Hoot is an environmentally friendly family film that shows you the evils of pancake houses. Seriously Hoot is an okay family film but plays like an after-school special.
Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman) has just moved from Montana to Coconut Cove, Florida. Roy has moved a lot since his father’s job keeps the family moving around the country and he’s been the new kid at school far too many times. As per the rules of engagement for new kids, Roy is singled out for abuse on the school bus by the local bully Dana (Eric Phillips). While his face is being pressed into the school bus window he notices a barefoot kid running along the sidewalk.
He also unhappily earns the less than flattering nickname “Cowgirl.” Meanwhile, contractor Curly Branitt (Tim Blake Nelson) has called in the services of police officer David Delinko (Luke Wilson). Seems that unknown persons are sabotaging the construction site of the Mother Paula’s Pancake House. Roy finally makes it to school and attends Mr. Ryan’s (Jimmy Buffett) science class. Roy has another encounter with Dana on the bus but this time he bops him in the nose and runs off the bus to follow the mysterious blond kid.
On the way out of the bus he runs into Beatrice the Bear (Brie Larson) who has a reputation even worse than Danas. He follows the blonde kid to a boatyard and finds out that he lives there, not only that but he has a bag of cottonmouths. Roy returns to the boatyard later and finds Beatrice there. Turns out that the blonde kid is called Mullet Fingers (Cody Linley), I kid you not, and is Beatrice’s stepbrother who is on the run so he won’t be put in military school.
Mullet Fingers, named so because he can catch little fishes called mullets with is bare hands (it has nothing to do with a redneck or a trailer park), is also responsible for the sabotage that has been happening at the construction site. Seems that the site is home to a family (herd?) of burrowing owls.
Three against the pancake syndicate
The regional manager of the Mother Paula’s Pancake House Chuck Muckle (Clark Gregg) has suppressed this information so that he can have the record breaking 100th Mother Paula’s restaurant. So it’s up to our three middle school heroes to stop the pancake franchise before the owls are wiped out.
Hoot plays like environmentalism for the kiddies. It also has the feel of one of those ABC after school specials or Wonderworks family movies from the 1980s. In fact, you could shave about half an hour off of it (probably all the mischief with officer Delinko) and it would be a perfect fit for either of those.
It’s interesting that it does show two sides of environmentalism. Beatrice and Mullet Fingers (no wonder he hides in the woods with a name like that) choose the eco-terrorism route and sabotage the construction site (though their antics are more comedic than harmful – though a bag of cottonmouths could probably harm a body).
While Roy goes about it the legal route and is looking through the environmental impact study (that Muckle has torn the page about the owls out of) and is basically pursuing the legal route and eventually convinces the public of Coconut Cove that they should give up warm, fluffy, delicious pancakes in favor of owls (wonder what they taste like?). Seriously, Hoot is a flick with its heart on its sleeve and is entertaining, but I can’t really see myself watching it a second time.
Let's play spot Jimmy Buffett
Hoot is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary with director Wil Shriner and Hoot author Carl Hiaasen. There’s also a 3 minute blooper reel and 5 minutes of deleted scenes that have an optional commentary by Shriner and Hiaasen.
There’s also a 4 minute featurette called “Hoot’s Hand On” which profiles habitat projects. It has interviews with Carey Stanton Rogers (National Wildlife Federation), Bob Fox (Wild at Heart owl rescue), Greg Clark (Wild at Heart), Brie Larson, Logan Lerman, Cody Linley, and Wil Shriner. Next is the 7 minute featurette “Backyard Habitat” which tells you how to set up a wildlife habitat in your backyard.
It has interviews with David Mizejewski and Craig Tufts ( (both of the National Wildlife Federation) and also Gerry Bishop (editor of Ranger Rick magazine). Next is the 9 minute “Meet the Kids in the Cast” and focuses on the younger performers in Hoot. It has interviews with Logan, Brie, Cody, Eric Phillips, Tim Blake Nelson, Luke Wilson, Clark Gregg, and Dean Collins. Next is the 6 minute “Animals in Action” and focuses on the animal actors in Hoot. It has interviews with animal trainer Susan Humphrey and Brian Mealey of the Institute of Wildlife Sciences.
Next is the 8 minute “Visit an Animal Rescue Center” which is pretty self explanatory. Followed by the 5 minute “Meet the Creator of Hoot” which focuses on author Hiassen, but has some interviews with Jimmy Buffett and producer Frank Marshall.
Roys sees a strange kid running next to the school bus
“Jimmy Buffett: Filmmaker in Paradise” is 8 minutes and focuses on the singer/songwriter and “Director on the Set” is 4 minutes and focuses on Shriner. Finally there is the film’s theatrical trailer and some sneak peak trailers. They’ve also included a ticket to the next Walden Media film How to Eat Fried Worms.
Hoot is a pretty good film for family movie night and there’s nothing offensive in it (unless you want to build a pancake house on some owl’s houses). The movie is well made and has some lovely Florida scenery, but I thought one viewing was enough. I don’t see it becoming a family classic, but it will entertain the kids.
Hoot is now available at Amazon . Hoot is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a September 25th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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