"The book series it was based on, the more straightforwardly named Guardians of Ga'Hoole, was written by prolific children's author Kathryn Lasky and added owls to the Warrior Cats and genre of "fantasy world where animals exist in a complex society full of conflict and drama." Zack Snyder brought this owl society and all its intricacies to the big screen, and the result was a high-wire act of worldbuilding and goofiness."
"In the world of Ga'Hoole, barn owls are referred to as Tyto, their genus. Young Tyto Soren (Jim Sturgess) and his rebellious brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) are abducted after falling from a tree, and are taken to the hideout of the Pure Ones, a Tyto-supremacist cult. That's already a lot for a young audience to handle, but the Pure Ones are kidnapping young owls (owlets, to use the technical term) and brainwashing them into mindless zombie slaves (moonblinking, to use the made-up technical term)."
The Legend of the Guardians adapts Kathryn Lasky's Guardians of Ga'Hoole into a densely packed animated fantasy centered on an owl society. The film follows barn owls called Tyto, focusing on young Soren and his brother Kludd, who are abducted by the Pure Ones, a Tyto-supremacist cult that moonblinks owlets into obedient soldiers. The narrative mixes grim themes—racism, child abduction, and brainwashing—with moments of goofiness and an original Owl City song. The movie's worldbuilding is ambitious and overstuffed, and its title is awkward, yet the animation remains visually cutting-edge even fifteen years later.
Read at Inverse
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