Hoodwinked! - Production

Production

"... I realize that there were other independently-funded projects being done at the same time, but... we were the first... the first kind of a new model and a new way of making an animated film. It was made with no studio money, overseas, then picked up by a major distributor. A few other animated films have followed this path, but not to the level of success that Hoodwinked was able to achieve. I know Veggie Tales had a movie come out earlier that year, but that was with a struck deal and brand recognition. Hoodwinked was this freak of nature that was made completely outside of the studio system and, thankfully, worked. I rarely toot my own horn, but these are facts that never get mentioned and I am really proud of what our little film did."

Hoodwinked! was one of the first independent computer-animated films to be produced without the aid of a distributor. It was produced on a budget of less than $8 million, significantly less than a typical computer-animated film's budget. The costs of computer-animation software had only recently decreased to a price that was accessible to more than just major studios, and according to producer David Lovegren, "Six or seven years ago, the idea of doing Hoodwinked! as an independent feature would have been impossible."

The filmmakers only made the film independently by necessity, and Cory Edwards has said, "It’s not a model to be followed. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, seat-of-your pants kind of thing that just barely came off." However, he added that the process was worth going through to get the film made, and encouraged aspiring filmmakers to be willing to follow it.