What if the legends your father told you as a child one day became true? What if the adventures he talked about became your adventure? Soren always dreamed that he would one day be able to fly through the air with the mythical Guardians. The Guardians were the ones that saved the Owl Kingdom from an evil group of owls known as The Pure Ones once upon a time. It never crossed Soren’s mind that one day he and his brother would be captured by those same evil ones. And now that he has escaped, it is up to him to search out the Great Tree and seek the Guardians to save the Owl Kingdom once again from the brainwashed army that the Pure Ones have created. Now you can own Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole on Blu-ray!
Based on the first three volumes of Kathryn Lasky’s children’s book series, this computer animated fantasy-adventure takes us into the world of Owls, where a young owl by the name of Soren is taken into an adventure beyond his wildest dreams.
After falling from their home, Soren and his brother Kludd are taken by The Pure Ones to become slaves in their caverns. Once they arrived, they find hundreds of other owlets already there. With Kludd’s disbelief in the Guardians, he was separated from Soren and the other owlets to be manipulated into a warrior for the Pure Ones in their upcoming war. To Soren’s disappointment, he is forced to leave his brother behind as he searches out the mythic home of the Guardians to save the other owlets.
As no surprise, your eyes will be amazed by the visual detail of every aspect of the movie, from Director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300). The detail that Snyder brings to this computer animation is remarkable in High Definition. The Australian accents mixed with the unusual names sometimes felt mumbled and rushed. However, it was easy to follow the story due to the great animation and attention to detail that Snyder is known for.
The voice acting in this film was very troublesome due to the English/Australian accents of the actors. Jim Sturgess (21, Across the Universe), who plays the main character Soren, struggles to find an identity between his native English and the Australian creating a bad Scottish accent in the end. Others, like native-born Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), who plays the evil brother Kludd and the incredible Helen Mirren (Red) who was born in England, had no problem with it. I truly wish that they could have found a middle ground and agreed on one accent.
Special Features:
The special features of this combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy) include the classic picture-in-picture guide with the added twist of Soren as your tour guide. Also included are four art galleries and two mini games. It also includes a music video for “To the Sky” by Owl City, which is fun and ironic at the same time. However, in the music department, I was disappointed to find out that the song that best describes the journey of this movie, Thirty Seconds to Mars’ “Kings and Queens” was only in the theatrical trailer and didn’t even make the soundtrack.
Complete Special Features List:
-Maximum Kid Mode- Explore the world of Ga’Hoole
The picture-in-picture Guide with Soren and his stories of the Owl Kingdom
-Legends of the Guardians: Rise of the Guardians
The bedtime story that inspired the movie
-To the Sky music video by Owl City
-4 Artwork galleries:
The Guardians
The Locations
The Villains of St. Aegolius
Legend of the guardians: Soren & Friends
-True Guardians of the Earth: Fascinating look into the world of Owls and a new Looney Tunes cartoon: Fur Flying.
-1080p Video
-DTS HD Audio
Overall:
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole will be fascinating for kids and fun for adults. It feels like you are watching a children’s book jump off of the pages and onto the screen. For older viewers, this movie brings back memories of The Secret of Nimh and An American Tale. The computer animation is greatly enchanced in the high definition and makes watching the adventure on Blu-ray that much better.
ComicsOnline gives Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole on Blu-ray – 3.5 feathers out of 5.
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