It’s quite a mix of emotions watching Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.
You can’t help but love the adorable owls. You can’t help but sit in awe of some of the best CG animation, ever. And you can’t help but wonder why in the world someone thought this screenplay was okay.
You can almost watch this movie on mute and still have the same enjoyable experience you get with the whole package. Add some ad-libbing and you’ll probably enjoy it even more. The disconnect between plot and effects can only be described as disappointing.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is based on the children’s book series by Kathryn Lasky. Soren and Kludd, a pair of young owlets, allow their brotherly banter to land them to the unforgiving ground below their family’s nest. As they are being attacked by an animal, two older owls sweep them away from danger…and their home. The brothers are taken to St. Aggie’s, a sort of owl army training camp where young birds are brainwashed into soldiers.
Soren and his new friend Gylfie resist the training and eventually escape to seek help from the Guardians, a mystic legend Soren and Kludd’s father told them their entire lives. Soren’s strong heart and natural abilities prove him to be a strong leader and underdog hero in the fight against the warriors of St. Aggies.
The film’s poster boasts that the story comes from “the studio that brought your Happy Feet.” It is in fact true, the two movies did come from the same studio, and that’s about as far as the comparisons can travel. Legends of the Guardians is a story that I feel can only be described as Harry Potter meets every other animated film following the journey of some animal creature. That fact doesn’t necessarily make this movie terrible, it just doesn’t make it the latest joy that Happy Feet was.
Guardians has a much higher cool factor than you’d expect from your average kids movie. It’s not all rainbows, puppies and happy endings. There is killing, battle scenes, brainwashing, and weaponry. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the non-child-friendly elements of this movie, but really there’s nothing in this film’s that warrants more uproar than Mufasa’s death scene in Lion King or Bambi’s mom getting shot.
The action gives this film a layer that not many “kid’s” films, if any, have been able to pull off. It has all the suspense and intensity of an actual battle film (I know it’s hard to believe) alongside the cuddly and loveable characters and themes we’d expect.
The animation of Legends is glorious. You seriously want to reach out and pet each of the owls’ feathers. The 3D elements were nicely done. Certain elements actually pop out at you, rather than the surprisingly static 3D effects a lot of movies have been offering lately *cough* The Last Airbender *cough*. It’s awe striking how different the animators could make each owl look. All of them carried their unique features while maintaining one of the most realistic looking animated creatures we’ve seen.
The plot of Guardians is…well, not so glorious. Is it enjoyable? Yes. Spectacular? No.
This story is really just a run of the mill human situation put into the animal world kind of thing. It’s entertaining, but also the type of thing that makes you think you could have written the exact same story without much imagination. This being said, I do think it’s worth a watch on the big screen, and in 3D.
The animation is where this film shines. And it is a good one for the kids. Granted, it is rated PG for a reason, but there’s no gore or over the top issues. As with all children’s movies, there are certain implied things that kid’s who are old enough to understand are also old enough to handle it.
Overall rating: 3/5 reels.
