8 replies to this topic

[BigWigRah]

So apparently this movie is coming out this month about owls....

I heard about this back in June after seeing an article about it in USA Today, and got strangely excited by the trailer. Apparently it's being developed by Zack Snyder (of Dawn of the Dead/300 fame). I'm surprised it hasn't been advertised on TV much yet, even though it's coming out on the 24th of this month.

I found out that it's based on the first three of fifteen novels in a young adult series. I made an effort to read the books, but after a few sample chapters on the publisher's website I didn't like the simplistic writing style. Curious if anyone else was excited or knowledgeable about this.

[chief]

That looked rather awesome. I mean granted its a bit weird cause..Its owls of all things.. But looks good non the less.

[saber16]

Story wise = Eh, might be alright.

Visually = Damn... I mean, DAMN.

I never got around to seeing Happy Feet, but I might check this one out at some point.

[BigWigRah]

I know I won't be able to see it in 3D given my eyesight problems, so I hope there putting it in standard screens. Not sure how to find out about such things though.

[MistressAli]

I've seen the preview a few times on TV and it looks pretty good, though the script (from what I heard) sounded kind of hokey and maybe a little generic? I would probably go see it though.

[John Roberts]

I always enjoy these sorts of movies. Happy Feet rocked!

I know I won't be able to see it in 3D given my eyesight problems, so I hope there putting it in standard screens. Not sure how to find out about such things though.

There's always a standard version released. At least that's how they roll here in Australia; pay over 20 dollars for the bloody 3D bullsit, or normal rates for the standard.

[BigWigRah]

yeah 3D is more expensive here too, but when they do standard viewings, it's only in "select" theaters since there isn't always enough space to do both. Suck for the disabled "flat viewers" like me, but we'll see how it goes. I'd be pretty pissed if I couldn't find a standard viewing in the two massive theaters near campus.

As for the script, I don't know. The trailer gives us a better grip at how it's going to be than the TV ads, which aren't very exciting at all. Even so, the voice cast is phenomenal and I'll bet they'll make the best of it.

[BigWigRah]

So, I ended up seeing "Ga'Hoole" the afternoon it came out, and now that I've had a few days to think about it...

I was a little worried about this film going into the theater in spite of my excitement. There was always the chance the movie would be a little too "cutsie poo." Furthermore, having read the first three books the movie was based on, I was worried that the film wouldn't be able to pack so much material into a 90 minute production. The only thing I was sure of was that the movie was almost guaranteed to be visually spectacular, and it would be an interesting experience if nothing else.

What I got in the theater was a pleasant surprise. "Legend of the Guardians" did have a few cheesey moments, but they were very few and far between, and served to break up intense sections of the movie. This was definitely a much darker film than I anticipated, with a fair bit of grim violence in the Zack Snyder fashion of slick looking high speed footage. I walked away comparing the film's atmosphere to that of "Secret of NIMH" rather than the "Watership Down" that USA Today was predicting. The dark atmosphere of the film is a lot of the reason why it has gotten mixed reviews from critics, considering the bulk of animation success has been in the "action comedy" genre.

Of course, I would be stating the obvious by saying the film looked absolutely amazing, but it needs to be said anyway. There's a really notable scene in which Soren flies through a wind tunnel in a monsoon. The animators at Animal Logic really went out of their way to make this film a work of art, and it shows. I could only imagine what that would have looked like in 3D since I can only see through one eye, but I would guess that it's quite stunning.

For those that have read the books, I should point out that there are some pretty significant plot deviations from the get go. I won't spoil them here, but I will tell you that these plot changes are in no way damaging to the film. Kathryn Lasky herself said that she wished she had thought of a few of the changes when she wrote the story originally, so the author obviously doesn't mind.

Now there are a few unfortunate problems with the film, the principle being that it's just too short. A lot of story and information is packed into every bit of the film, making it difficult to follow for those who haven't read the novels. Given the "Joseph Campbell" patterning of the story, the epic atmosphere is a bit harder to appreciate when it's rushed. Many characters are introduced, but not enough of them get developed. Bubo the blacksmith (from the series) get a quick mention when he's told to "sharpen the battle claws," and he's never seen again. Otulissa get's a quick introduction, but not much else. I assume a sequel would inevitably deal with a lot of these issues, but it's unknown at this time if that would even be profitable. Perhaps the lowest point in the film was the "pop song montage" with the ironic "Owl City" tune from one of the trailers. Lucky for us it was short, but it still had the bad effect of taking you out of the epic atmosphere found in the rest of the film. The rest of the score is absolutely gorgeous, and fits quite well with the lush animation. (The Owl City song itself isn't a bad tune, it's just out of place).

How "Ga'Hoole" will be received in the long run is yet to be determined. The dark atmosphere doesn't exactly fit the mold of the family films out there today, but it's such a unique take on epic fantasy that it will still hold an appeal with quite a lot of people. I get the distinct feeling that "Legend of the Guardians" will be one of those cult classics, loved by a captivated populace, but still relatively obscure. Sadly, the marketing for this film wasn't too heavy, which likely means knowledge of the film will spread more by word of mouth than anything else. Either way, I really enjoyed this film. It's clear that a lot of love was put into this ambitious work. I had a lot of fun myself, so If any of you are even the slightest bit curious about this one, do yourself a favor and go check it out.

[Inhibitor]

I saw the trailer when waiting for Inception to come on in theaters. I must say it looks really cool, but me and my entire family were freaked out when we first saw the Owls. It just looked so....realisticly scary.

I walked away comparing the film's atmosphere to that of "Secret of NIMH"

Secret of NIMH you say? Alright, I'm gonna check this one out. Any animated film that comes close to that masterpiece is a good film in my book.