Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Zack Snyder
Produced by	Zareh Nalbandian
Screenplay by	John Orloff John Collee
Based on	Guardians of Ga'Hoole / First Three Books of the series[citation needed]
Starring	Jim Sturgess Geoffrey Rush Emily Barclay Anthony LaPaglia Joel Edgerton David Wenham Ryan Kwanten Helen Mirren Sam Neill Hugo Weaving Miriam Margoyles
Music by	David Hirschfelder and Adam Young (Owl City)
Editing by	David Burrows
Studio	Village Roadshow Pictures Animal Logic Cruel and Unusual Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	September 24, 2010 (2010-09-24) (North America) September 30, 2010 (2010-09-30) (Australia)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$80 million[1]
Box office	$140,073,390[2]

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a 2010 American-Australian computer-animated fantasy film based on the first three books of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series by Kathryn Lasky. Zack Snyder directed the film, with Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Barclay, Helen Mirren, Ryan Kwanten, Anthony LaPaglia, and David Wenham voicing the characters.

Warner Bros. distributed the film with the Australian companies Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic, the latter having produced visual effects for Happy Feet. Production took place in Australia, and the film was released in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D on September 24, 2010.^[3]

Plot

Soren (Jim Sturgess), a young barn owl, lives in the forest of Tyto with his family: his father, Noctus (Hugo Weaving); his mother, Marella (Essie Davis); his older brother, Kludd (Ryan Kwanten); his younger sister, Eglantine (Adrienne DeFaria); and Ms. Plithiver, (Ms. P.) the family's nest maid, a snake. Soren enjoys hearing stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythical group of warrior owls, who once saved all owlkind from the evil "Pure Ones". His elder brother, Kludd, however, thinks Soren soft-headed for believing in such stories. One night, while branching, Kludd pushes Soren and loses his balance, too; and they both fall to the ground where they are attacked by a Tasmanian devil. They are then kidnapped by two owls, Jatt and Jutt, and taken to St. Aegolious, the canyon home of the evil Pure Ones.

There, Soren meets an Elf Owl named Gylfie (Emily Barclay) and her captor, a Boreal Owl named Grimble. Nyra (Helen Mirren), second-in-command of the Pure Ones and mate of Metal Beak, claims that the owlets are now the Pure Ones' slaves. Soren and Gylfie protest and are sent to be pickers. Kludd denies his brother and goes away to be a soldier with other selected owls. They are tutored by Nyra in the ways of the Pure Ones, who believe that Tyto owls (barn owls and their relatives) are the strongest owls and that they have the right to rule the owl kingdoms. Meanwhile, The other captured owls are forced to sleep under the full moon, which causes "moon-blinking", a trance-like state. Soren and Gylfie manage to stay awake so they will not be moon-blinked. They are brought to a large cavern to pick through owl pellets for small metal flecks, which causes excruciating pain in owls gizzards. Metal Beak conspires with one of his minions to lay a trap for the Guardians of Ga'Hoole. At the same time, Grimble secretly reveals to Soren and Gylfie that he is not truly a Pure One and that his family was captured and forced into their service. He teaches Soren and Gylfie to fly, so they can warn the Guardians of the Pure Ones' plans.

Kludd has become a strong soldier, and his promise prompts Nyra to ask him about Soren's potential. The Pure Ones find Grimble teaching Soren and Gylfie to fly, and Nyra attacks them. Kludd joins Nyra, ignoring Soren's please. Grimble sacrifices himself to hold them back, and Soren and Gylfie barely escape to begin their quest. On their journey, they meet a Burrowing Owl named Digger; a Great Grey owl named Twilight; and Soren's old nestmaid, Ms. P. They join Soren and Gylfie on their quest.

Soren and his allies are later mobbed by crows. The battle brings them to the home of an echidna mystic (Barry Otto), on the shore of the Sea of Hoolemere. The Echidna gives them their bearings to the Great Tree. When the group encounters the mist, or a blizzarding typhoon, Digger's wings freeze over and he falls towards the sea. Soren dives down to save him, only to find Digger being rescued by an enormous Snowy Owl; a Guardian of Ga'hoole. The Guardian leads Soren and his friends to the Great Tree. Digger's saviors are Boron and Barran, the king and the queen of the Tree, who listen to Soren's tale. A Great Grey Owl, Allomere, expresses doubt about Soren's story; but a Whiskered Screech Owl, Ezylryb (Geoffrey Rush), defends Soren. Boron sends a scouting party to St. Aegolious.

Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, and Digger begin their training in the different chaws of the Tree. Ezylryb teaches the young owls to use the wind currents instead of fighting them. In a conversation with Ezylryb, Soren learns that Ezylryb is, in fact, Soren's hero, Lyze of Kiel. Soren is disillusioned when he finds out that the owl is completely different than he had always pictured him.

Allomere returns without his scouts and tells Boron that the scouts were killed in an ambush and that he barely escaped with two moon-blinked owlets, one of whom is Eglantine. Outraged, the Guardians go to war, but Soren stays with Eglantine, where she soon awakes after Soren tells her about the Guardians, breaking the trance, and gives him shocking news: she wasn't rescued, she was kidnapped by Kludd and given to Allomere, who is a traitor. Soren and his friends rush to the Guardians' aid. When the Guardians arrive at St. Aegolious, they find a trap. Allomere peels off at the last moment, and the Pure Ones unleash the power of the metal flecks against the Guardians, leaving them helpless on the ground. Soren and his friends arrive too late, just as Metal Beak and Nyra send bats to finish off the defenseless Guardians. Soren sends Twilight, Digger and Gylfie to hold back the bats. He plunges into the burning forest fire, carrying an oil lamp that becomes engulfed in flames. The band's unexpected arrival leads Metal Beak to believe Allomere betrayed the Pure Ones, and he sends a group of bats to kill him.

Soren frees the Guardians, and Metal Beak orders the Pure Ones to fight the Guardians. Ezylryb and Metal Beak square off, as do Soren and Kludd. Their fight leads them into the burning forest. Soren tries to talk some sense into Kludd, but he instead attacks Soren with renewed vigor and breaks his own wing. He convinces Soren to save him, only to try to pull his younger brother into the flames. Soren dodges the attack, and Kludd falls into the flames instead. Furious, Soren flies to the aid of Ezylryb, who is engaged in fierce combat with Metal Beak and Nyra. Soren takes Metal Beak by surprise, but Metal Beak easily overpowers him. Soren regains his weapon, a flaming branch, just as Metal Beak moves in for the kill; he impales himself on the branch. Nyra retreats with the remaining Pure Ones. Soren and his friends return to the Great Tree with the rest of the moon-blinked owlets, and Soren is greeted by Eglantine and his parents. Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, and Digger are made Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

In the epilogue, Soren tells the story to the young owlets and reveals that Kludd's body was never found and that Nyra is still out there with a handful of Pure Ones. (Kludd is then shown to be alive, now with the glowing red eyes of the other Pure Ones.) Ezylryb insists on taking flight into another storm, and they all fly towards the sea.

Cast

• Jim Sturgess as Soren, Noctus and Marcella's second child and son, Kludd's younger brother, Eglantine's older brother and leader of the "Band".
• Emily Barclay as Gylfie, Soren's best friend and navigator of the "Band".
• David Wenham as Digger, Twilight's best friend and tracker of the "Band".
• Anthony La Paglia as Twilight, Digger's best friend and warrior of the "Band".
• Joel Edgerton as Metal Beak, leader of the Pure Ones and Nyra's husband. He wears a helmet over his head, to hide his missing beak, which was cut off by Ezylryb.
• Helen Mirren as Nyra, Metal Beak's second-in-command and wife.
• Ryan Kwanten as Kludd, Noctus and Marcella's oldest child and son, Soren and Eglantine's older brother and an eventual member of the Pure Ones.
• Adrienne DeFaria as Eglantine, Noctus and Marcella's youngest child and daughter and Soren and Kludd's younger sister.
• Hugo Weaving as Noctus, Marella's husband and Soren, Kludd and Eglantine's father and Grimble, an owl who was captured by the Pure Ones and works for them only under duress.
• Essie Davis as Marella—Noctus' wife and Soren, Kludd and Eglantine's mother.
• Leigh Whannell as Jatt, member of St Aegolius.
• Angus Sampson as Jutt, member of St Aegolius.
• Miriam Margolyes as Mrs Plithiver, Soren, Kludd and Eglantine's nursemaid.
• Barry Otto as The Enchidna, a mystic.
• Richard Roxburgh as Boron, leader of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole and husband of Barran.
• Deborra-Lee Furness as Barran, Boron's second-in-command and wife.
• Geoffrey Rush as Ezylryb, a mentor at the Great Tree and legendary warrior.
• Sam Neill as Allomere, member of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole spying for the Pure Ones.
• Sacha Horler as Strix Struma, member of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.
• Bill Hunter as Bubo, blacksmith of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

Production

Warner Bros. acquired film rights to the book series Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky in June 2005. The studio planned to produce the series as a computer-generated animated film under producer Donald De Line with Lasky writing the adapted screenplay.^[4] In April 2008, the project was under Village Roadshow with Zack Snyder attached to direct and Zareh Nalbandian producing. A new screenplay was written by John Orloff and Emil Stern.^[5] Production began in Australia in February 2009.^[6] The film was developed by the digital visual effects company Animal Logic, following its success with the 2006 film Happy Feet.^[7] It features a song by Owl City "To the Sky". Along with the film was an all new 3D Looney Tunes cartoon entitled "Fur of Flying".

