Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)

Very refreshing to see an animated film, outside of Japanese animation, dare to present us with an epic adventure story that takes itself seriously, without the need to stuff every other scene full of excessive cartoony slapstick fluff and desperately witty comedy dialogue, just to lighten the mood and remind us that it's a kids movie, which is the trend that modern Western animation seems stuck in lately. Kids absolutely can engage with serious stories that are not afraid to go a bit darker in tone, as I remember quite well from my favorite fantasy movies as a kid.A story featuring owls as characters is a little unusual, for sure. But aside from the unusual owl theme, this is a classic epic fantasy at heart. Epic fantasy is a genre that I love and one that I can forgive for reusing some of the same old clichés, such as the good guys vs the evil empire setup, or the classic hero's journey tale, because it just wouldn't be epic fantasy without some of these same old things.The one thing, though, that makes this movie stand out more than anything is its director, Zack Snyder. It may seem a little usual for a director who specializes in adult-oriented CGI-heavy action movies to handle a kid's animated adventure like this, but upon seeing the movie, it's clear that he made this one special in a way no one else can. His trademark eye for breathtaking visuals and exquisitely-handled action directing is on full display here. In the hands of someone else, we may have instead gotten the silly cartoony slapstick style more typical of animated movies these days, and not the epic quality action that we see here; so, thank you, Zack Snyder, for making this movie.

this movie is just fantastic because it has everything.. fun, drama, courage, family, war.. you name it. I watched it in the cinema first time and cried like a big baby at the end. it also goes well with my passion for birds. the visual effects are spectacular, including the slow-mo scenes that remind me of the 300 movie.. so if you're interested in an animation that isn't just meant to make you laugh, but hits all of your emotional sides, while at the same time tickling your senses,this is the movie to watch. I'm not really sure why it's called that way, I heard there was a book and that some users may prefer the book instead of the movie, but oh well, you can't include all of the details from a book inside of a film that only lasts a couple of hours.

The movie was a bit stereotypical as most of the movies that don't bring novel twists in the plot. A young owl that through misfortunes or misadventures reaches something it couldn't do at home. It identifies with novels that are bildungroman where the characters maturates while the events are folding up. I liked the animation and the resolution of it which reflected a great labor done by the animator.The climax of the movie was a bit unrelated and didn't build or perfectly match with the flow and plot of the whole and I think that there should have been some spices in order to keep it on.

I haven't read the books but it is definitely on my reading list. I highly enjoyed this movie and was surprised at how non-kid oriented it was. That isn't to say kids won't enjoy it at all, it just wasn't watered down the way most animated movies are nowadays so that the kids can follow along. The animation was breathtaking, the plot was a lot more detailed and intricate than I expected, and you felt like you were being taken on a journey into another world...which is exactly what movies should do. I loved the accents for the owls and their different personalities. My favorite animal happens to be owls so I was very excited to see this. All in all: kids will love it, adults will be entertained, and its just a good all around movie.