When I was telling people that I was excited to see Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, everyone looked at me like I was fucking nuts. “That animated owl movie?! Really?” Sure, a 3D animated film about owl battles sounds ridiculous, but the trailers made the film look like a beautiful epic almost akin to Lord of the Rings but, you know, with owls. While the film occasionally feels slightly sluggish and doesn’t quite live up to its aesthetic beauty, Legends of the Guardians is indeed a beautiful epic.

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In Legend of the Guardians, brother owlets, the dreamy Soren (Jim Sturgess) and stern Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) get kidnapped from their safe tree and are thrust into an epic clash between the chivalrous Guardians, who have only previously existed in stories Soren’s papa have told him, and the evil Pure Ones, who are participating in owl genocide at the behest of their leader, Metalbeak and his mate. Eventually Soren and his new friend Gylfie escape the Pure Ones lair to search for the Guardians while Kludd becomes entrenched in their evil scheme. Along the way Soren meets some kooky owls and is trained by his hero.

Now, gladiator-like owls equipped with masks and crazy-ass claws sounds ludicruous, believe me. And I spent most of the film thinking to myself, “how do owls build such elaborate castles?” Plus there’s the whole Nazi-genocide context that sounds too weighty for a small child to really grasp, but Legend of the Guardians is a beautiful film that proves how worth it 3D animation can truly be. When Soren and Gylfie learn to fly, it’s impossible not to be taken along for the ride as well. Everything is incredibly breathtaking.

The plot, on the other hand, definitely leaves some to be desired. Kludd eventually turns evil at a moment’s notice, and the introduction of Digger and Twilight, the aforementioned kooky owls, is pretty much solely for comedic effect on the kiddies. Plus, the master race versus weaker owls is a bit complex, and it’s difficult to become fully emerssed in the owl political agenda. While no blood is actually shown, this may not be the best movie for smaller children because of its fairly brutal violence. Would you expect anything less from 300’s Zack Snyder?

So, even while you’re skeptical about the story or the themes, Legend of the Guardians is the perfect movie to watch for the pure enjoyment of seeing something beautiful on screen.  It’s not too often you’re able to experience a slow-motion sequence of a white owl flying into the eye of a storm with such photorealistic 3D animation. It made even this callous critic smile with sheer joy.

--Darcie Duttweiler