Almost as stupid as its title suggests, Hoodwinked Too is a disappointing and sloppy sequel made far too late and still far too cheaply. Although the animation industry has changed and blossomed throughout the last decade with stunning and gorgeous artwork- there are still films even released today that struggle to find quality animated artists. This continues to be the case with this film, as it was with the first one thanks to Kanbar animation and the Weinstein company's overly cheap production proceedings. The original Hoodwinked was far from perfect, and had some truly hideous animation, though thankfully it was able to entertain many people and audiences everywhere thanks to its subversive humor, wonderful performances, and well crafted story. Hoodwinked Too has all the flaws of the original, without any of the payoff. The animation, although better than the original, is so distractingly bad that it hurts to watch at times. I can understand the failure of animation for the first film- considering CGI was still a relatively new process in 2005, but in 2011? Seriously, it looks like a sloppy 2006 animated film at best. It has a few chuckles here and there, but the plot is horrendously tedious and all over the place. Besides the incredibly forced references to the previous films and pop culture, the film just doesn't have any charm whatsoever. Every little bit feels so forced, so juvenile, and so predictable it's discouraging to see what was done to these characters just for a buck. Not to mention Anne Hathaway and Jim Belushi not even returning to their roles, in an odd and obvious fashion they are replaced by the likes of Hayden Panettiere and Martin Short. Peneterrie does a mediocre job at best, and Martin Short is dreadfully overdone as the Woodsman character- and i'm honestly ashamed to mention how much I missed hearing Belushi's voice in this one. The film stars some new voices in addition to a few returning characters, including Bill Hader and Amy Poehler who do put their all into their performances but also give it WAY too much- and their characters are [possibly the most dreadfully annoying antagonists i've seen in some time. Patrick Warburton returning as the Wolf seems to be the only saving grace about the film, and his iconic voice and performance does actually add up to some entertaining and even humorous moments, but sadly nothing to save this film in the long run. In the end, Hoodwinked Too is a sloppy and forgettable sequel that is as painfully drab as its animation. It's sad to see a fun underrated film like Hoodwinked be squandered by its sequel, and I truly wish they would have left this poor film alone.
My Rating: 2.7/10.
My Rating: 2.7/10.