I liked this ridiculous movie about murderous owls far more than I expected to. Here’s what I said in my UGO review.
I never knew Australian owls wore battle armor and could rally to arms for social justice. I wish I had known this sooner.
There are a number of different reasons to champion Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. It has an epic fantasy scope, a classic hero’s journey plot, a fun group of characters and thrilling action sequences. Above all, though, Guardians has some of the greatest computer generated moments of animation I’ve ever seen. Other than perhaps Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void and the yet-to-be-screened Tron Legacy, there isn’t anything as mesmerizing and cool looking happening in a theater in 2010. Legend of the Guardians is a milestone for animation and 3D. It is a visual masterpiece.
Under the direction of Zack Snyder, Australian company Animal Logic (they did Happy Feet and have an awesome reel of advertising) have achieved something quite remarkable. The titular Owls (some of the legendary Home Tree-esque Ga’Hoole, some trying to get there to warn of the evil “Pure Ones”) hit just the perfect note of being realistic and anthropomorphized. The interaction of air and digital feathers work in a harmony that would make Simon and Garfunkel jealous. Raindrops on the owls’ faces shimmer and dazzle. The talons shoot out and remind us all why we’re wearing these dopey 3D glasses. This close-up and slo-mo (it is Zack Snyder) look at Birds of Prey in action is great for nature lovers. That they wear helmets and smith weapons will delight straight-up fans of fantasy. And then there’s the little extra spice that makes Legend of the Guardians just a tiny bit subversive.
Despite Animal Logic’s attention to harsh detail, the owls on display are all. . . adorable. No matter how fearsome or triumphant, they are still cute li’l owls. Even evil Metal Beak, voiced with basso profundo by Joel Edgerton, has a fuzzy tummy. As the Guardians soared majestically into battle, there was no way I could tamp down the part of my brain that saw flying versions of my tubby cat Goober. (Am I the only one who thinks owls look like flying house cats?)
This in no way diminished from the film. In fact, it only made it a hundred times better. Who is to say that only orcs, Pegasi or Orlando Bloom can engage in noble battle? Why not funny looking owls? Do they not yearn for glory and the conquest of evil like the rest of us? Does not the hero’s heart beat in all of us, even if we don’t look the part? In a strange, twisted way, it is like reading some fiction with really lustful depictions of sex then seeing a picture of the twerpy guy who wrote it.
So, yes, I just compared Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole to a John Updike dust cover.
When I was a wee lad, I loved adventure movies like Dragonslayer and Krull. Storywise, Guardians mines the same quarry. As a sound and light show, it is next generation in every sense. The twelve-year-old in you will lose his mind at this film.
