Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010)

• Story
• Effects
• Soundtrack

Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010) is a computer-animated fantasy film loosely based on the first three books of the series Guardians of Ga’Hoole by Kathryn Lasky. The movie is directed by Zack Snyder known for the movies ‘Watchmen’ (2009) and ’300′ (2006). After I caught a trailer of this movie online, I just had to go see this movie in 3D in the cinema!

Plot

Soren is a young owl who loves to hear his father telling him the stories about the Guardians, a legendary band of noble owls who have sworn to vanquish evil and to save the Owl Kingdom. His brother Kludd doesn’t like the fact Soren is a dreamer and he can’t seem to stop talking about the Guardians.

One night as they are practicing branch hopping, which is a step in learning how to fly, the two brothers get into an argument and they fall from their home tree. Unable to fly up back to their nest, the two brothers are vulnerable for an attack. Just when they are about the get attacked by a wild animal they are rescued by two owls. But, instead of taking them to their nest, Soren and Kludd are actually kidnapped! It turns out they aren’t the only young owls that have been kidnapped, a whole bunch of owls have been taken from their families to serve the Pure Ones. These evil owls have plans to take over all Owl Kingdoms!

Soren manages to escape together with Gylfie. They need to get to the Guardians and tell them about this great threat. But do the Guardians really exist, will Soren and Gylfie be able to reach them, and can the Pure Ones be stopped?

Thoughts

The moment I saw the trailer of ‘Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga’Hoole’ (2010) I just knew I had to see this movie in the cinema. The animation is truly superb. The scenery, the Owls, the feathers, the action scenes, the way emotion is animated – it makes your jaw drop! Adding 3D to the movie definitely gave it that extra kick. I really love how this movie is another good example of pushing the boundaries of computer animated movies even further. I really like how great 3D movies are such a perfect excuse to watch movies in the cinema instead of downloading them and watching it on your computer. Also, who knew owls could be so totally AWESOME ?!!

The story of this 90 minutes long animation film is based on the first 3 books of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series. It’s obvious the movie has to cut parts of the full story. Even though the movie definitely has the needed parts to tell a complete story, I would not have mind if the movie lasted close to 120 minutes instead of mere 90 minutes. The creators definitly could have taken more time to tell the story. Maybe an idea for a longer, special edition? *tee-hee* Of course the movie is also targeted to a somewhat younger audience, so making it a 90 minutes film makes sense.

For a movie that is targeted to a younger audience it’s definitly enjoyable for adults too! The movie is not just visually stunning, but it also makes us reflect on the choices we make in our lives. The relationship between Soren and Kludd shows us a little sibling rivalry and asks us the question: “Would we betray our family?”. Of course the movie also shows us that everyone can be a hero, if you believe. I’m actually so charmed by the story I’m thinking of buying the books by Kathryn Lasky!

Verdict

Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010) is a movie you have to see in the cinema! It has a lovely story, great action and it’s beautifully animated with perfect use of 3D technology. If you’re not a fan of owls after watching this movie, I’m not sure what will make you a fan :P Owls FTW, go Guardians, go SOREN !!!