Published on
I wonder how many kids come out of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole with a bland expression on their face as if they can’t comprehend with what they’s have just seen. Because this movie is all but a kids movie. The movie about a group of owls draws multiple parallels with the holocaust and the issue of child soldiers in Africa. It’s beautifully rendered but dark compared to movies by Pixar or Dreamworks and has got some pretty violent scenes in it of owls maiming each other with knives on their claws.
Not really kids stuff if you ask me. I remember when I was a kid and they had this cartoon on TV about a duck. He had a crow class mate who during the course of the series turned into a representation of Adolf Hitler. As a 10 year old I did not comprehend this, but the dark undertone really turned me off. With that in mind I wonder how kids will respond to this movie.
But for older kids and adults Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is a pretty nice movie. Visually more interesting than story wise but still a decent production.
It’s about a family of owls familiar with a legend of how the titular guardians defeated the evil metal beak. When the two sons are kidnapped and enslaved by the evil army lead by this Metal Beak one escapes to find the guardians, the other gets easily brain washed and turns on his family in order to rise in this army.
The tag-line basically says it all: On his way to finding a legend… he will become one.
Director Zack Snyder has developed his own style consisting of a lot of slow-motion shots. He’s at an intersection of his career right now after directing a couple of movies which have not disappointed. They all look great, but sometimes lack a little in the story department. Once the wow-factor about the visuals wear off, a decent movie remains. Snyder needs to find a movie where the story has the same amount of wow-factor. He could either be the next Michael Bay, or the next David Fincher.
I’m hoping the second.
