First off, just wow. This film has remarkably and unexpectedly incredible visuals. With that said (and to be expounded upon more later on) let’s continue.
In the wake of the overwhelming success of the Harry Potter film franchise, studios have bought up rights to countless young adult fantasy novels and thrown their film adaptations at the wall hoping that one of them will stick as the next big thing. City of Ember, The Chronicles of Narnia, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Golden Compass, and now Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole have all failed to make the mark needed to establish themselves as the serious contenders for that all-important “family film” niche. In the case of Legend of the Guardians, directed by Zack Snyder, the fault doesn’t lie with the visual or audio presentation as it features stellar animation, well-executed fight sequences (owl-on-owl violence is neat), and solid vocal performances. The issue is with the story and its execution which never really manage to enthrall the viewer or draw them into the world. Maybe that’s because the main characters are talking animals and it requires a bit more lenience from the audience for it to ever truly work, or maybe it’s because the characters feel two-dimensional and underdeveloped – whatever the case, Legend of the Guardians has more aesthetic beauty than it does structural.
The entire story starts off with a fault, as Soren (Jim Sturgess) and his brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) leave the nest before they know how to fly and get captured by “Pure Ones”, members of an evil order of owls plotting to take over all the kingdoms of the owl world, and taken to their training facility where the heinous Metalbeak and his lady-owl Nyra rule with an iron talon (and beak…apparently). Metalbeak resembles a coagulate of the likes of Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia, a few others, quickly turning Soren’s brother to their side by invoking messages of family and belonging. Soren quickly escapes with an elf owl, Gylfie (Emily Barclay), eventually meets up with a silly burrowing owl, named Digger (David Wenham), and eventually find their way to the headquarters of the fabled society of owls, the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, the last chance to stand against the “Pure Ones”. As Kludd trains with the “Pure Ones”, Soren does so with the Guardians as everything builds to a head for the grand final conflict. It’s ABC storytelling, a few plotpoints leave a few glaring holes (like how quickly the owls learned to fly after they’ve been owlnapped, how quickly Kludd gets Stockholm Syndrome, or the ridiculous magic of the gizzard it relies on), and the characterization never really allows the audience to see and relate to the main characters before they start off on their unintentional journey.
Where the film does succeed is in the visual and audio presentation. The high-definition makes for some absolutely stunning animation that boasts some of the most detailed imagery I’ve ever seen in an animated feature. The fur of each owl’s face can be seen to stir with the slightest breeze and the larger action pieces look just as incredible. It may lack severely in its ability to tell a story, but no one can argue with the animation and the syncing of the voices with the movement of the beaks. The cast brings together a mix of screen excellence like Geoffrey Rush, Helen Mirren, Anthony LaPaglia, Sam Neill, and Hugo Weaving and voice actors and the names never overpower or drown out the performances they give. These aren’t Oscar-worthy deliveries in any sense, but the harmony with which they mix with the animated beaks is nearly flawless, only suffering occasionally when the beaks can’t seem to fully mimic the shape required to make the corresponding sound – otherwise this is a true feat in animation and sound. This film sounds and looks absolutely incredible in high-definition.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The set includes the film on Blu-ray & DVD, and as a digital copy. The Blu-ray disc includes extras like a retelling of the Guardians' story as it was told to Soren in the film, concept artwork galleries, and a music video by Owl City. However, the funniest and/or best feature in the lot, is the inclusion of an in-film picture-in-picture commentary with Soren animated and flitting about offering extra facts on the movie as it goes along. It just might get the little ones to watch an audio track, but really it’s just weird to hear an owl spout on about the production of a film. Rounding out the set is a look at the plight of owls in the real world (their dwindling numbers) narrated by the animated Digger and Rico Rodriguez (Manny from Modern Family), and a cartoon from the new Looney Tunes series called “Fur of Flying”.
The animation and sound make this Blu-ray worth a look, and if you find yourself taken with the story it’s definitely a worthy title for purchase for the young adults out there.
"Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" is on sale December 14, 2010 and is rated PG. Adventure, Animation, Children & Family. Directed by Zack Snyder. Written by John Orloff and Emil Stern (screenplay), Kathryn Lasky (novels). Starring Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Helen Mirren, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Neill, Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish.
