How The Weinstein Company Almost Ruined Hoodwinked (and Later Did) - 100th Review Special!!

For our milestone of 100 reviews, we are going to delve into the devastating history of the Weinstein Company's treatment towards 'Hoodwinked!'. We will be covering both the original cult classic, and its less-than-revered sequel.
Thank you all so much for these two years of support for this channel, and here's hoping for another two years of content leading to the great 200!
Also if you're too impatient to wait until the end, our Patreon is back up! And here's the link... / mediamementos

[@LePenguin]

Let's be real here, the Weinsteins have a huge track record when it comes to altering animated films. From the top of my mind, examples include: The Thief and the Cobbler/Arabian Knight The Magic Roundabout/Doogal Arthur and the Invisibles Khan Kluay/The Blue Elephant The Untouchables/Underdogs and Ballerina/Leap So suffice to say, their track record with animation isn't that great since when they get a film, they seem to like changing it to hell and back

[@kieranstark7213]

Don’t forget Unstable Fables, Escape from Planet Earth and The Nut Job (duology).

[@abrahamcortina6322]

Escape from Planet Earth was by far the Weinstein's only co-production while Hoodwinked is just brought for distribution rights

[@NewSonyWonderHappyMadisonFan]

There's also the 2007 TMNT film and The Paddington films (if you count hybrid movies). Those actually slapped though.

[@michaelmcjunkin1372]

I definately call Hoodwinked one of the best Fairy Tale spoof films along with Shrek and Enchanted.

[@insertrandomnamehere969]

So true

[@robbiewalker2831]

Shrek, yes. Enchanted, no. I know I'm gonna get some flack on this, but Enchanted makes "A Troll in Central Park" look more competent.

[@abrahamcortina6322]

But Hoodwinked isn't medieval like Shrek and Enchanted

[@timey_103]

Fun fact: Happily N’Ever After (the first one) was actually NOT a Shrek knockoff! It was originally planned as a film adaptation of the 1999 German television cartoon _Simsala Grimm,_ with the premise of the show being two creatures named Yoyo and Doc Croc traveling to different fairy tales and helping them have their happy endings. For whatever reason, this was changed mid-production and all connections to Simsala Grimm were removed from the film, but the general ideas for the story remained intact (example: Munk and Mambo are expies of Yoyo and Doc Croc) and the script was written long BEFORE Shrek was even a thing (at least movie-wise.) It was just development hell that made it release a few years after Shrek.

[@fredpertrench2460]

Hoodwinked is genuinely an all time favorite, and knowing that it was almost completely redone dubbing wise and still turned out great is real interesting

[@abrahamcortina6322]

I loved it ever since I was 6 back in 2010, and I never knew there was a sequel that has been announced in TV but we didn't get to see it and later on I heard it sucked

[@roberttreacy8271]

Hoodwinked is a criminally underrated film IMO. I haven’t seen the sequel, nor do I plan to.

[@patentedplumstudios7205]

It’s funny that one of those Hoodwink happy meal toys has Gretel T posing.

[@mariobabbo3497]

It’s Burger King which appeared way before that movie was released

[@mightyfilm]

I can't blame the Edwards brothers on the sequel. Corey was NOT happy about all the studio notes that he had to contend with, and if you ever do a search for his blog if it's even still accessible, you'll find out most of the notes at length. The sassy black cyclops or giant at the bridge wasn't even supposed to speak, for one. I remember reading his blog when the film came out and there were 3 or 4 comments that were positive, and one comment that gave it a bad review. And guess which review Corey engaged and agreed with? He was very much disappointed with how the film turned out and he had absolutely no creative control because of the change of director. It shows how much garbage the crap producers snuck into the movie, as a LOT of the worst dialogue in the film was obvious ADR (additional dialogue replacement). It's somehow louder, more obvious, and in any shot where they didn't need to reanimate mouth movements, showing how late even THAT was into production. I remember Corey engaging the Muppet fandom about the Fraggle Rock movie and about how many notes the Weinsteins kept throwing him in that movie, leading to it never being made and us being all the happier for it. But that's the Weinsteins, for you. They're the artsy fartsy company when it comes to distributing Oscar Bait, but they're the most cynic and controlling when it comes to animated kid's movies.

