Movie Review: Hoot

Movie Review: Hoot                                                                                                                        4-13-19

Based on the book by Carl Hiassen, Hoot tells the story of a boy named Roy Eberhardt (Logan Lerman), who moved from Montana all the way to Cocoanut Cove, Florida. On his first day of school, Roy notices a barefoot boy running on the sidewalk. He follows the boy into a small forest and learns that it's occupied by burrowing owls. With the help of the boy and his sister Beatrice 'the Bear' Leap (Brie Larson), Roy has to stop a sinister pancake corporation from destroying the owl's homes.

Hoot unfortunately has a poor reputation for being a box-office flop: It only earned 8 million dollars on a 15 million dollar budget and got rather negative reviews. However, I think Hoot has a story that sticks faithfully to the original book, gorgeous cinematography, and an enjoyable score from Phil Marshall, Michael Utley, and Mac MacAnally.

School bully Dana (Eric Phillips) tied to a tree thanks to Beatrice Leap.

Two years ago, I reviewed a movie with a kind of similar plot called Furry Vengeance. I personally HATED IT, and it's my lowest-reviewed movie to date. Here's the link below.

https://asateriale.blogspot.com/2017/04/movie-review-furry-vengeance.html

The main reason Hoot is better than Furry Vengeance is because the environmental message isn't too in-your-face and the characters are more interesting. Mullet Fingers, played by Cody Linley, for example makes me think of Wildernessa from Craig of the Creek if she were given more depth. He is friends with the local burrowing owls and will do whatever it takes to sabotage the construction site for the Mother Paula's Pancake House.

Mullet Fingers about to paint Officer Delinko's (Luke Wilson) car windows black.

The film also showcases some of Florida's most beautiful and exotic animals: As well as burrowing owls, there are also alligators, cottonmouth snakes, anhingas, an ibis, and even a manatee!

In conclusion, despite having a poor score on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, Hoot is a film that is perfect for Earth Day.

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5.

Speaking of Craig of the Creek, I have an announcement to make about that show on April 25th.

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2012

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2012

In February, Studio Ghibli's The Secret World of Arrietty was released in the US, though it was originally released in Japan in July of 2010.

In March, Illumination Entertainment released their next film after Despicable Me and Hop, The Lorax. It was based on the beloved children's book by Dr. Seuss, but this adaptation feels like a WALL-E knockoff with Minion clones. Despite all that, The Lorax earned more than 300 million dollars at the box-office and won the Heartland Award for Truly Moving Picture.

In April, Aardman and Sony released their next collaboration The Pirates! Band of Misfits. It was Aardman's first stop-motion film since Curse of the Were-Rabbit. While the film didn't meet box-office expectations, 'Pirates' got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

There were two animated movies released in June. The first was Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. In this film, the New York zoo quartet hitch a circus train that travels across Europe while avoiding animal control hunter Captain Chantel DuBois. The film got mixed reviews as usual, but managed to earn 746 million dollars worldwide.

The second was Pixar's 13th feature film Brave. It is ridiculed by fans for not feeling like a true Pixar movie, but managed to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

In July, Blue Sky released the fourth installment in the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift. While this film got rather negative reviews, Ice Age 4 managed to gross over 877 million dollars worldwide!

August saw the release of ParaNorman, Laika's second feature film. The film got very good reviews and got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. In fact, there are even some people out there that like this movie more than Wreck-it Ralph!

September saw the directorial debut of TV legend Genndy Tartakovsky with Hotel Transylvania. While it received mixed reviews, the film managed to spawn two sequels and a TV series.

In October, Tim Burton made another stop-motion feature film Frankenweenie, based on his 1984 live-action short film of the same name. The film got weaker reviews than ParaNorman, but got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

On November 2nd, Disney released their 52nd animated feature Wreck-it Ralph. The film did well at the box-office, got great reviews, and even got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. Unfortunately, for many, it lost to Brave. However, it did win the KCA and Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.

