David Ogden Steirs Lends His Voice Again!

From Box Office Prophets
David Ogden Steirs will be lending his voice to Hoodwinked!: The True Story of Red Riding Hood
Release Date: December 25, 2005

As Gregory Maguire has taught us in books like Wicked and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, there's always at least two sides to every story. The grand tradition of taking classic fairy tales and turning them upside down continues with this CGI animated film. The creators of the story, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leach, have fashioned the tale in the same fashion as Rashomon.

In Hoodwinked, the story begins at the end. Various furry and feathered cops from the animal world are charged with the task of investigating a domestic disturbance at Granny's college. The parties involved are a girl, a wolf and an axe, and the potential charges that might stem from the incident include breaking and entering, disturbing the peace, intent to eat, and wielding an axe without a license. Even worse, this strange case might be connected to another one they've been investigating - a certain "Goody Bandit" has been stealing recipes from shops across the land, but has been impossible to capture.

Investigator Nicky Flippers is the guy who will hear all four sides of the events that have taken place. He'll question a karate-kicking Red, a thrill-seeking Granny, a sarcastic and back-talking Wolf and a doofy Woodsman. As he hears the various stories, certain threads from previous tales will be tied up.

Co-director Cory Edwards has created the film with an eye to the old Bugs Bunny cartoons, making the film move at a super fast pace. While kids will enjoy the animals, he plans to make it funny for all ages, with in-jokes that might only really be understood by the older viewer. The cast is stellar, including veteran voice actress Tara Strong as Red, Patrick Warburton (The Emperor's New Groove) as Wolf, Sally Struthers as Granny, David Ogden Stiers (Lilo & Stitch) as Nicky Flippers and Andy Dick as Boingo. The concept was certainly good enough for the Weinsteins, who made the film one of the earliest acquisitions of their new distribution venture. The film will be released over the Christmas holidays in 2005. (Kim Hollis/BOP)