Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Voices of: Jim Sturgess, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Abby Cornish, Anthony LaPaglia
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young owl is captured by a group determined to enslave other owls to take over the world. He must find a way to escape and reach the fabled Guardians of Ga'Hoole for help.

Review:

Tim: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole- besides a bad, too long title, in my mind, this was Zack Snyder's animated owl movie. I admit I could not comprehend why this movie was made. I'd never read the book(s), and I couldn't understand why Snyder would follow 300 and Watchmen with an animated movie about fighting owls. It felt incomprehensible. However, what I never believed- what I couldn't even fathom- is that Snyder took this project because it features a pretty fascinating story that would work well on the big screen. I wanted this movie to fail in theaters because it looked so stupid. Now, I wish it had made enough money to warrant a sequel. Maybe I'm crazy, but this is a very, very good movie.

The main reason I liked this movie is because it's really not a kid's movie. There are some adult themes here- the battle scenes are often intense, owls die fairly frequently, and this isn't your typical "feel good" animated film. While it's appropriate for children, the story will appeal to adults as well. I was very appreciative that this story wasn't dumbed down or diluted to appeal to a wide audience. This hurt the film's box office performance, but kept the quality of the film intact.

It also helps that this movie is absolutely beautiful to look at. It rivals anything the bigger studios (including Pixar) are doing. The owls look absolutely stunning- the animation is truly breathtaking. The world they inhabit is so beautiful and so clear, it's almost hard to believe. The visuals were fantastic, and helped to transport the audience to this fantasy world. They really need to be seen to be believed.

In addition, I have to say that Legend of the Guardians features the greatest owl v. owl battle scenes ever filmed. Snyder brings his unique touch to these scenes. The action sequences were amazing. I held my breath during the slow motion scenes and watched captivated at all the others. It can't be very easy to create believable, intense, thrilling action scenes involving owls fighting, but this movie hits a home run in this area. They are amazing and rival anything being done in live action. I loved them.

The voice cast was terrific. I didn't really recognize any of them, but I was impressed with the voices nevertheless. It's nice to watch an animated movie where you don't immediately know who's behind the characters. Jim Sturgess does a very good job as Soren. I also liked hearing Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, and especially Hugo Weaving. The cast is made up of A-list names, but you wouldn't know that just by listening. I really liked the cast a great deal.

I admit I was completely down on this movie. I'll probably never learn to not judge a movie by the first impression. While so many movies prove to be as bad as they first looked, there's so many that are significantly better. I found Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole to be an exciting, original, beautiful adventure movie. It was surprisingly good, and I had a very fun time watching it. Zack Snyder proved me wrong, and his animated owl movie is one of the surprising films of 2010 for me. Sadly, I don't think the box office haul will warrant a sequel. That's too bad.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Happy Feet, Watchmen, 300