Soren is a young owl who, to the amusement of his older brother, Kludd, dreams of joining the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors.
When the brothers fall from their tree top into the terrible talons of the Pure Ones, it is up to Soren to lead a daring escape, find the Guardians of Ga'Hoole and save the owl kingdoms.
When you think of Zack Snyder, a 3D animated owl picture would not be the first thing you would imagine as his newest project. After having a career doing TV adverts for car companies, Snyder went on to direct various films that you may consider as 'teen pictures'. Now the man behind 300 and Watchmen has churned out something of a surprise based on his previous and brief filmography.
I would say straight away that the visuals in this film are stunning and this is actually down to the fact that it is in 3D. I can't comment on the 2D version but I'm sure it doesn't look half as good and the film does rely on the '3D-ness' to wow the audience at regular intervals. The audience for this film is obviously young children and the release takes full advantage of half term. The film offers up a story of sibling rivalry which we have seen many times before, a 'good vs evil' plot that is at times convoluted and characters that are voiced and animated in an extremely appealing fashion. The question is, is there any real substance?
Sadly, there isn't much. I wanted to enjoy the film a lot more than I did, this isn't to say I didn't like it because I did. What the film is missing is a heart. It's all well and good giving us great voice-overs including Helen Mirren, Sam Neil and Hugo Weaving but beneath the surface there has to be something more. When kids and parents alike watch Toy Story 3, there is a warmth and a depth to what unfolds on-screen. In Legend of the Guardians, that likeability and 'cant wait for the sequel' factor is nowhere to be seen.
However, there are genuine 'laugh out loud' moments in the film which do make up for the sometimes wayward plot. The humour is actually one of the highlights along with the overall look of the film which is absolutely breathtaking. The kids should enjoy it, although they will have seen better if they are a certain age. It is unfortunate to have come out in the same year as Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me as they offer a little more and the kids will realise that.
I really wanted to come out of the cinema feeling amazed and inspired by the film. In reality, the feeling I got was frustration as I wanted it to be so much more than it was as it had the platform to be an animated classic . This shouldn't take anything away from it being visually superb and a very funny half term hooter.
3/5
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