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g-bodyl 2012-05-24 09:29:38

Fantastic Visuals!

The Legend of the Guardians is a great movie with amazing visuals thatreminded me of Avatar. They were just breathtaking. The story itself isa great story based on the books by Kathryn Lasky. I only read thefirst one but from what I can tell, they adapted the books to the bigscreen quite well.This is about two young owls Soren and Kludd who are kidnapped by anAcademy. The academy is actually using owls to do their sinister work.Soren and his new friend Glyfie eventually escape and they head to theGuardians so they can stop this evil.There are impressive actors here in the movie. The only problem is Icouldn't tell them apart. I only recognized Helen Mirren. TheAustralian accents were a little overdone.Overall, this is a wonderful movie but I would not take youngerchildren because there is plenty of violence. Zack Snyder did a greatjob in his first animated flick. I rate this film 9/10.

2012-05-24 00:06:16

Great!

This review is from: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole (DVD) Got this as a present for my 12 yr old sister - she had already read the books and loved this cartoon. I must say that the quality is great, looks like it's in HD even though I had purchased DVD quality. Definitely recommend this item!

2012-05-21 14:37:45

Amazing Movie

It doesn't follow the books, or so my daughter says. I've never read the books and am only judging the movie apart from the books. The movie is amazing to watch. The computer animation is so real, beautiful and at times disturbing. This movie is not just for kids. But, the battle scenes aren't for the young kids. My 11 and 12 year olds watch this. I wouldn't recommend going too much younger unless they're really desensitized to violence already, which isn't recommended because we should protect the minds of the very young so that they're not exposed to ideas that they're not ready to handle. While there was no blood or gore, there are slashing enemies throats, birds falling hard on the ground, one bird falls in the fire and stuff like that. It's done tastefully, but just be warned. War is violent, and it is not sugar coated very much. Evil birds try to take over and their idea is that the strong rule the weak. The theme of the movie is fight evil, mend the broken and strengthen the weak. Overall, a great moral story with fantastic visuals and interesting characters. I'm very impressed.

2012-05-21 09:16:07

Simply amazing

This review is from: Legend of the Guardians-Owls of Ga'hoole (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) This movie in 3d was simply beautiful. The clarity, the quality was amazing. Purchased for my granddaughters, they really enjoyed the story line. The 8 year old has seen it 3 times. Am so very glad I bought it.

del91 2012-05-21 08:06:52

Terrific family entertainment; yet another CG-animated gem of 2010

Is 2010 the Golden Year of CG-animated films? We already had TWOexcellent films, all computer animated and all family-friendly. "How ToTrain Your Dragon" and especially "Toy Story 3" are stunning in termsof quality and technicalities. Even "Despicable Me" had a heart. I'dadd another to that list: "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls ofGa'Hoole".There will be complaints, like every other movie. Some will call thestory unoriginal. Some'll say it's childish because it has talkinganimals. Some'll say it's stupid for the exact same reasons. I say, sowhat?! It's a family film, meaning there's something for both kids andthose who are kids-at-heart! People go to the movies to be entertained,especially families, and with that this film delivers in spades.First we have a superb, outstanding cast consisting ofAustralian/British actors of both the young and highest caliber.There's too many actors to say here, so I'll just say this: the voiceacting is terrific. The owls speak in accents (for obvious reasons)making them sound as far and away from being "Hollywood-ized" aspossible. There's depth, determination and heart to these characters.The villains of the film are really menacing, a feat considering thatalmost every character in the film are owls.Story-wise, it's obviously unoriginal, but it is told very well. Thisis due to the animation, which is absolutely, spectacularly stunning.There is a great amount of detail in the film, especially on the owls,you can see every feather, every movement they make, every gust of windthat brushes that pass their feathers. Director Zack Snyder (finallyusing his talents for the kids) puts his signature style to terrificuse here, using the "ramping" (frantic slowing down and speeding uprepeatedly) technique from his "300" and "Watchmen" for the actionsequences, that will make one forget he is watching an animated film,let alone a movie that has talking owls. It's absolutely breathtakingto see it in 2D alone, I watched it in 3D and had a hard time closingmy stuck jaw afterwords!The film looks and feels like it's a lost "Lord of the Rings" film.There's the armor, and the swords (talons), and then there's the bigbad (Metal Beak) and the young hero (Soren) who is destined forgreatness. It's set in a fantasy, far-away world where 3D is put toterrific use. Not since "Avatar" has 3D been used so efficiently andeffectively that makes it an essential part of the story instead ofbeing distracting and gimmicky. Likewise, the cinematography and theorchestral score is great and puts you into the film more. The owlslook painstakingly well- rendered and they don't looktoo-clichéd-cartoony or too-frighteningly- realistic. It's just right.The only gripe I had with the film is the insertion of an Owl-City(because he's practically the most famous artist today with the word"Owl" in his name) song in the middle of the film which is distracting.But apart from that everything else was great.In short, it's one of the best animated films of the year. It's theperfect movie to bring your family (and maybe friends as well) andenjoy. Have no worries, sit back, and enjoy the ride. And seeing it in3D is a plus, no matter what anyone else says. The ending also hints ata sequel. Hope that's a possibility as Warner Bros. has a potential newfamily franchise at their hands. And I hope Snyder returns as well.Overall value: 74/100

