Children know best

You want to love everything that comes from Walden Media. The company has an admirable mission—adapting classic children’s literature and inspiring true stories to the big screen—and has met with some encouraging success, most notably last year’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But the young company’s track record is already somewhat spotty: while Holes and Because of Winn-Dixie turned out well, the company’s Around the World in 80 Days remake was a colossal flop.

You want to love everything that comes from Walden Media. The company has an admirable mission—adapting classic children's literature and inspiring true stories to the big screen—and has met with some encouraging success, most notably last year's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But the young company's track record is already somewhat spotty: while Holes and Because of Winn-Dixie turned out well, the company's Around the World in 80 Days remake was a colossal flop.

Unfortunately, Walden's latest release belongs in the "flop" category. Hoot (based on the kids' novel by Florida comic crime writer Carl Hiaasen and rated PG for mild bullying and brief language) is frustrating on so many different levels, one hopes that it will quickly disappear from theaters, and, somehow, from Walden's filmography, too.