Synopsis

After moving from Montana to Florida, Roy Eberhardt struggles to adjust to a new school and an unfamiliar town. He soon befriends two local kids who are trying to stop a pancake restaurant from being built on the habitat of endangered burrowing owls. Their campaign brings Roy into conflict with bullies, developers, and local officials while inspiring a larger fight for the environment.

Factoids & Trivia

• Hoot is based on Carl Hiaasen's 2002 young adult novel of the same name.

• The production used live burrowing owls. Because the birds were undergoing rehabilitation and could not be returned to the wild, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permitted their use in the film, an unusual allowance for an indigenous migratory bird.

• Jimmy Buffett served as a producer and contributed prominently to the soundtrack. His song "Good Guys Win" appears in the film.

• Carl Hiaasen makes a cameo as Felix, an assistant to the regional manager of Mother Paula's Pancake House.

• Most of the film was shot in Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and Boca Grande. Additional scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.

• Hurricane Katrina disrupted the Florida production in August 2005, forcing members of the cast and crew to relocate from a beachfront hotel.

• The film's owl calls are not accurate recordings of burrowing owls. The sound effects resemble the deeper call of a great horned owl.

• Hoot was released in the United States on May 5, 2006. Made on an estimated $15 million budget, it earned slightly more than $8.2 million worldwide.