Movie Review of Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga-Hoole

Gerald Wright's Movie Coverage

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS:The Owls of Ga'Hoole
in 3D

Directed by: Zack Snyder
Running time: 90 min.
Release date: September 24, 2010
Genres: Animation, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Adaptation
Distributor: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating: PG

Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with this kids/family adventure that is loaded with action. LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS is based on the beloved book series by Kathryn Lasky, that follows a young owl named Soren who comes of age.

Soren (voice of Jim Sturgess) is a young Barn Owl who along with his older brother Kludd (voice of Ryan Kwanten) and their younger sister Eglantine (voice of Adrienne deFaria) love to hear his father's epic stories of Guardians of Ga'Hoole and the Great Tree. This is a mythic band of winged warriors who fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother Kludd entices him to master the art of flying and hunting. The problem is that insecure Kludd wants to steal his father's favor from his younger sibling Soren. However, Kludd's jealousy has terrible consequences, as they leave the nest - causing both owlets to fall from their safe treetop home and right into talons of the evil Pure Ones. As they are held captive and enslaved as either warrior recruits or menial scrap pickers, Soren makes a daring escape with his new found friend Gylfie, an Elf Owl (voice of Emily Barclay).

The storyline is a compilation of all themes of the 15 book series. The film masterfully creates an amazing owl world where unknown evils lurks, friends band together, and heroism reigns supreme. Not only can children find fun in this magical fantasy, but adults can marvel at an exciting and fantastic piece of animation done in a 3 dimensional format.

As Soren and Gylfie embark on a dangerous quest to find the Great Tree and to save the owl kingdom, they befriend others.
Their friends are a Great Owl called Twilight (voice of Anthony LaPaglia), a Burrowing Owl named Digger (voice of David Wenham), a wise old owl Ezylryb (Geoffrey Rush), and a snake who is the owlets nanny named Mrs. Plithiver (voice of Miriam Margolyes). This small band of heroes organized to battle the evil forces of the Pure Ones led by Metal Beak (Joel Edgerton) and Nyra (Helen Mirren) in this daring adventure.

In my opinion, this animated film will be on the Academy Award Consideration list. The action had me constantly saying to myself, "Wow"! The high energy, rescue, battle, fights, and escapes were on a non-stop motion rendering spectacular rhythm and pacing. The adventure sequences give the audience a look at new experiences from exotic locales while visually guiding us to the unknown. Yet, the dramatic aspect of this movie is serious and plot driven. It often portrays realistic characters, life situations, and subplots involving intense character development and interaction. The comic relief is light-hearted yet deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter by exaggerating the situations, actions, relationships, and characters.

The supporting cast of voices, including Hugo Weaving as Noctus/Grimble, Abbie Cornish as Otulissa, Sam Neill as Allomere. Richard Roxburgh, and Deborrah-Lee Furness as Barran, all assist in making this a movie I truly enjoyed.

FILM RATING (A+)