[@AluminumFusion22]

Lest we forget the one time Hayao Miyazaki literally sent a katana to Harvey Weinstein through the mail with a slip of paper attached reading "No Cuts", referencing how the Weinsteins kept trying to cut down the runtime of Princess Mononoke. Miyazaki had to indirectly threaten the Weinsteins so his film could release with its original runtime in the U.S.

[@adamkalb1]

This is very depressing to hear, that Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leech had no creative control in Hoodwinked Too even though writing it was their job...but even having a writing credit for this is giving them too much credit for how badly it turned out.

[@mightyfilm]

​@@adamkalb1 That's the kind of company Weinstein is. They're incredibly incompetent. We're all aware of Harvey's sexual misconduct, but the stories about the both of them I heard basically say to me, why didn't we know this sooner? They both seemed to be mad with power. But Corey really seemed pissed that Hoodwinked Too came out like it did. I also remember him saying when he was working on the (thankfully) unproduced Fraggle Rock movie that all the notes he was given by the Hack Brothers were eerily similar to how the live action Smurf movie turned out. Even with a random Guitar Hero scene. Eek!

[@M50A1]

​@@AluminumFusion22I mean, based Miyazaki for putting the bastards in their place but damn 💀

[@maverickdarkrath4780]

Honestly the happiest news i heard in recent years was the weinstain company going under , maybe non Disney/DreamWorks animated movies can actually survive now

[@IsabellaCataldo]

"The backgrounds are made in Photoshop!" I'm not primarily a background artist, but I do use Photoshop for drawing. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but my art looks more interesting than those boring backgrounds by a country mile.

[@MumblingCartoonist]

Sadly, I actually think that Arthur and the invisibles was kinda charming. Mostly because I like watching “small people” movies.

[@Princess_-gp3ep]

I agree. I love that late David Bowie voiced the villain of the movie.

[@BugsyFoga]

Hoodwinked deserved so much better .

[@abrahamcortina6322]

There's no way Hoodwinked 2 should screw up this badly

[@greshaminc156]

I heard the second Hoodwinked’s animation was outsourced at Starz animation which also outsourced a few seasons of Veggietales and even Veggietales animation looked better than Hoodwinked 2

[@robbiewalker2831]

Ironic, isn't it?

[@abrahamcortina2171]

Arc Productions also worked on Barbie and Thomas & Friends as well, and produce films like Everyone's Hero, Space Chimps and Gnomeo & Juliet

[@greshaminc156]

@@abrahamcortina2171 That’s true, they were also originally supposed to do Paws of Fury before the project was passed to a different studio

[@abrahamcortina2171]

@@greshaminc156 yeah, I seen the original 2017 teaser poster and was originally distributed by Open Road Films, the same studio as The Nut Job

[@greshaminc156]

@@abrahamcortina2171 Yep

[@jackalopeb9598]

I grew up watching Hoodwinked. Still love it despite the animation. I would admire it more if it were in 2D. Like the storyboard art.

[@georgerobertson7010]

12:08 The Weinstein company didn’t make The Nut Job, they distributed it worldwide, The Nut Job was made by Open Road films.

[@mediamementosofficial]

It’s still a Weinstein film

[@georgerobertson7010]

@@mediamementosofficial oh ok, I understand I enjoyed escape from planet earth and the nut job as guilty pleasures but I respect your opinion

[@georgerobertson7010]

@@mediamementosofficial I noticed you didn’t include the sequel to the nut job when you said the Weinstein company can’t make a single good movie also since you included Leap (ballerina in the UK) I skipped that movie when it came out since it didn’t interest me.

[@Dwebo]

I just found this review series through the Coraline recommendation! This is great!

