Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

Saw Hoodwinked
After a long and fun "Daddy Day" in the Beaches area (took Vanessa to a friend's birthday party, went shopping with Annie, visited Erika's mother to check up on her and bring her some crossword/game magazines to while away the hours while she rests up to let her broken foot heal), I took the girls to an early evening showing of Hoodwinked at the local cinema.

The movie definitely does not have the digital-effects panache of other, larger budget animated films from the likes of Pixar or Dreamworks, but the sassiness of the story and an excellent choice of voice actors (love Patrick Warburton as the wolf) keeps the pace moving. It appears that the animators chose a flat, stop-motion animation style for the movie and its characters, with its relatively sparse lighting, not-too-intricate backgrounds and plastic-looking characters. It's a clever decision if so, and the sort of thing that appeals both to kids (it's not too real) and to the adults (who will fondly remember the Rankin-Bass stop-motion animation productions).

The idea of telling a slightly altered story of Little Red Riding Hood from the perspectives of Red, Granny, the Woodsman and the Wolf also proves to be as much fun for adults as for kids. Undoubtedly, years from now, kids watching this film will recognize the same setup as first used to good effect in "Rashomon". But that just speaks as to how clever it is. Throw in some inspired zaniness -- such as a witch-cursed mountain goat so that he can only sing instead of talk, Granny as an extreme-sports fan, an evil bunny and a hyperkinetic squirrel appropriately-named "Twitchy" (both of my daughters' favourite character) -- and it makes for a very entertaining movie.

And I'll have you know that "Keith" can indeed be an evil-sounding name -- you just have to say it right. (Those who have seen the movie will get the context). ;-)