Legend and Rise of the Guardians

If you like fantasy films and haven’t yet watched ‘Legend of the Guardians’ (or The Owls of Ga’Hoole as it was originally called in the book by Kathryn Lasky) then this is a great children’s adventure. It was released in 2010 and was one that slipped by me until I recently came across the dvd for £3 in a local supermarket.

Made by the creators of ‘Happy Feet’, the film follows Soren, who is a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owl kind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences–causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga’Hoole–Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

Of course, as in all adventures there are goodies and there are baddies and the baddies are really quite dark and evil… you have been warned lol

However the truly stunning visuals,

and the painstakingly beautiful virtual sets, add such detail, depth and dimension to the film, that it’s a pleasure to escape into. Of course the storyline isn’t too taxing as it’s a children’s film after all but for the visuals alone I’d give it an 8 out of 10.

This is not to be confused with a new film called ‘Rise Of The Guardians’, a 2012 release by Dreamworks.

Rise Of The Guardians is an epic and magical adventure that tells the story of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost – legendary characters with previously unknown extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children everywhere. I’ve not yet seen this film and the reviews are pretty mixed

From the creators of How To Train Your Dragon, (another superb action adventure) this looks to be as rich and entertaining as any previous Dreamworks film, even if the story line sounds a little on the odd side.

There’s a review of the film over on Chud.Com