2012-05-20 15:37:28

Amazing 3D

This review is from: Legend of the Guardians-Owls of Ga'hoole (Two-Disc Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray Combo) (Blu-ray) Having recently purchased a 3D TV, we were hungry for some movies. We were very happy with this one. It was a good story, and the 3D was amazing. Much better than others we have seen. We highly recommendthis one.

2012-05-19 16:03:04

Ok

Disappointing after reading the books. But it was a ok movie. The reason I gave three stars was because kludd wasnt kidnapped, kludd was the reason soren was kidnapped, the owls at st. angies wasnt the pure ones, kludd was the original leader of the pure ones. In the movie it is all messrd up.

fleury24 2012-05-19 10:30:05

A magical experience!

Right from seeing the trailer in June, I had extremely high hopes forthis movie. What drew me to this film was the animation quality and theanimals they used; owls. Thankfully, the trailer did not reveal toomany details about the story, I love going into a movie not knowingwhat to expect.As for the film itself, I found it to be an extremely captivating andmagical experience, a similar experience that I had not felt sinceseeing Avatar in December of '09. The animation was beyond top notch aseach audience member bare witness to the immense detail of the owls andthe environment. Each feather on the owls and each rain drop and specof dust from the environment was clearly visible in the film.The cast chosen for the film couldn't have turned out better than itdid. The overall voice acting was fabulous and wouldn't have wanted anyother way. The perfect octaves, expressions and moods were used in eachline. Straying back to the previous paragraph slightly; most animatedmovies leave most people guessing the actor who plays the voice of agiven actor. I, however, did not do this in this film. I was simply tooimmersed into the film to really notice.The music used in the movie was beautiful and majestic. Truly epicscores of musical composure added so much to the film. You can tell themusic in a movie is great when you never truly notice it, not to say itdoesn't deserve its recognition. I merely mean that if you notice themusic in a movie, it simply stands out too much and becomes adistraction. So having not noticed the music, I simply mean that themusic became one with the movie and the experience.In the end, I left the theatre with a very familiar feeling that I hadnot felt since I was a child. The feeling of classic Disneystorytelling. The feeling of a masterpiece in the making. Legend of theGuardians is truly an epic film with a very rich plot and brilliantcharacters

2012-05-18 05:13:08

Excellent story and 3D effects

This review is from: Legend of the Guardians-Owls of Ga'hoole (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) Never saw this movie in theaters but waited to view/purchase it when we purchased a 3D television. It was worth the wait! Excellent story and great visuals. You'll enjoy it.

2012-05-17 18:16:51

A Movie to Hoot About

Background:This movie is based on the first three books in the series, of 15 books that were written by Ms Kathryn Lasky. She finished this series in 2008. So don't be surprised if in the next year or so a sequel to this movie shows up. Ms Lasky has written about 100 books for children and young adults (fiction and non-fiction). However, make no mistake, this is not just a kiddie film, in fact it has been given a PG rating.Storyline: When two young owls fall from the safety of their tree they are kidnapped and forced to join the evil Pure Ones that have their base at St. Aggie's. Soren (Jim Sturgess) and his new found friends then journey to seek out the legendary Guardians (Jedi ??) to stop the evil plans of the Pure Ones.The plot is not overly original, defeat the evil empire, and may the force be with you. The evil leader wears a black iron mask (although there is no deep breathing noise) reminds of an owlish version of Darth Vader. Cinematics:The graphics are simply awesome, there are a lot of sunsets, seaside scenes and massive trees that are wonderous to behold. The owls are also beautiful to look at the feathers move individually with the wind and the mechanics of flight are accurately portrayed. The slo-mo effects are wonderfully done, the final battle is quite dramatic.Conclusion:This film is among the best animated full length movies for 2010. It is very strong on its technical aspects. Although there is a lot of fighting, you are spared the blood and the gore. It is a great family film that everyone can watch and be entertained.

