Music N' More: Legend of the Guardian: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Monday, May 14, 2012

Legend of the Guardian: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

I love owls! They're soooo cute!!!!
The Legend of the Guardian: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

-2010 computer animated fantasy film based on the novel series by Kathryn Lasky
-Directed by Zack Synder
-Stars Jim Sturgess. Geoffrey Rush, Emily Barclay, Helen Mirren, Ryan Kwanten, Anthon LaPaglia, David Wenham as the voices

Did You Know?
-Jim Sturgess said that the film was "breathtaking", and it was just what he needed in his career right now
-Zack Snyder's first non R-rated movie
-Jim Sturgess said this is the first 3D movie he's ever seen
-In order to correcly depict the owls, the animators went to an owl sanctuary
-Hugh Jackman was originally cast, because his wife Deborra-Lee Furness provides a voice in here.

Plot
-Soren(Jim Sturgess), a young Barn Owl, lives in the Tyto Forest with his family: his father Noctus(Hugo Weaving), his mother Marella(Essie Davis), his older brother Kludd(Ryan Kwanten), his younger sister Eglantine(Adrienne DeFaria) and Mrs. Plithivier aka Mrs. P(Miriam Margoyles), the nest maid, a kindly snake. Soren enjoys hearing about the 'Legends of Ga'Hoole', which are mythical stories about warrior owls. One day, in jealousy of Soren's branching abilities, Kludd pushes him off a branch, but falls himself. On the ground, they are attacked by a Tasmanian Devil, but they are rescued by owls, Jatt(Leigh Whannell) and Jutt(Angus Sampson)

-As the owls take them to St. Aegolious, the canyon home of the Pure Ones, Soren meets Gylfie(Emily Barclay), a young elf owl along with other owlets. At St. Aegolious, they meet the queen of the Pure Ones, Nyra(Helen Mirren), and she begins to say that the young owls are their slaves. When Soren and Gylfie protest, they are placed as 'pickers'. Kludd openly rejects Soren and receives training to become a soldier to the Pure Ones. Grimble(Hugo Weaving), Soren and Gylfie's captor, tells them in secret that he is disloyal to the Pure Ones and plans on teaching them to fly. However, Nyra catches them just as she comes to invite Soren to be a soldier. Grimble sacrifices himself to allow the owls to escape to the 'Great Tree of Ga'Hoole' to warn the Guardians about the Pure One's plan against them

-Along the journey, they meet Twilight(Anthony LaPaglia), a Great Grey Owl and Digger(David Wenham), a Burrowing Owl. They also find Mrs. P, who left the family nest to find Soren and Kludd. The owls, carrying Mrs. P in Twilight's lute, are guided to a shrine run by an oracular echidna(Barry Otto), who provides descriptions of the quintet and guidance to the object of their quest. Despite a bad storm, the group, now called "the Band" manage to reach the Great Tree with help from the Guardians, wher ethey are trained in different methods, one of which is taught by Strix Struma(Sacha Horler). The Parliament of the tree listen intently to the Band's story. Onw owl, Allomere(Sam Neill), a Great Grey Owl, does not believe it. However, a Whiskered Screech Owl, Eyzlryb(Geoffrey Rush), believes them. Later, Soren and Gylfie meet a female Spotted Oql named Otulissa(Abbie Cornish). Otuissa flirts with Soren and he falls in love with her. Gylfie is seen rolling her eyes.

-Later, Twilight falls in love with a beautiful Lesser Sooty Owl named Amidala, who is studying to be a healer. Later Ezylryb takes the owlets on a flight lesson in a torrential rainstorm. Otulissa goes for emotional support. He shows them how to fly in controlled patterns, with Soren and Gylfie struggling to gain control. Soren masters gizzard-flying, only to lose control and fall. Ezylryb rescues him and orders Soren go back to the den. Soren learns that Ezylryb is in fact Lyze of Keil, and is angry when Ezylryb makes fun of it.

-Allomere returns from a mission from St. Aegolious with news that scouts were killed in an ambush by the Pure Ones. He brought back to the tree 2 moon-blinked, a catatonic state caused by sleeping under the moonlight for a long time, owlets, which one of them is Soren's sister, Eglantine. Angry, the Guardians invade St. Aegolious to break her trance and Eglantine reveals that Kludd kidnapped her and has given her to Allomere. Shocked at this, the original band flies to the Guardian's aid. Allomere's reason had led them to a trap. The Guardians have been paralyzed by mind and gizzard-destroying 'flecks' which are operated by bats and made of metal gleaned by the 'Pickers' in the months before. Soren ang Gylfie, along with Twilight and Digger, race towards the Guardians, only to have Digger and Twilight become possessed by the flecks as well. Gylfie fights off bats and Amidala flies after Twilight. A Pure One tries to break her wing, but Twilight smashes him out of the way with his lute and saves her life. She understands his feeling for her and watches in horror as he is possessed by the flecks.

-Soren manages to disable the flecks, by flying into the forest fire and setting a lamp into the flames, risking his own life. With just only enough energy to help save the Guardians, he goes back into the field of flecks and hte blue magnet is taken down. Ezylryb helps Soren up and all the Guardians fly off, ready for war. Soren fights Pure Ones and is confronted by Kludd, who leads the battle. Kludd is angry at Soren and throws him into a tree several times, before Soren catches him off guard, They fight, with Kludd ramming into Soren. Kludd falls down a tree, injuring his wing and is rendered unable to fly. He tricks Soren, who is trying to help and Kludd ends up falling into the forest fire. Angry, Soren returns to the Guardian's help, and fights Metal Beak(Joel Edgerton), the leader of the Pure Ones. However, Metal Beak descends and is about to kill Soren when the younger owls manage to impale him on a burning stick.

-Meanwhile, Digger, Twilight, Gylfie fend off the bats. Metalbeak is killed, Nyra calls the attack off and The Band return to the tree. Soren, Gylfie, Amidala, Twilight and Digger are honored as Guardians of Ga'Hoole. Later on, when Soren tells the stories to the owlets, he explains that Kludd's body was never found, giving a hint as to Kludd being the new Metalbeak. Ezylryb tells the Band to tell the owlets more stories and they fly into a tornado as the credits appear