Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300) seems at first an odd choice to helm an animated kiddie film. But with his eye for stylized mayhem and a crack team of animators, Snyder does a slam-bang job of bringing the first three books of Kathryn Lasky’s popular children’s series to virtual life with some very impressive animation, particularly with the eyes and facial expressions conveying the emotions of the feathered characters. Too bad there’s not really a story to back up the visuals. Here we have a young owl from the boonies who is swept up in a longstanding feud between the forces of good and evil, mentored by a scarred veteran of the last epic battle, who is led to master an unsuspected inner power he must use to sweep in at the last minute and take the team to victory. Yep, it’s more or less Star Wars with owls. No heavy lifting here with the narrative. But then, I suppose that isn’t really a concern with a kid’s film. Feather River Cinemas, Paradise Cinema 7 and Tinseltown. Rated PG