eisenstein-mike 2012-05-15 23:54:46

A Remarkable Achievement

I never thought I would see a computer animated feature film with asmuch attention to perfection as a Pixar film in my lifetime. This moviewas it. Just amazing!Each frame a visual masterpiece. Movement choreographed like a perfectballet. Unimaginable detail in each filament on the owl's feathers.Eyes glistening with soul. For gods sake even their irises dilatingwith their heartbeat! The story was never dull for a moment. Its tempo kept gaining speed tothe end hurling me to the edge of my seat.If you don't see this in 3D you have missed out on an amazingexperience. Enjoy :)

James 2012-05-15 14:58:21

This is the one! Do not miss!!

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hooleis so upbeat it will blow you into another spacial dimension, you'd think you were lost in another realm...this movie took some doing to get use to as it is one of the most magical 3d movies - out there - and normally I stay away from 3d (cept Avatar)flying in the skies- being there! in the fights - being there!this is an A+++ movie and for those too jaded on popcorn to say other wise - I say wake up and enjoy true legendary genius in our time!!

firefox335 2012-05-09 22:11:47

An out and out Triumph

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole represents everythingthat is right with a full length computer animated feature. The storytouches on elements of trust, belief in one's self, loyalty and teamwork. The voice characterization is among the best you could hope for.From heavyweight veterans like Sam Neil, Geoffrey Rush, Helen Miran andHugo Weaving, to relative newcomers like Jim Sturgess and EmilyBarclay. David Wenham's performance makes "Digger" a standoutcharacter.The animation is some of the most complex and realistic to date. Theanimators have created not merely a collection of sets filled withphony looking rubbery characters, but have created an entire worldpopulated by owls whose feathers are as soft as their talons are sharp.But even more importantly they have created characters that we can careabout.Conspicuously and thankfully absent are any and all references tomodern pop culture that Disney and Pixar are so fond of. Suchreferences detract immensely from animated films and severely datethem.This film is an instant classic that's fun for the whole family. Idaresay that those of us who have seen it would welcome a sequel ortwo.The fact that this film was not even nominated for "Best Animated Film"is testament to the fact that the "Academy of Motion Picture Arts andSciences" can no longer hope to be taken seriously.

Rectangular_businessman 2012-05-09 04:58:22

The only film of Zack Snyder that I liked

The first time I hear about this film, I thought that I was going to bepretty silly. Also, the fact that the director was Zack Snyder (Who wasalso the director of "300" and "Watchmen", two movies which I hate withpassion) almost made me skip this movie.However (And fortunately) my first impressions of this film were wrong.This was such a great animated film for the whole family. I liked that(Unlike many other CGI movies) this wasn't a comedy, but an epicadventure story, just like "The Chronicles of Narnia". And even whenthis isn't exactly something so great as "The Lord of the Rings" fromPeter Jackson, I found it to be more enjoyable than most of theanimated films released in the 2010.The animation is simply incredible: Every single frame is filled with agreat level of detail, the characters are expressive and the scenerieswere beautiful. It was one of the most impressive animated films of therecent years. Some scenes were pretty stylish and memorable, and thesoundtrack and voice performances were adequate, too.The story was funny enough for me. The beginning was a bit slow, butthen it got better while the plot advances. Also the characters werefunny and likable (Well, almost all of them) This is probably the bestmovie made by Zack Snyder, and (Ironically enough) it is way underrated(Unlike 300 and Watchmen, that were incredibly overrated) If only therewere more animated films like this...

2012-05-09 13:41:08

Great film

This review is from: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) This movie is great, the story is beautiful and the animation couldn't be better. I don't have any children and I still enjoy it very much. You will get emotionally attached to these wonderful characters. I would love it if they made a second one.

