The Movie
Based on a series of fantasy/adventure novels, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole reveals the complex, violent struggles of warring factions of the nocturnal predators in a world apart from man. Young birds are owlet-napped and enslaved by an evil society bent on conquering all owldom, and an epic heroic quest begins.
Like many, I was surprised to see director Zack Snyder's (300, Watchmen) name on a talking animal flick, until I saw how dark and serious it all is, perhaps not for the wee ones in the brood. Snyder has transferred his stylistic clichés to the animated medium, too. (He's not going to use that weird freeze-framing and slow-mo on his Superman reboot, is he?)
And don't miss the legendary Chris Boylan's review of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole.
The Picture
This is not just state-of-the-art computer-generated animation but that hyper-realistic Zemeckish technique wherein we can discern every strand in every feather. The 3D process is used to brilliant effect in a movie full of boldly soaring birds, zipping over, under, around and through more elaborate virtual sets than most viewers could have imagined.
Prey is often waiting innocently in the foreground before the predator swoops in for the strike. Trees seem to stretch away from us into the distance, sparks and raindrops sometimes fill empty space, and even in a close-up we can sense the subtle difference in focus between a character's mask and the face inside. This is ceaselessly one of the most breathtaking video presentations I've ever seen.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 channel soundfield is gifted with active surrounds for random forest din as well as other "natural" sounds such as a whooshing snowstorm. There's more standing around talking than I was expecting in a movie about fierce warrior birds, but voices are always clear and even placed discretely in different speakers when the character is off-screen. Of course the flying sequences are the most sonically thrilling, plenty of flapping and swooping, with the music kicking in mightily. And the tweeters get their due in all the clinking, scraping metal.
The Extras
The Blu-ray 3D thoughtfully includes the new Looney Tunes short "Fur of Flying" starring Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, which premiered with Owls, also in 3D. It's available on the 2D Blu-ray as well, along with a host of other bonus features. There's a well-produced, family-friendly Bonus View mode that adds about ten-and-a-half minutes to the running time, along with a pair of interactive set-top games.
In "True Guardians of the Earth" (15 minutes) Rico Rodriguez of Modern Family teaches us about real owls, and in the fully animated "Legend of the Guardians: Rise of the Guardians," sage Noctus recounts a lost tale (about two minutes). There are also four still artwork galleries and a music video.
Disc Three is a hybrid DVD-ROM with the movie in standard definition for DVD players as well as a Digital Copy for iTunes and Windows Media. The 2D Blu-ray supports BD-Live.
Final Thoughts
I personally wasn't swept away by all the feathery derring-do, but younger viewers (not too young!) are likely to enjoy this grand adventure, while no home theater buff can deny the wonder of Legend of the Guardians in 3D.
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