A #Nerd Reviews Legend Of The Guardians
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Aaron Fitzgerald
With the advances of computer technology the old school days of traditional line drawn animation has gone the way of the dinosaur. It’s a bit sad because the pioneers of that era like Walt Disney, Ralph Bashki, Chuck Jones and Don Bluth really produced some great films with beautiful artwork. These are the animators I grew up with and I still enjoy watching their classic films to this day. From Fantasia to The Secret Of NIMH I’ve always been moved by excellent stories and incredible visuals.
Well, today we have seen the birth of a whole new slew of animators and story tellers who use computer animation to make their films. Pixar is the leader of this group of producers. Just about every single film these guys have put out has not only been extremely well done but has garnered critical acclaim and Oscar nods. And because of them we have seen other studios jump into the rat race to compete with them, with really good results.
“Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’hoole”, is the latest animated film from Warner Brothers. The visuals are by far the leading factor in the movie. The artwork blows away just about all the animated films we’ve seen this year. It rivals James Cameron’s, “Avatar”, with careful attention to detail and beauty. The movie is downright gorgeous. It seems the artists took their time on every leaf and rain drop that dances across the screen.
Based on the bestselling book series the story follows a young owl, Soren, who searches for a group of mythical owls known as The Guardians who must defend the owl kingdoms against the pure ones before they enslave all the owls and take over the world. It’s a classic hero’s journey and a story of a boy becoming a man. Soren not only comes of age but also becomes a guardian himself as he struggles to battle the pure ones and save his people. I didn’t find myself emotionally involved in the story as I could have been.
Along the journey we meet a slew of characters, most of them forgettable. The filmmakers try as hard as they can to charm us with the characters, but most of the jokes and humor fall flat. Soren never really draws us in as a character and we don’t really sympathize with him enough to care about the outcome. Pitting brother against brother is a good story device, but I didn’t really buy his brother’s motives for siding with the enemy.
I wouldn’t recommend this film to parents with young children. It’s a bit too dark and violent for the young ones. Younger teenagers might enjoy it for its visual and battle scenes and adults might appreciate it and find it appealing, but I’m not sure there really is a target audience for this film. If you have the money to spend I would recommend seeing it on IMAX 3D. The art is really its strongest aspect and that’s the main reason to see it. On the other hand you might really fall in love with Soren’s journey and enjoy the ride.