And finally, on November 21st, DreamWorks released their 22nd animated feature Rise of the Guardians. Despite all the lavish care into making the movie, the film unfortunately tanked at the box-office, becoming DreamWorks' first flop since 'Sinbad'. However, the film does have a big online fan base. That's all I have to say for this week's Animated Movies Throughout the Years! Tune
in next week when we talk about animated movies from 2013, in which Disney melted our hearts with Frozen, DreamWorks traveled back in time to the Croodaceous Period with The Croods, Gru and his Minions appeared in another adventure with Despicable Me 2, and Mike and Sully went to college with Monsters University.

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2011

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2011

February saw the release of Gnomeo and Juliet, which told a kid-friendly version of Romeo and Juliet with lawn gnomes.

There were two animated movies released in March. The first was Mars Needs Moms, Robert Zemeckis's final motion-capture film. It was a sexist knockoff of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and got rather negative reviews. The film was also a box-office bust, forcing Image Movers Digital, Zemeckis's mo-cap studio, to go out of business.

The second was Rango, from special effects house Industrial Lights and Magic. Their credits include the Star Wars movies, the Indiana Jones movies, Jurassic Park, ET, Dragonheart, and many more. Anyway, Rango got mixed reviews, but managed to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. If you ask me, however, I think Arthur Christmas deserved the Oscar that year.

In April, Blue Sky released their first musical, Rio. It brought viewers to Brazil with colorful and vibrant animation, catchy songs, some likable new characters, and even a warning about poachers who illegally catch endangered animals and sell them for profit. Rio even got the Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, but lost to The Muppets.

Also released in April was Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. While the animation has slightly improved, the film ruined the original characters we've grown to like in the original film.

In May, our favorite panda bear Po made his return in Kung Fu Panda 2. This became the first American animated movie to be solely directed by a woman: Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Kung Fu Panda 2 also got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Rango.

June saw the release of Cars 2, which is considered by fans Pixar’s worst film. However, I believe Hoodwinked Too was even worse.

In July, Disney released what appears to be their final hand-drawn film, Winnie the Pooh. In this movie, the critters of the Hundred Acre Wood have to find a new tail for Eeyore, as well as save Christopher Robin from a monster called the 'Backson'. The film was a box-office flop, and Disney decided to abandon 2D animation until further notice.

In October, Puss in Boots, the popular cat from the Shrek films, starred in his first feature film simply called Puss in Boots. It got good reviews, did very well at the box-office, and got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. Puss in Boots was also the first DreamWorks movie to be co-produced in India, which animated select scenes. The India Unit contributed to every DreamWorks film from then on up to The Boss Baby in 2017.

There were two animated movies released in November. The first was Happy Feet Two, which was about Mumble’s son Eric trying to fit in. Even though the first Happy Feet was successful, Happy Feet Two tanked at the box-office.

The second was Arthur Christmas, Aardman’s first collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation. While the film got very good reviews, it unfortunately didn't meet box-office expectations.

And finally, in December, movie legends Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson teamed up to work on a top-notch motion-capture adaptation of Herge's Tintin. The film was called The Adventures of Tintin, which got good reviews and grossed over 370 million dollars worldwide. Surprisingly, even though Monster House got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, ‘Tintin’ would be snubbed from that category, as the Academy thinks motion-capture doesn't count as animation. That's all I have to say for this week's Animated Movies Throughout the Years! Tune in next
week when we talk about animated movies from 2012, in which Disney dove into the world
of video games with Wreck-it Ralph, both Pixar and DreamWorks broke traditions with
Brave (Pixar) and Rise of the Guardians (DreamWorks), and three different stop-motion
films were released and each got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2010

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2010

Note: Blue Sky Studios did not release a single film this year.

In March, DreamWorks kicked off the year with the crowd-pleasing How To Train Your Dragon. The film got very good reviews, with an impressive rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and spawned a sequel, a TV series, a Christmas special, and even an arena show with animatronic dragons! 'Dragons' also got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Toy Story 3.

In May, the fourth and final Shrek film, Shrek Forever After, was released. While it may seem like a good way to book-end the franchise, it was no match against Toy Story 3.

In June, the toys came back to town with Toy Story 3. It was the first animated movie to gross a billion dollars worldwide, got excellent reviews, and got the Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. TS3 also won the Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

July saw the release of Illumination Entertainment's first feature film, Despicable Me. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the film managed to gross over 500 million dollars on a modest 60 million dollar budget. Despicable Me also surprisingly won the KCA (Kid's Choice Award) for Best Animated Feature, beating out both How To Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3.

