The "legend" and "guardian" in the title gives some indication of the heroic and grandiose nature of this animated flick about a brave owl with an Aussie accent.
It pulls the 15 parts of Kathryn Laksy's popular series of children's books into one whizz-bang 3D animation created by the same computer cartoon folk who did the penguin musical Happy Feet, though it's directed by American Zack Snyder, the guy who brought us the bloodbath 300 and who has just been named director of the next Superman movie.
So there are plenty of mid-air battle sequences - just like the man of steel owls can fly and, like Spartans, they know how to rock armour.
But, keeping his young audience in mind, Snyder ensures it's less a gory war and more a feathered fairytale of good vanquishing evil.
Jim Sturgess voices Soren, the naive but heroic owl who believes his dad speaks the truth and that his brother will not betray him, while Kiwi actress Emily Barclay adopts a Nasal twang to voice his accomplice, Gylfie, whose heart goes a-flutter when Soren takes her under his wing.The pair make a lucky escape after being kidnapped by the racist owls who are building an evil parliament that will bring the Hitler-like Metalbeak to power. These baddies have British accents and enslave young owls by turning them "moonblind".
Joined by a lute-playing owl, a joke-reciting owl, and the snake nanny Mrs P, Soren and Gylfie embark on a treacherous flight to find the guardians who live in the gnarly Ga'Hoole tree on a remote island.
Only these legendary good guys can stop Metalbeak's army, and so the battle lines are drawn. While visually impressive, Legend manages to sneak in a few life lessons behind the special effects. And though the story follows a predictable flightpath, there's plenty in the film's animated antics that will have young and old hooting right along.
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