Reception

Critical Reception

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoolehas received mixed reviews from critics. The film's photorealistic visual animation, voice acting, cinematography and 3D effects were praised, while criticism was directed towards the film's character development and adapted plot, which were seen as 'esoteric' and 'predictable'. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 51% of 116 sampled critics gave the film positive reviews and that it received a rating average of 5.6 out of 10. It reported the critics' consensus, Legend of the Guardians' dark tone and dazzling visuals are to be admired, even if they're ultimately let down by a story that never lives up to its full potential."^[8]

Box office

In the USA it took in only $4.5 million on opening day, ranking third at the box office in the USA. It ranked second on Saturday, earning $6 million, and was #1 on Sunday, earning $4.6 million (USA). Overall, it earned $16,112,211 on its opening weekend, reaching second place at the box office behind Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in America. This makes "Legend of the Guardians" Zach Snyder's first film not to reach #1 on its opening weekend in the USA; overall a disappointing start, only earning a fraction of this year's animation line-up and more in line with Warner Bros. other 2010 family films Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and Yogi Bear. In its second weekend, the film held very well, slipping only 32% to $10,887,543 and holding onto second place, this time behind The Social Network, claiming the title of the biggest second-weekend hold for an animated feature in 2010. The film ended its run in February 2011 with a $55.6 million domestic (USA) gross, making it a disappointment and only ranking as the sixth highest-grossing animated feature for the year. However, in the wider market, it was a major success, grossing over $84 million from its international release, bringing the total up to $140 million.

Awards and Nominations

Group	Category	Recipient	Result
38th Annie Awards	Animated Effects in an Animated Production[9]	Sebastian Quessy	Nominated
	Music in a Feature Production[10]	David Hirschfelder	Nominated
	Production Design in a Feature Production[11]	Dan Hee Ryu	Nominated
	Voice Acting in a Feature Production[12]	Geoffrey Rush	Nominated

Soundtrack

Main article: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (soundtrack)

Video game

Main article: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (video game)

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released a game based on the film, as well as including some elements from the books, for the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo DS platforms on September 14, 2010. The game was developed by Krome Studios for Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 with the Nintendo DS version developed by Tantalus Media.^[13]

References

1. ^ Fritz, Ben (September 23, 2010). "Movie projector: 'Wall Street' and 'Guardians' to battle for No. 1 as 'You Again' lags". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/09/movie-projector-wall-street-and-guardians-to-battle-for-no-1-as-you-again-lags.html. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
2. ^ Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
3. ^ Scott, Mike (September 20, 2010). "Newest Looney Tunes short to play before 'Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole'". The Times-Picayune. http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2010/09/newest_looney_tunes_short_to_p.html. 
4. ^ "'Guardians' angel is Warner Bros.". Variety. June 16, 2005. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117924633.html. Retrieved February 9, 2009. 
5. ^ Fleming, Michael (April 13, 2008). "Snyder to watch over 'Guardians'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983968.html. Retrieved February 9, 2009. 
6. ^ Kilday, Gregg (February 9, 2009). "Four fly to Zack Snyder's animated 'Guardians'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i423339706237af10f13520be13b769f0. Retrieved February 9, 2009. 
7. ^ McWhirter, Erin (April 16, 2008). "Animal Logic produces Guardian of Ga'Hoole, after Happy Feet". Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23548410-5001026,00.html. Retrieved February 26, 2009. 
8. ^ "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/legend_of_the_guardians. Retrieved September 27, 2010. 
9. ^ ". Retrieved 2011-09-03.
10. ^ ". NationalLedger.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
11. ^ ". NationalLedger.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
12. ^ ". NationalLedger.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
13. ^ "Warner Bros. Announces Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Game". IGN. 2010-03-24. http://au.ds.ign.com/articles/107/1079644p1.html. Retrieved 2010-04-03. 

External links

• Official website
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole at the Internet Movie Database
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole at Rotten Tomatoes
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole at Metacritic
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole at Box Office Mojo