Family-friendly early summer blockbusters

~ Family-friendly early summer blockbusters

May is usually one of the most exciting months of the year at the box office. The early summer blockbusters hit the screen, and 2006 continues that tradition.

There are animals of all sorts prevalent in May's family-friendly choices, from owls to cute woodland creatures to blue, hairy beasts. As always, each title includes the important Dad-and-Lad-o-meter, giving you an insight into our level of excitement for each individual movie (scored 1 to 5). Release dates are subject to change.

'Hoot'

"Hoot"

Opens today

Rating: PG

New Line Cinema

Cast: Luke Wilson, Logan Lerman, Brie Larson, Cody Linley, Tim Blake Nelson, Jessica Cauffiel, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Flynn, Eric Phillips, Kiersten Warren, Dean Collins, Damaris Justamante, Clark Gregg, Nelitza Vallellanes, Tom Brainard, Rick Michaels and Robert Wagner.

Story: Three middle-schoolers take on greedy land developers, corrupt politicians and clueless cops after they unearth a disturbing threat to a local population of endangered owls.

Outlook: Haven't seen or heard much about this one, so it is a "Hoot" of a mystery to us.

Dad and Lad-o-meter: 2

'Over the Hedge'

"Over the Hedge"

May 19

Rating: PG

Dreamworks Pictures

Cast: Bruce Willis, Gary Shandling, Steve Carell, Nick Nolte, Catherine O'Hara, William Shatner, Eugene Levy, Wanda Sykes, Avril Lavigne, Allison Janney, Thomas Haden Church, Madison Davenport andOmid Djalili.

Story: Woodland friends awaken from their long winter's nap to discover that a tall, green "thing" has mysteriously cropped up right through the middle of their home. An opportunistic raccoon explains that the world beyond the hedge is the "gateway to the good life," where peculiar creatures called humans live to eat rather than eat to live. The animals learn to co-exist with, and even exploit, this strange new world called suburbia.

Outlook: Looks fun as yet another CGI film enters the summer movie marathon.

Dad and Lad-o-meter: 3

'X-Men: The Last Stand'

"X-Men: The Last Stand"

May 26

Rating: PG-13

20th Century Fox

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Shawn Ashmore, Daniel Cudmore, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Kelsey Grammer.

Story: The X-Men must face evolution itself as former teammate Jean Grey is resurrected as the Dark Phoenix. To stave off this imminent threat to humanity, a potential cure is discovered and processed to treat and ultimately eliminate genetic mutations. Battle lines are drawn and the X-Men must contend with both Jean Grey's world-consuming powers and the malevolent Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants led by Magneto.

Outlook: We are giddy with excitement to see the apparent conclusion of the "X-Men" trilogy. New mutants and new controversy appear prevalent in the film, including our old friend Frasier as Beast. We expect some violent scenes and a mature tone, so be aware of the PG-13 rating.

Dad and Lad-o-meter: 5