Legend Of The Guardians - The Owls Of Ga'hoole [Blu-ray]

Based on the best-selling series of books by Kathryn Lasky this movie culminates the excitement of the first three volumes into an absolutely outstanding specticle, using intricate and very much life like animation to bring alive the world of the owls and the epic adventures they face.
The story follows soren, a young barn owl who is captured by an evil tribe of owls, once imprisoned in a mountainous canyon he meets a small pigmy owl named Gylfie, these two new friends battle out of their captors claws and fly off in search of the great Ga'hoole tree in order to warn the guardians about the increasing danger that awaits. Along the way they meet more owls, twilight, digger and a very lady like snake. Once at the Ga'hoole tree they train to become guardians and to fight the evil owls of st aggies academy who plot to overrun the tree and forge their empire across the world.
Zak Snyder helms this movie and he does it well, his famous use of slow motion blends perfectly in this movie, one scene in particular, using slow motion in the rain makes for a very magical experience, he keeps the movie going at a fair pace and it never tires or becomes boring. The animation is the best i have ever seen, the detail is phenomonal, the birds move like owls should and the landscapes and set pieces are stunning. The final battle scene is mind blowing, loud, action packed, kind of brutal and thoroughly white knuckle. The script is well translated from the books and the characters are true to those that are portrayed in the eye of Kathryn Lasky. A brilliant voice cast accompany this movie including: Sam Neill, Helen Mirren, Geoffery Rush, Emile De Ravin, Miriam Marogoyles and Hugo Weaving.
I honestly cannot fault this movie in the slightest, awesome animation, brilliant voice cast, thrilling battle scenes, a true fantasy epic. The one thing i don't understand is why this didn't do brilliantly at box office, i enjoyed it much more than Avatar.

I was not sure what to expect from this movie and was prepared to sacrifice my time in order to keep my 7 year old daughter happy. However, I was totally blown away by this movie. Firstly the animation is so spellbinding that I really felt like I was witnessing something new for the first time like Star Wars or Avatar. The story is based on the first 3 books of Katherine Lasky and my daughter has started reading these since watching the film. The characters are owls but they could very easily have been humans and it would have been a quest movie like Lord of the Rings. The plot is intricate and would be hard to follow for very young children. This is not necessarily a kids film, it just happens to be animated. There is violence in it and a few truly evil characters and so I would recommend it for over 7's. I cried and laughed and clapped at this film because I was so caught up in the story and didn't want it to end. If you buy this DVD, you will not be disappointed.

Legend of the guardians is a cgi animation movie which takes Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole: Guardians of Ga'hoole, Books One, Two & Three, the first three books in a series of novels about a kingdom of owls, and condenses them down into one movie. Thus it's 'based on' the books because it's not got room for all of them.

The lead character is Soren, a young owl who has grown up on stories of the guardians. A noble group of warriors who fight the good fight for the sake of it. Soren loves these stories and tries to draw inspiration from them. His brother thinks they're childish and silly.

When the two are kidnapped by nasty owls who are trying to build an army in order to conquer the world, Soren's brother falls prey to the temptation and lure of evil. But Soren holds true to his principles and along with some new friends tries to escape and find the guardians so they can come and save the day.

But legends never quite match reality. And Soren is going to have to grow up fast.

This is a pg certificate. And the dvd tries to lure people in by mentioning the movie happy feet on the cover. But legend of the guardians isnt nearly as happy. It's an uneasy balance of kiddie friendly - via a couple of eccentric comic relief owls - and downright darker moments. So frankly it's really not suitable for young children.

Neverthteless, it does touch on some interesting and thought provoking concepts. The power of stories and legends. How they can teach us life lessons and inspire us. And how legends don't always live up to the reality. And how people can hold true to their principles in the face of evil or surrender to it.

Readers of epic fantasy novels will find this very much their cup of tea as it does have many of the trappings of that genre.

The voice cast are predominantly Australian with a couple of british big names thrown in, so that all adds an interesting feel to it.

There are moments of exposition and long journeys, but those looking for action will find some good battle sequences do come their way.

The visuals are very memorable, though, with some amazing landscapes and character design. Every single owl does manage to look distinctive.

A memorable movie experience if you're receptive to it.

The dvd has the following language and subtitle options:

Languages: English, Italian.

Subtitles: English, Italian.

It begins with some trailers but you can get past these by pressing the next button on the dvd remote.

The only extras are a four minute long new Road Runner cartoon that played with the movie in cinemas.

And a fifteen minute long feature documentary about owls. Presented by a child and one of the characters from the film, this is aimed at younger viewers and is suitable for all ages. It does contain interesting facts about owls, and it feels just about the right length.