|
Zach
Snyder’s movies are
cool and stylish. He
really has more
style to his movies
than any other
director out right
now. Not a bad thing
to be known for.
Legend of the
Guardians: The Owls
of Ga’Hoole
is Snyder’s first
outing into the
world of animation
and while I would
say that it has a
definite amount of
style to it and
Snyder’s style at
that, it’s not a
great kids movie
because… for lack of
a better term it’s a
little boring.
Legend of the
Guardians
features an Owl
family and follows
the younger members
of the family
through some serious
things. Soren is the
middle child of the
family and he’s the
dreamer. He believes
in the owl stories
about Lies of Keel
and the rest of the
Guardians who
protect the life and
blood and the good
fortunes of the Owl
Nations against
evil. They police
things from afar and
answer when the call
of evil comes to the
nations. They’re
kind of like the
mysterious, mythical
law; they only come
out when things are
really bad. Kludd is
the oldest of the
three owlets and
he’s jaded. He
doesn’t believe in
dreams, only what he
can see, he’s
competitive and has
a nasty edge to him.
Egglantine is their
little sister. She
follows Soren around
and shares his
opinions.
When Soren and Kludd
are competing
‘branching’ while
they learn to fly,
things get a little
heated and they fall
out of the tree.
Once they’re out of
the tree they get
kidnapped by a
couple of mysterious
owls and taken to an
awful place where
the evil Metalbeak
appears to be
building an army to
enslave owl species
different from his.
That’s when the true
natures of Soren and
Kludd start. Soren
escapes the wicked
place with a friend
in tow and goes on
an adventure to find
the Guardians and
save the owls.
If it seems like
this movie is a
little hard to
follow… it’s because
it is. It’s way too
hard to understand
for an animated film
for children. The
story is too
confusing in parts
and the pacing of it
is awful. Even
though it does have
quite a bit of
heart, there’s very
little humor to it
and it’s not an easy
thing for a kid
under 7 to watch and
pay close attention
to (it’s not meant
for them… but it’s
an animated feature
and that’s who will
end up watching it.)
Plus… the other
problem with this is
the voice casting.
Jim Sturgess is good
as Soren. But every
Owl that has a hint
of evil to them
sounds exactly the
same. It’s hard to
distinguish between
characters the first
time you watch the
movie.
That’s what
Legends of the
Guardians
does
badly. What it does
well doesn’t trump
it the first time
through, but when
watching it a second
and third time
through it does. The
movie is beautiful
with some of the
coolest animation
that I’ve seen. The
look and the design
of all of the
characters are
gorgeous, second to
none and great to
look at. Plus upon
getting what’s going
on with the Owls,
it’s fun to watch
the story unfold and
more fun to figure
out which Owls are
who (get it?)
The bonus features
on Legends of the
Guardians are cool.
There’s a Roadrunner
cartoon that’s
hilarious, an Owl
City music video,
some information on
the books, and some
info on making the
movie. It’s not
amazing or over the
top, but they’re
worth watching and
the extras on the
Blu-ray and the
picture on this Blu-ray
are both
magnificent.
Legend of the
Guardians: The Owls
of Ga’hoole
is not a movie that
everyone will love
the first time
through, but it’s
something that can
be warmed up to the
second and third
times through. The
story has heart and
even doing
animation, Snyder
has a style to his
work. It’s a bummer
that this couldn’t
be better because I
would call it a miss
for Snyder (which
hasn’t happened
before) but it’s
still worth watching
and probably worth
owning.
|