[@snbsixteen6stars201]

God i loved hoodwinked's soundtrack

[@BaboDex]

I thought Doogal did that, because they ruined The Magic Roundabout Movie, even replacing most of the cast (Including Robbie Williams, the Singer behind songs like Rock DJ).

[@georgerobertson7010]

I can’t believe I used to like Doogal when I was a kid

[@mightyfilm]

I don't even understand why they bothered with that anyway. I can see someone trying to use a movie to launch a foreign kids' show to a more massive global audience, but this wasn't a case of that. It was a case of getting a foreign produced movie cheap and giving it a lame dub that I refuse to call a parody or gag dub.

[@robbiewalker2831]

@@mightyfilm voice cast is one thing, but changing so much of the dialogue wasn't necessary, since the original dub already had references of its own, and that it wasn't forced. I can understand how ridiculous it would to make the Moose fart a lot; it would get old real quick the same way the fart joke was done in "Master of Disguise".

[@mightyfilm]

The movie's dub was a victim of mid-00's humor that the producers didn't think the kids or parents that dragged them to the movie would have the patience for one joke at a time to land, so they probably made every line some sort of dumb joke. They clearly felt the same thing when they further ruined Hoodwinked Too. Somehow, after forcing a lot of bad jokes into the final script, that wasn't nearly "edgy" enough, so they ADR'd extra, unfunny, awful jokes into the final product. That's the thing that ticks me off about this company. You think you're going into this indie studio that really believes in the art of cinema, so you'd think your animated movie would be safe from Dreamworks or Blue Sky levels of celebrity voice cast and tired "adult" jokes, but they're even more cynical than either studio, but also completely inept.

[@Abbimation.]

I was 5 when I enjoyed the film, at least, at the time, didn't know anything about the quality of writing or animation, because I was young. Anyways, I even had a small Doogal plush I love at McDonald's. But, nowadays, I hate the film. I believe I sawed the British version of the film? I remember the version was different from the American version. While I did accepted the apology from Butch Hartman that it wasn't his fault, despite being a scammer and treated his fans like crap, I would never forgive Harvey Weinstein for stealing Richard Williams' The Theif and the Cobbler. He just make it worse by removing any elements that was very high quality from Richard Williams, hire all star cast, adding useless pop culture references, and even changing the characters' names to be nonsensical to think kids that were dumb. And, yes, I am aware that he sexual harassed and misconduct women, I just never forgive him for this incident. And hopefully, probably never give the rights of my films to him, mainly because he's in prision, good riddance!

[@adamkalb1]

10:26 I know Cory Edwards already made a point for Hoodwinked to not follow the trend of copying Shrek anyway, but I also know that coming way too late to the party of fairytale satire films at 11:28 like Enchanted is the least of Hoodwinked Too's problems. Besides, the Shrek spin-off film Puss in Boots premiered in 2011, so we should not ignore that if it almost goes against Cory's case for Shrek-style fairytale satire dying down in 2011. To give the Edwards brothers the benefit of the doubt, Hoodwinked had a very unique and unusual setup that was impossible to duplicate in Hoodwinked Too even if it had the best writing possible. Hoodwinked was a very tough act for them to follow, but I still feel very bad for them if they wrote a better version originally and the Weinstein brothers ruined it because they messed with the story way too much and neutered good jokes.

[@theskyrax670]

13:11 "This is like a luau at Mel Blanc's house"

[@goodestboy4384]

Love the VT Stay tuned promo at the beginning. Nostalgia blast

[@WyattOsubaProductions]

(3:42) I like these drawings of Detective Bill Stork.

[@redjirachi1]

Hoodwinked 2's quality is clearly commentary on the quality of the company founder's soul

[@sonic23233]

Shrek sounds like a DnD game turned into a movie

[@jamesmuir7170]

Hoodwinked: A Good Movie Weinstein Company: YOU'RE GOING TO BRAZIL!

[@robbiewalker2831]

I actually would've loved it better if they did keep Tara Strong as Red Riding Hood. Try imagining her Twilight voice in that movie; that's what she would've sounded like if Tara was kept there. All the other voices are fine, but I feel Tara Strong would've been the better voice. Don't think she would stay for the sequel, though.

