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April 5, 2006

Give A Hoot

Have you ever noticed how few movies there are out there about wildlife conservation? Oh, sure, there's the occasional animal movie like Flipper or Old Yeller, but stories of endangered creatures and the people who spend their lives protecting them are few and far between. The ones that do make it are the heart-rending biographies of often rather reclusive individuals who come to bad ends - like Diane Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist and Timothy Treadwell in Grizzly Man.

There was a fascinating summer movie poster at the theater last week. It had bulldozers approaching a couple of really cute little burrowing owls, and with a funky cast including Luke Wilson, and producers like Jimmy Buffett, it's actually the first comedy with nature-conservation undertones that I can recall in a long time. Sorry guys, but Without A Paddle doesn't count.

Based on the Newbery award-winning young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen, Hoot is a story of three children who take on greedy developers looking to bulldoze over some endangered burrowing owls.

HOOT revolves around a Montana boy who moves to Florida and unearths a disturbing threat to a local population of endangered owls. Determined to protect his new environment, the boy and his friends fight to prevent the adults from making a big mistake.

More At: HOOT: The Official Movie Website

You can find out more about Hoot, including the author's Hoot FAQ on Carl Hiaasen's website.

Posted by sorsha at April 5, 2006 4:33 PM