Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is a talking animal film, but an actual good one. What’s most intriguing about Zack Snyder‘s jump into the animated (and PG) world is just how seriously it takes itself. While there are the expected owl jokes, it is, overall, a fairly dark tale. This is a bit reminiscent to those kid-targeted 80s films that don’t hold back. Certain images are surely to stick with those kids expecting another Happy Feet, and what glorious images they are.
Guardians mostly works on a visual level. This is a Zack Snyder film, through and through. There’s the slow motion, the impeccable framing and a money shot every two minutes. The attention to detail is uncanny. Every little spec, from the owls themselves to the backgrounds, are animated to perfection.
Snyder is going for something epic here. It wears its influences of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars on its sleeve, and visually it just about gets there. Structurally, it’s far from grand. This comes in around ninety minutes and it feels short. Every story beat is practically rushed to, you never get a great sense of the world they’re in and every obstacle seems to go by like a breeze. The pacing easily could have benefited from taking its time, which it doesn’t. The breakneck pacing does make for a quick and entertaining time, but there’s a little disappointment in the fact that you come away knowing there’s something much bigger and better here begging to breakout.
The action does feature that stamp of Snyder epic-ness. The owl battles are exceptionally crafted and the fact that they’re so easy to follow during the set pieces is unbelievable. This could have been Transformers all over again where you have no idea whose hitting (or clawing) who, but Snyder wisely gives all the lead owls distinct looks and personas making them all easily distinguishable during battle. The only aspect of the action that may not work is a nitpick: it’s watered down. Obviously this cant feature decapitated owls or owls getting their heads smashed to bits, even that would’ve been nice, but there’s a handful of distracting moments where Snyder cuts away to not showing the carnage. Why impale a certain character when you cant even show it? Again, a nitpick, but it’s slightly bothersome.
Guardians doesn’t shy away from darkness. It does not feel glossy or completely kiddie friendly. There’s definitely moments where it feels like its taking chances, but then reverts back to a specific friendly formula. That formula ranges from the owl jokes to an incredibly out-of-place and mind boggling use of a particular pop song. David Hirschfelder‘s score is so strong it’s extremely disappointing to see the film give into a pop song.
This is another success for Snyder and Guardians is thoroughly entertaining. There’s strong voice casting, stunning animation and a few charming owl characters to like and invest in throughout the (too) short journey. While this could have been far more epic, it’s still rather enjoyable and has those moments of epic-ness.