June 11th, 2006 Hoodwinked
Our family has been struggling through a multitude of illnesses these past two weeks, so we’ve been stuck inside for most of the time. Thankfully, I bought Hoodwinked a couple weekends ago and it has probably been watched every day since.
In brief, Hoodwinked takes up the story of Red Riding Hood at the moment that Red, the wolf, Granny, and the woodcutter are all in the home together and proceeds from the point of view of a police investigation. Beyond the weirdness in the home, everyone is trying to figure out the identity of the Goodie Bandit. This setup is used to make a fantastic point that my kids have gradually absorbed: the challenges caused by multiple perspectives on a single story if folks aren’t willing to listen to one another. As Flippers (the police investigator) summarizes at the end of the movie, if a tree falls in the forest you’ll get three stories: yours, mine, and the tree’s.
It’s a fun feature-length parable of such proverbs as Proverbs 18:13 [show]<div class="esv"><h2>Proverbs 18:13 <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F20018013" width="40" height="12" class="audio"><param name="movie" value="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F20018013" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></h2>
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<p class="line-group" id="p20018013.01-1"><span class="verse-num" id="v20018013-1">13 </span>If one gives an answer before he hears,<br />
<span class="indent"></span>it is his folly and shame. (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p>
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and Proverbs 18:17 [show]<div class="esv"><h2>Proverbs 18:17 <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F20018017" width="40" height="12" class="audio"><param name="movie" value="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F20018017" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></h2>
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<p class="line-group" id="p20018017.01-1"><span class="verse-num" id="v20018017-1">17 </span>The one who states his case first seems right,<br />
<span class="indent"></span>until the other comes and examines him. (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p>
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</div>, with a strong dose of the importance of telling the truth. The animation isn’t up to Pixar standards, but it does the job, and the script is solid in support of the overall theme. And the wolf… he’s there for the parents, with a deliciously understated sarcasm that I still find funny after numerous viewings.
June 11th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
I just put it in our Netflix queue. Thanks for the suggestion!
June 12th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Our kids really liked this movie, too.
June 13th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Jay, can we borrow sometime…please?