I have to admit that I enjoyed the first Hoodwinked, while it was not perfect, I loved the fun story, the voice cast, the clever dialogue and catchy soundtrack. Although I hadn't heard many good things about Hoodwinked Too! I naturally wanted to see if it was at least watchable. Watching it online, while I was not expecting it to be better than or as good as the original, I was in all honesty expecting much better than this.
The only real reason why I don't rate it any lower is the voice cast, the standouts being David Ogden Stiers, Joan Cusack and Patrick Warburton, even if the latter's material isn't anywhere near as as funny or clever here he still does a credible job with the delivery. Hayden Panettiere also does a spirited job as Red, and Glenn Close while like Warburton not having standout material does what she can.
On the other hand, I just wasn't engaged with it at all. The story is a big reason why. I loved the idea, and it started off great, but it very quickly became very predictable, part of me felt that some of the plot seemed over-stretched sometimes and the film generally lacked the first film's snappy pacing. Another problem is the script, I missed the clever wit and the sly references here. Everything seemed rather obvious and tired.
Hoodwinked Too! also suffers from the characters not having any likability or charm. Almost all of them are underused and very bland. Although Ogden Stiers does do all he can, his character is rather thankless. In fact for me, only Big Bad Wolf and Cusack's Witch sparked any interest. What there is of the soundtrack is very forgettable, nothing's there to make it catchy.
And I didn't like the animation here. I have heard much from those who didn't like the first film's animation, I personally liked the colours and backgrounds there, but some of the character designs in that film took some getting used to. The animation here though is in my opinion pretty messy. The backgrounds are tolerable if nothing special, but the colouring is dull and the character designs blocky.
In conclusion, a bland and uninspired sequel to a surprisingly enjoyable film. 3/10 Bethany Cox