2012-05-08 23:20:29

A review from a kid who read the whole set of the books, twice

I didn't watch the movie. I rent the movie for my 6 grade kid who read the books twice. Here is her review; It was a wonderful work of animation, but the story is horrible. I can think of around 5 differences from the books at a time. There are personality defects, I think some of the owls look weird, and most of the story is cut out. If you have watched a bit, there is no enchidna in the story either, (though 'the doubter' part was funny.) Also, some of the diologe sonds a little corny (out loud). Bacicly, they cut out too much from the books and added worse stuff, or nothing, in place of it. I wish they had sticked more to the books.

Stezia 2012-05-06 23:16:23

Beautiful & Brave

This movie was beautiful and very close to the books which made it all the better. If you have watched the commercials you can pretty much get the jest of the story. (No point in repeating it.) So to put it simply, the story was beautiful, visually stunning in so many places I can't even begin to speak of them. At points I actually got goosebumps which is saying something about the story. It was swift in pace and only had maybe one or two spots of rest, even though it was fast pace and maybe a little dark for younger children, it was worth every penny and worth seeing again in theaters. All in all I give it stellar thumbs up, very few movies leave such beautiful visuals (like Avatar), and so few provide a story about friendship, honor, and finding the truth in a dream.

just a person 2012-05-06 09:39:32

I was expecting a childish movie, and got something amazingly different...I loved it!

I'm usually picky on movies I watch, but I just had to see this. I mustsay that I was really impressed! The amount of animation and detailsput into this movie was just amazing. By the first five minutes I wasso intrigued with what was going on that I leaned in closer to thescreen. No, its not the best, but the attempts to prove how dark amovie can get was truly proved. The attempts to bring humor into itwas, honestly, a failure, but the fantastic plot and the personalitiesof each character surely made up for it. I wouldn't recommend thismovie to a younger audience, only because sometimes it can get a bitdark, and violence does occur. Fortunately, no blood or gore ever showsup like it was described in the books. Also, I found myself cringingand trying not to look away when all of the slow-motion stuff was goingon, especially when Soren was flying through the monsoon and fire. Itwas well done, but lasted long and did a bit too serious of close-ups.I'm being a bit too critical, but overall, this was a great film thatis definitely worth your money. If you have read the books like I have,then try to get over the fact that they changed, basically, everything.It is better to just critic over the movie itself than how well itfollowed the books. I give this movie a 9/10 for fantastic animation,unique, clever personalities of the characters, well-done plot, andgood voice acting. I recommend this to any movie lover!

2012-05-05 01:02:09

Don't Buy If You Read The Books!

A SMALL SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST THREE BOOKS. This movie is nothing like my favorite book series Guardians Of Ga' Hoole.The storyline is totally changed and it's supposed to be based off of the first three books (which I love so don't avoid the series because of my review because there amazing) they should of just changed the title and the owl's names and I would of thought it was a whole new movie! This movie is NOTHING like the books and if your a fan like me I would just skip it and continue to read the books. I don't know what my opinion would be if I didn't read the books but they changed too much for it to be liked. The ending is too hapily ever after unlike the books it's based off of, Soren and Kludd fall out of the tree instead of Kludd pushing Soren, and it's overall a bad movie and I don't think Kludd pushing Soren out of the tree instead would have made the plot much longer. They should have just had the movie cover the first book only so it could of been decent. The people who wrote the 5 star reviews must not have read the books. Young kids might like it but anybody that read the books most likely doesn't like the movie.

Yano Zeng 2012-05-04 21:01:23

One of the best animated films ever! in IMAX 3D

At first, I wasn't convinced that this is going to be a worthwhilefeature. But I'm glad I was wrong. For someone with some expertise inthe field of animation, I have to say I am amazed at some of thetechnology that is presented in this IMAX 3D film. Astonishing, I haveto say. I'm not too fond of tales and owls, but the story in this filmwas actually quite enjoyable. Some parents might argue with theteachings of the storyline, but I don't think that should hinder thisamazing feature in any way. I believe this film to be enjoyable by bothkids and adults of any age. It's simply a visual feast. This filmforesees some of the once unthinkable difficulties in computerrendering technology, which has a lot of great potential in futureanimated films.