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When it comes to adapting popular children's books to the big screen, Walden Media is hit and miss. Sometimes they're faithful—;Because of Winn-Dixie, Holes, Narnia—and sometimes … well, not so much (Around the World in 80 Days).

With Hoot, the studio continues its tradition of adapting celebrated novels into all-ages cinema. Boasting Newberry-winning source material, themes of environmental protection and preservation, and a cast that includes Luke Wilson and Holes' Tim Blake Nelson, it's loaded with potential. But …

Most Christian critics don't think Hoot deserves a spot on the shelf beside Walden's past hits.

Steven Greydanus (Decent Films) is similarly disappointed: "Now, for the first time, Walden has made a family film adaptation not worth watching, and the possibility of Holes having been something of a fluke is getting harder to ignore. A year ago, I would have been sanguine about Walden's upcoming versions of Charlotte's Web and Bridge to Terebithia. I'm still sure, given the source material and Walden's track record, that they'll be better than Hoot, but that's not saying much, alas."

Tom Neven (Plugged In) objects to the film's skewed sense of morality. "Hoot is indeed inherently educational, but along with teaching the positives of teamwork and environmental responsibility, it also confirms for kids that lying and cheating are acceptable—even desirable—when it comes to doing great things with your life. Sure, the kids bravely take on the corrupt powers-that-be in order to defend the defenseless owls. It's just that lying is integral to the game plan. So is vandalism, defying properly instituted authorities and getting other authority figures to lie for them. And at no time do they pay a price for these actions or get called onto the carpet for it."

Ken Goding (Christian Spotlight) agrees. "I was very disturbed by the message that Hoot delivers. The heroes fight evil with evil, and there is little recourse for it. When there was a short father-son talk, I hoped that this would be brought out, but sadly the father did not do a very good job of it. The motives are right, saving the owls is a good cause, but illegal activity to stop people from doing wrong can't be justified."

Meanwhile, Lisa Rice (Crosswalk) is one critic willing to sing Hoot's praises, saying it's "well-written, produced, and acted, and delivers a notable family film experience void of the usual trash seen in other teen fare such as Scary Movie 4. Regrettably, nowadays the typical Hollywood teen movie is filled with large doses of sex, drugs, alcohol, and attitude, but audiences won't find many of these elements in Hoot."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) complains that the film has "a weak script and a slow-starting plot," but ultimately concludes that "with quality family entertainment an endangered species, it's worth giving a 'hoot' to movies that buck the trend."

Most mainstream critics are ready to give Hoot the boot.

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