[@ricktorres745]

I think they were trying to prmote Escape from Planet Earth

[@ricktorres745]

Or probably not since that film went bad as well!

[@sliceofstrauss]

Happy 100 review

[@setsers1]

Good work!

[@jaredbruh2007]

1:05 what a coincidence because Hoodwinked and Whacked have the same animation

[@setsers1]

WHAT

[@thepincult2763]

The animation in the sequel was actually done by arc productions (now known as jam filled) who were the dudes behind the last few seasons of the original Thomas the tank engine series

[@mariobabbo3497]

They replaced Nitrogen Studios who also did the adult oriented Sausage Part

[@thesweetpinkcutie5552]

I was just watching this movie yesterday!

[@mnm8058]

But there is gonna be a third movie. Because I saw on the Hoodwinked wiki a third movie called Hoodwinked Dark Of The Book is being made. So that could still happen at another animation studio right?

[@MathieuLeblanc1991]

11:40 They didn't do Leap, they only did the English dub, it was a French film originally

[@Abbimation.]

About the original, I enjoyed the original when I was a kid. I haven't seen that film in years. The characters were likable and witty dialouge and humor. The sequel when I was a kid, remember, I was ten when this came out, I kinda enjoyed this one, but now, I hated. At the time of the film's release, the whole fairy tale parody genre was dead at this point, a year earlier, Tangled released the same year as Shrek's Forever After, the film that was the third sequel to the original that started the trend of fairy tale parodies. After Tangled was released, the whole thing was dead, this was before Frozen was released. So yeah, I disliked the sequel, but grew fondly with the original.

[@undertaker9991]

There should be like a miniseries for Hoodwinked.

[@daelen.cclark]

Animat’s video of this history was pretty good, too.

[@PipeGuy64Bit]

Damn we were cheated out of Tara Strong?

[@miguelescobedo5112]

If you don't remember the Schnitzel Man song what is wrong with you.

[@joshhacker8503]

I remember watching the first one quite a few times, but I wouldn't call it one of my favorites. It's a movie that was flawed but fun.

[@AA-eg3nf]

Gloria Bunker as a grandmother? Glad they changed it.

[@ctochtli2964]

I Love the movie Leap, isn't original and is more of the same comercial cinema troops but still I love that take, my only complaints are the ending, the final part of the move is completely unnecessary and I always skip it, and the other is the dub, this movie have 2 dubs and the first one is great except for the protagonist, and the second one have a much better acting for the protagonist but they screw the rest of the characters and dialogue. beside that I really enjoy the movie Leap.

[@c.lineofficial]

Anne, Jim, and Chazz are fine, but the Weinsteins replacing Tara Strong, David Ogden Stiers, and Tom Kenny, which all are (were in Ogden Stiers’ case RIP) very well-known/household actors??? Phew…

[@StoryMing]

I wonder what the sequel would have been like if it hadn’t been ruined by the Weinstein company.

[@ToaAxiomMan]

there is no Hoodwinked Too in Ba Sing Se

[@abrahamcortina6322]

A re-upload from September 2011

[@Sephus912]

Welcome to Woodhinked

[@RogersPS5]

Shrek forever after is a genuinely good movie its just that shrek the third ruined shrek forever after

[@Gioylui]

Hoodwinked is better then shrek

[@azrieldreamer]

10:47 Shrek 4 was actually good tho 3 was bad

[@mediamementosofficial]

I disagree, but to each their own. As long as we agree that the third movie was the worst of the four.

[@azrieldreamer]

@@mediamementosofficial Yeah. It's best to pretend it never happened. I mean 4 doesn't even really acknowledge it lmao Good video btw

[@genyakozlov1316]

@@mediamementosofficial I will forever maintain that Shrek 1 is the worst, but as you said to each their own.

[@mariobabbo3497]

I definitely think Hoodwinked is just a generic cheap animated kids movie

[@FYCY]

What do you mean almost? That movie is a dumpster fire