Hoot

“Whooo's there? Whooo woke me up? It's still daylight--I should be sleeping! Hey, as long as I'm up, why not take a short flight with me? Press and hold A to grab on. Release A to let go. I'll take you wherever you want to go, as long as my wings hold out. Watch my shadow, and grab on.”

—Hoot, Super Mario 64

Mario holding onto Hoot.

Hoot in Super Mario 64.

Hoot in Super Mario 64 DS.

Mario holding onto Hoot.

Hoot is an owl who sleeps in a tree near Whomp's Fortress in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. When Mario climbs into his tree, Hoot complains that Mario woke him up when it is still during the day, but will then offer to give Mario a ride to the top of the fortress. When the player wants Mario to ride Hoot, he should press and hold the A button on the controller. If the player wants Mario to let go, he should simply let go of the A button, and Hoot will then return to near his tree (and will remain awake for the rest of the mission). The player can have Mario ride Hoot for as long as he would like. However, if Mario hangs onto Hoot for too long, Hoot will complain that Mario's weight is making it difficult for him to carry him for so long. He will then drop Mario, telling him "to lay off the pasta," and then returns to near his tree. Depending on where in the sky Mario is, Hoot's action of letting him go could result in Mario's death.

It should be noted that Hoot will only appear in Whomp's Fortress during missions 3-6 (or missions 3-7 in the remake). If Mario is in this course during missions 1-2 and climbs Hoot's tree, Hoot himself will not appear.

Hoot later appears at Cool Cool Mountain, Snowman's Land, Tall Tall Mountain, and the huge part of Tiny-Huge Island in the DS remake during every mission except mission 1 (with the exception of Cool Cool Mountain because he does appear in every mission). In this game, Mario, Luigi, Wario and Yoshi can all hang onto him. Also in this game, music plays while hanging on to him, which is a variety of the Wing Cap theme. He also appears as an unlucky gambler in Mario Party Advance. Hoot tells the player that he has a losing streak at the Jungle Game Hut, and he needs the player to help him. Once the player wins, the reward is the minigame Stop 'em. The ending states that he can't stop shaking his head.