"Hoodwinked" surprised everyone earlier this year by raking in over $50 million on a budget of $15 million, which not only showed that CGI movies could be created on a small budget but that they could also make money in the process. Do I sense more low-budget CGI movies in the near future?

The good news is that this is further proof that at least some studios are learning that you don't have to spend big dollars to be profitable. The bad news is, "Hoodwinked" sucks butt.

"Hoodwinked," a spoof on Little Red Riding Hood, is sort of like "Shrek" in that it plays on the mystical world of fairy tales while mixing in modern day jokes and nuances. Unfortunately, it pales in comparison in every possible way.

For one, the graphics in "Shrek" are pretty good. The graphics in "Hoodwinked" are terrible. Given a good story, the graphics really wouldn't matter, but since the movie is such a blatant rip-off of "Shrek," the special effects really stand out like a sore thumb.

Secondly, the movie isn't funny. Sure, there are a couple laughs, but overall the movie drains of humor quickly, and after about fifteen or twenty minutes, the film is all but dead. By the time it gets to the skateboarding grandma, I was done. I couldn't watch anymore. I turned it off.

Enough said.

Given a decent story, "Hoodwinked" could have really been something. But when a movie isn't very funny and another much larger franchise has done it bigger and better.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.