LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE is epic and poignant and majestic and cute in all the right owly ways.

Young forest owl Soren (voice of Jim Sturgess) is a dreamer, infatuated with mythical tales of the Guardians - ancient owls who defend owly honor throughout the land. His older brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) poo-poos Soren wearing makeshift leaf helmets and reenacting Guardian legends (equivalent to us kids tying towels around our necks and fantasizing we are Superman),while Soren's father Noctus (Hugo Weaving) encourages Soren to dream big. (Weaving's voice is so distinctive as Agent Smith from THE MATRIX that we're constantly expecting him to drop an accidental, serpentine "Mr. Anderson.")

Soren and brother Kludd are kidnapped by mountain owls led by the fearsome Metalbeak (Joel Edgerton). Like every great villain, Metalbeak wants to rule all of owldom for no apparent reason. In the grand tradition of being evil and rebranding yourself as something beneficial (Republicans' rebranding of the rich as "job-creators" comes to mind),Metalbeak's villainous owls are called The Pure Ones. (This also conjures the Republican-based Tea Party "tests for purity.")

At the Pure Ones' wrought-iron mountain aerie, owlets like Soren are brainwashed by being forced to stare at the Moon, being overcome by a blank stare called "moonblink" and subjected to slave labor, collecting mystical blue pellets hoarded by bats for some buzzing energy source cauldron. Soren and a cute dwarf owl, Gylfie (Emily Barclay) escape the clutches of the Pure Ones, ally with a couple of other owl characters (and a snake!),and must fly across a vast ocean to warn the actual Guardians of Ga'Hoole of Metalbeak's plot.

This Australian CG cartoon (where all the accents are amusingly DownUnda) is lifted from the series of books by Kathryn Lasky, and directed by Zack Snyder, using the same filmic techniques he used in his poetically violent 300: during battle scenes, the shink of steel augmenting talons, the clash of claw on flesh; fearsome slaughter crashed with sudden slomo and balletic arcs. Let's face it: if it was all in real time, 'twould be nought but a flurry of feathers.

The animation is startling, with jaw-dropping attention to detail, especially in the avian faces that boldly display the palette of human emotion. (These blips are literally better actors than Rob Schneider, Will Ferrell, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Keanu Reeves, and anyone in any given George Romero film). We are so used to seeing smooth people and surroundings (PLANET 51, DESPICABLE ME) that GA'HOOLE is a welcome sensory overload of feathers, forest and flying; wings making shadows through smoke in the sunlight; exhilarating flight, transporting us with every camera swoop to the freedom of the skies; striking battle scenes in three dimensions - by that I mean, air battle like dogfighting feathered Spitfires, not putting on 3D glasses. Diametrically opposite to a CG cartoon like CARS, with its clinical steel and sleek sterility, these animals of GA'HOOLE breathe with an organic, fluttering life force.

Another plus is that the story is not preachy. Besides the passé "follow your dreams" trope, there is avarice (Metalbeak),caution (a legendary hero owl hides within the community in plain sight),betrayal (Kludd - like Edmund in Narnia - betrays his brother Soren),and loyalty (Soren fights for his family and baby sister Eglantine). GA'HOOLE doesn't send any stupid messages to kids via talking animals.

Sam Neill voices the regal Allomere, David Wenham is a frisky little Digger owl, Anthony LaPaglia voices the artiste Twilight (who plays the lute!),Geoffrey Rush is the Guardian Lyze of Kiel, and Helen Mirren is the Pure One headmistress.

The payoffs are mighty, because - as in all these stories of legendary heroes - the legends are REAL, and Our Young Hero stakes a place for himself among the legends with a final battle that makes the feathers rise on your neck and arms. The Zack Snyder battle slomo helps, backlit by raging inferno and orgiastic orchestra - oh, rapturous raptor!

I am just left to wonder: How did the owls create all these beaten iron structures without opposable thumbs?

I have loved animation for as long as I can remember, as far as when I was 2 when I saw The Lion King in the cinema. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is not one of my favourite animated movies, but it is a long way from the worst. I've not read the books, so I cannot say how good Legend of the Guardians is as an adaptation. But I will judge it on its own terms, as it does deserve to be. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Sure the dialogue is stilted and sometimes verges on ridiculous with the profound talking about gizzards. At times also, while never dull, not too preachy(even with the death, slavery and indoctrination) and well-meaning, as well as maintaining a serious tone despite some of the writing, the story is rather formulaic and rushed in how it is told. On the plus side, it is really one of the most visually beautiful films I have ever seen, the owls are beautifully modelled, but the landscapes, the camera angles, colours and the flying in the storm scene are just breathtaking to watch. Every bit as impressive is the score, which is really stirring stuff and fits perfectly with the visuals and the goings on in the story. The characters are engaging also especially Soren, who you identify with every step of the way, and the voice cast with the likes of Jim Sturgess, Helen Mirren, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Miriam Margoyles and Anthony LaPaglia are superb. All in all, even with its faults Legend of the Guardians is a breathtakingly beautiful film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Young owl Soren gets pushed off the branch by his jealous brother Kludd. They both fall onto the ground. They are captured by owls Jatt and Jutt and taken to St. Aegolius to work for the Pure Ones. There the young owls are divided into pickers and soldiers by Queen Nyra. Soren is forced into being a picker for protecting a small owl named Gylfie. Kludd abandons him to be a soldier. Pickers are forced to sort through owl pellets for metal flecks. Gylfie helps Soren avoid being moon-blinked, a catatonic state from sleeping under the full moon. Soren and Gylfie escape with the help of Grimble to warn the Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

The owls look gorgeous. The CG animation is detailed and entrancing. Director Zack Snyder has bumped the technical envelop forward. The drawback in this is the complicated story. The plot is overstuffed and feels messy even in its short 97 minutes running time. The problem is that the movie keeps introducing new characters. The action is fast with the Snyder slow-mo style and the fights are violent. Most of the time, it is possible to keep track of the characters. The name are a little harder to remember.