Hoot

"Whooo's there? Whooo woke me up? It's still daylight--I should be sleeping! Hey, as long as I'm awake, why not take a short flight with me?"

- Hoot

Hoot, or the Owl, is a friendly 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 he will then offer to give Mario a ride to the top of the fortress. If the player wants Mario to ride Hoot, they should press and hold the button ( in the DS remake) on the controller. If the player wants Mario to let go, they should simply let go of the / button, and Hoot will then return near his tree (and will remain awake for the rest of the mission). If Mario hangs on to Hoot for too long, Hoot will complain that Mario's weight is making it difficult for him to continue carrying him. He will then drop Mario, telling him to "lay off the pasta," and return 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 appears in Whomp's Fortress only 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 will not appear.

In the DS remake, Hoot also appears on Cool, Cool Mountain during all missions; in Snowman's Land and on Tall, Tall Mountain during all but the first mission; and on the huge part of Tiny-Huge Island during all but the first two missions. In this game, Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi can all hang on to him.

Two owls resembling Hoot appear in Mario Party 3 on the board Woody Woods; one is mid-flight, and the other is sleeping within a tree.

Hoot 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 cannot stop shaking his head.

Media
Although the music does not change when flying with Hoot in Super Mario 64, in Super Mario 64 DS, a variation of the Wing Cap/Vanish Cap theme is played.