Start Hootin' & Hollerin' for Disney's "Hoot" the Movie
***This is the first movie review blog for Kamala Appel of KEA Productions; however, this is not the first new movie review that I have written. Not too long ago, I covered new movie releases weekly for the Berkeley Daily Planet, The Alameda Sun, and NuReel.com. I will be taking a slightly different approach to my reviews that I have in the past. Instead of merely accounting for whether or not someone should his/her hard earned money, I will be looking at the accuracy and education value as it pertains to wildlife or (small) business since these are the focus topics of KEA Productions.***
“Hoot” marks one of the first wide releases from a major studio that focuses on encouraging children to appreciate the environment AND believe in their own power to make a difference. I have seen a lot of nature movies (“Never Cry Wolf”, “Winged Migration”, and “March of the Penguins”) and a lot of movies that show children holding their own (“Home Alone”, “Matilda”, and “Hocus Pocus”), but rarely the two together.
Logan Lerman leads the youthful cast as a boy who befriends a couple of outcasts who give a hoot about some burrowing owls that live on a plot of land schedulled to become the site of a popular pancake chain in “Hoot” . Lerman gives a strong performance, realizing a chemistry and intensity with all of the other cast members; I can see him growing up to be a strong leading man. On the other hand, I was not very impressed with the other child stars, with the exception of Eric Phillips who plays the chubby school bully and brings just enough slapstick humor to his character to make you laugh as you cheer for his demise.
Since the story revolves around the fate of the burrowing owls I spoke to one of the keepers who worked with me on my documentary about wildlife in the Bay Area to ask her about how accurate “Hoot” was about burrow owls. Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are both federally and state protected. The CA Department of Fish and Game lists them as a "Species of Special Concern" and the US Fish and Wildlife Service lists them under "Birds of Conservation Concern". They are also federally protected under the "Migratory Bird Act". Coincidentally, I featured burrow owls in my feature, “Animal Crackers”. (More at http://www. keaproductionsdv.com in the WADU area “Wildlife & Animal Documentaries Unleashed”) Here are some facts about Burrowing Owls for inquiring minds:
1)Burrowing Owls are diurnal, meaning they are more likely to be awake and active during the day, this is partly for practical reasons, so they can hunt what they eat, and partly fear-factor survival, so the bigger birds of prey do not prey on them. However, they will come out at night if they are disturbed or have found a constant food source at that time. I noticed that the mother came out of her burrow in the film at night, but she was indeed awakened by one of the youthful rascals in his attempt to save her and her babies.
2) In the another scene, one character shines a flashlight into one of the burrows and the mother owl exits the burrow to check out the source. I thought such a bright light would cause the bird to retreat, however, my wildlife expert source stated that any reservations the owl had would subside once the bird realized that it was not a threat. According to Nikii Finch-Morales, of Coyote Point Wildlife Museum in San Mateo, CA, “Unlike mammals, birds will watch first, hold their ground and wait. If there is no threat from the object, then they will ignore it.”
3) In the film “Hoot”, Cody Linley plays an animal lover who devotes his time to sabotaging the construction of the pancake chain. One of his ideas is to release some poisonous snakes into the construction site to scare off the dim-witted corporate lackey played by Tim Blake Nelson. I wondered if those snakes would pose a threat to the burrowing owls. Finch-Morales explained that “An adult Burrowing Owl would be too big for the local snakes here in California (like king snakes, gopher snakes, and rattlesnakes). But Burrowing Owl chicks would be susceptible to being eaten by snakes.”
5) Quite often in the movie, the mother owl came to the entrance of the burrow with her chicks, even in the presence of humans, both good and evil. That seemed unlikely to me that an animal would be so trusting of humans. However, Finch-Morales states that “If the parent was habituated (accustomed) to the presence of humans, then they would allow the chicks to come out because their perception is that there is not threat. And they would pass that perception on to their chicks, so that they would also come to know that humans are not a threat. That cycle could potentially lead the owls to trouble if there was a person around that wanted to harm the owls” which almost happens in “Hoot”.
Although I cannot say that “Hoot” was a stellar film, it is a positive film that is safe for the whole family to enjoy together. I give it an “A-” for accuracy, a “B” for entertainment value, and an “A-” for social/ environmental value.
“Hoot” will open wide in theaters on Friday, May 5th. So after you enjoy some margaritas and Mexican food in honor of Cinco de Mayo, check it out!
