In a bold marketing stratagem,leading Korean investor/distributor Showbox Mediaplex is considering releasing the animation Hoodwinked! inits locally dubbed version only.

The irreverent whodunit comedy basedon the Little Red Riding Hood talewas picked up by Showbox in the pre-buy stages fromCinema Management Group.

Known for its smart-bombingdistribution strategies for films like last year's top hit Welcome to Dongmakgol, Showbox has been aggressive in its support for the quirkyanimation. "Localizing the marketing for a foreign acquisition is key," says Chris H. Lee, acquisitions executive at Showbox.

Early on, the company punched up thetranslated dialogue with local dialects and trendy colloquialisms from Koreancomedies. Star Kang Hye-jung and comedian Im Ha-ryong from Welcome to Dongmakgol,as well as Kim Su-mi from Marrying The Mafia 2 took on key roles.

Media coverage of the dubbingprocess contributed to the effect and audiences sat up and took notice of thesnappy comic trailers with recognizable voices and a bouncy soundtrack.

In a recent survey of internetusers, the majority of respondents said they would prefer to see the film inthe locally dubbed version rather than with subtitles, backing up Showbox's idea to release the film exclusively in itsdubbed version.

The original version of Hoodwinked! featuresGlenn Close, Anne Hathaway, and James Belushi invoiceover roles. The film topped the US box office in January when it was released by TheWeinstein Company.