is this movie ever bad. Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil is a real drag, a movie with a good idea but terrible execution to show for it. Once the novelty of storybook characters engaged in super-secret 21st century spy work wears off, audiences are left with a cliché-riddled plot, equally unimaginative dialogue, decade-old-in-appearance animation, and lazy voice work. There's nothing to like about this one except its relatively compact runtime, but the movie is so miserable that it feels twice as long as it is. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray 3D release of Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil features a 1080p Blu-ray 3D transfer that features fair depth but little more, an underpowered lossless soundtrack, and only a few throwaway extras, none of which are exclusive to the 3D release. Skip it.
2005
2011
Collector's Edition
2012
Anniversary Edition | The Signature Collection
1989
2013
2009
2010
2013
2011
50th Anniversary Edition | DVD Packaging
1963
2013
1988
PIXAR
2015
20th Anniversary Edition
2001
2012
2010
2011
2010
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2009
2016