Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)

When a young owl is abducted by an evil Owl army, he must escape with new-found friends and seek the legendary Guardians to stop the menace.

Director:

Zack Snyder

Writers:

John Orloff (screenplay), Emil Stern (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham

4 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emily Barclay	...	Gylfie (voice)
Abbie Cornish	...	Otulissa (voice)
Essie Davis	...	Marella (voice)
Adrienne DeFaria	...	Eglantine (voice)
Joel Edgerton	...	Metal Beak (voice)
Deborra-Lee Furness	...	Barran (voice)
Sacha Horler	...	Strix Struma (voice)
Bill Hunter	...	Bubo (voice)
Ryan Kwanten	...	Kludd (voice)
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Twilight (voice)
Miriam Margolyes	...	Mrs. Plithiver (voice)
Helen Mirren	...	Nyra (voice)
Sam Neill	...	Allomere (voice)
Barry Otto	...	Echidna (voice)
Richard Roxburgh	...	Boron (voice)

Storyline

Soren (Jim Sturgess), a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie's, ostensibly an orphanage, where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He and his new friends escape to the island of Ga'Hoole, to assist its noble, wise owls who fight the army being created by the wicked rulers of St. Aggie's.

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Plot Keywords:

owl | escape | soldier | ruler | barn owl | 

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Taglines:

On his way to finding a legend...he will become one.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some sequences of scary action

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the songs used in the advertising was "Kings and Queens" from the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. The frontman of the band is Jared Leto. Leto appeared as The Joker in Suicide Squad (2016), a movie produced by Director Zack Snyder.

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Goofs

Several of the owl species featured in the film are not found in Australia, where it is set. This is because the original books were set in North America.

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Quotes

Grimble: [from trailer] Then you're gonna need to fly a long way to get to the Guardians.
Soren: You mean they're real?
Grimble: Oh, they're real alright.

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Crazy Credits

At the very start of the film Soren's father, Noctus, is shown flying through the sky at sunrise passing through the Warner Brothers and Village Roadshow logos, before diving under the film's title.

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Alternate Versions

German theatrical version was cut by 3,5 minutes taking out the scenes towards the end of the movie to secure a "Not under 6" rating. The uncut version was released on Blu-ray.

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Connections

Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: Topsy Turvy Plans (2020)

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Soundtracks

To the Sky
Written and Produced by Owl City (as Adam Young)
Performed by Owl City
Courtesy of Universal Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Pretty good family film

I'm sure you know the basic premise so i'll get straight to the point.

Pros: Surprisingly funny, superb animation, pretty good story (darker than I expected when it was billed as "from the creators of Happy Feet").

Cons: First half of the movie is pretty jumpy, and its also cheesy at some points.

I've only seen it once, so my review isn't as thorough as it could be, but overall this is a pretty good family movie, (not just for kids). I'm 21 and while I thought it looked good, I had feeling it was going to be bad. Its a shame they probably won't be making another one because of poor box office performance. I may see it a second time in theaters and will definitely get it on DVD.

PS: Before the movie begins (almost pixar-esquire) there is a Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon (well, 3D animation) which is a pleasant surprise.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

Filming Locations:

Fox Studios, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,112,211, 26 September 2010

Gross USA:

$55,675,313

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$140,073,390

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Animal Logic

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 101 min (IMAX Version)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1