Hoot (New Line Platinum Series)

Rating PG Formats DVD Genre comedy Starring Logan Lerman, Brie Larson, Cody Linley, Luke Wilson, Eric Phillips Directed by Wil Shriner Publisher New Line Home Video External Links Official New Line Website

With the success of movies like Holes, Nanny McPhee, and A Series of Unfortunate Events, Hollywood has begun churning out many other family movies based on young adult novels. The most recent of these is Hoot; a movie based on the Carl Hiaasen novel of the same name. Unlike the other films, Hoot offers more than just sophomoric humor. It attempts to educate its audience as well as entertain them.

The story follows Roy Eberhardt (Lerman) a boy who has recently moved with his family from Montana to a small Florida community. Naturally Roy initially has trouble fitting in and adjusting to his new home. Shortly after arriving, Roy spots a barefoot runner while riding the bus to school. With his curiosity piqued, Roy follows the strange runner into a forest where he meets and eventually befriends Mullet Fingers (Linley). Mullet is a runaway who spend his time trying to stop a pancake restaurant conglomerate from building their all important 100th restaurant on a plot of land that just happens to be the home to a species of burrowing owls.

Along the way, Roy enlists the help of Beatrice Leep (Larson) a new friend with a somewhat rebellious nature and David Delinko (Wilson) the local police officer whose bumbling ways are more reminiscent of Barney Fife than to a usual authority figure. Together, this band of proud misfits fights to save the owls from certain death at the hands of a major corporation. Hi-jinks and entertainment abound as the kids do everything in their power to help the owls.

Though Hoot is a light hearted family film, it does offer some serious undertones. At its core, Hoot, is a film about animal welfare and the importance of the conservation of not just Florida's but the entire country's wildlife. The movie also hits upon the themes of friendship and standing up for one's beliefs in the face of an uncompromising injustice. It is nice to see a movie for children carry an important message instead of being filled with over the top special effects and inane bodily function humor.

The acting is fairly well done with the three young actors Logan Lerman, Brie Larson, and Cody Linley leading the way. They do a good if not great job bringing the literary characters to life. Luke Wilson on the other hand is not at his best in this film. His performance of Officer Delinko is lackluster, and is the black eye on an otherwise entertaining film. There is also a cameo by musician Jimmy Buffet whose music can be heard throughout the movie.

The direction of Hoot would have been better served in the hands of a more seasoned and capable director. Wil Shriner, known more for his work on the small screen, never really gets the most out of his actors or the story. His directing style and seemingly limited vision can be described as average at best. Shriner's young actors are the saving grace of the movie and make the film worth watching in spite of Shriner's inexperience.

The DVD is filled with extras which add to the overall experience. There are of course the to be expected deleted scenes, blooper reel, and director commentaries, but there are many other special features well worth checking out. The many featurettes include several on the importance of conservation, a piece on animal sanctuaries, and even a look at people whose job it is to take care of sick and endangered animals. There is also a DVD-ROM feature that when used on a computer gives access to three fun and entertaining games.

Hoot, is a family film whose objective is to not only entertain its viewers but educate them as well. The film follows the young adult novel as well as a movie can, and serves up many moments of action and humor. The young cast does a good job in their respective roles and helps carry this movie through the unimaginative vision of its director and the poor acting of some of its veteran cast. The DVD offers a plethora of special features that follow the entertain and educate mantra of the movie. Fans of the book by Carl Hiaasen will not be disappointed in this adaptation, and newcomers to the story will enjoy it as well. Hoot is an entertaining and good if not great movie for the whole family.