There were actually three animated movies released in September. The first was The Illusionist, from the creators of The Triplets of Belleville. It was shown at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, got favorable reviews, and got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

The second was the mediocre CGI movie Alpha and Omega. While it wasn't that successful at the box-office, the film managed to spawn several direct-to-video sequels and a small fanbase.

The third was Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. This was the second film from Australian animation house Animal Logic (their first was Happy Feet). This film has gorgeous animation, but the story will confuse younger viewers. However, the film managed to win the Heartland Award for Truly Moving Picture.

On November 5th, PDI/DreamWorks released the rather underrated Megamind. It was about what would happen if the super-villain really did defeat the superhero. While the film did do well at the box-office and got favorable reviews, the film is somewhat forgotten nowadays

And finally, on November 24th, Disney released their 50th animated feature film Tangled, based on the Brothers Grimm fairytale Rapunzel. The film got great reviews, grossed over 590 million dollars worldwide at the box-office, and got the Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Too bad it didn't get the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, which I think it deserved. Thankfully, it won the Heartland Award for Truly Moving Picture and got a perfect 5-star rating on Common Sense Media. Well, that's all I have to say for this weeks Animated Movie Throughout the Years! Tune in next
week when we talk about animated movies from 2011, in which Pixar released their first critical disappointment with Cars 2, DreamWorks released two surprising Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature, Blue Sky went to Brazil with Rio, and Aardman and Sony collaborated to create the underrated Arthur Christmas.

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2009

Animated Movies Throughout the Years: 2009

The year kicked off in February with Laika's first feature film Coraline. It did well at the box-office, got great reviews, and got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

In March, DreamWorks released Monsters vs. Aliens, their first movie to be released in stereoscopic 3D. It paid homage to several classic monster B-movies from the 50s and 60s.

May saw the release of another Titan AE-esque film, Battle For Terra. It also bared resemblance to James Cameron's Avatar, which wouldn't premiere for seven months. Surprisingly, the film managed to win the Heartland Award for Truly Moving Picture.

Also released in May was Pixar's 10th feature film, Up, which was also released in stereoscopic 3D. The film did very well at the box-office, received critical acclaim, and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Up also got the Oscar nomination for Best Picture, the first animated feature to do so since Beauty and the Beast.

July saw the release of Blue Sky's fifth feature film, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. While it may seem like another run-off-the-mill cash-grabbing sequel, I'll tell you one thing: It's better than Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost.

Also in July, the Irish-produced Secret of Kells was shown at the New York International Children's Film Festival. The film somehow got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, snubbing Ponyo that year. 'Kells' would have a wide release in the US in February 2010.

August saw the US release of Ponyo, Miyazaki's most kid-friendly movie since My Neighbor Totoro. It is loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, as well as Yuriko Ohmura's Elta the Frog.

In September, Tim Burton, with the help of Shane Acker, made his first CGI movie simply called 9. It was a rather dark film about a group of leather dolls, who are the last traces of mankind, which have to stop machines from killing them.

Also released in September was Sony Pictures Animation's Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. While it has its fans, I personally think the character designs are kind of ugly.

October saw the release of Astro Boy, based on the beloved anime character from the 60s created by Osamu Tezuka.

There were three animated movies released in November. The first was Robert Zemeckis's A Christmas Carol, which stuck faithfully to its original source material.

The second was Planet 51, which is about a human that crash-lands on a planet inhabited by Shrek-like aliens. The film got rather negative reviews.

The third was the far superior stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the children's book of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was the first animated feature from cult live-action film director Wes Anderson. Fantastic Mr. Fox got really good reviews when it premiered, and even got the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Up.

And finally, in December, Disney made their triumphant return to hand-drawn animation with The Princess and the Frog. While it was overshadowed by James Cameron's Avatar, the film got the Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Well, that's all I have to say for this weeks Animated Movie Throughout the Years! Tune in next
week when we talk about animated movies from 2010, in which the toys came back to town with Toy Story 3 and raked in a billion dollars at the box-office, Disney released their 50th animated movie with a retelling about a princess who had long hair, DreamWorks made dragons fly with How To Train Your Dragon, and Illumination made their feature film debut with Despicable Me.