Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

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Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

PG

Released Sep 24, 2010

1h 31m

Kids & Family

Adventure

Fantasy

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

52%

Tomatometer

132 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

A father owl's tales of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole enthrall his son Soren, but an older son scoffs at the stories of winged warriors who fought an epic battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. Later the brothers become captives of the Pure Ones, but Soren makes a daring escape and, with the help of other young owls, seeks out the Guardians and brings them back to defend their people once again.

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Critics Consensus

Legend of the Guardians' dark tone and dazzling visuals are to be admired, even if they're ultimately let down by a story that never lives up to its full potential.

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Anna Smith

metro.co.uk

With jeopardy at almost every turn, this is certainly no movie for toddlers.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 24, 2018

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Rated: 3/4

Nov 24, 2011

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

We're left with something gorgeous, turgid, and emotionally impenetrable -- less a movie, more an Imax screensaver.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 22, 2010

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Once again, Snyder backs a project more about visual presentation than storytelling, a trend that’s getting old for those waiting for the director to turn out a film worthy of his evident talent.

Rated: 1.5/4

Aug 3, 2023

Full Review

James McMahon

NME (New Musical Express)

An intelligent, often thrilling excuse to soar the skies with a beauty and grace rarely found in digital animation outside of the Pixar stable.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 20, 2021

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

A likely Oscar nominee this year almost solely on the basis of its wondrous visuals.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 13, 2020

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Lenny J

I LOVE THIS movie so much words cannot explain it! But i seriously love the story and the artstyle! Like im gasping for how low these reviews are! Anyways this is such a great movie in my opinion everything from the beginning to the end. Id say this is my comfort movie! I love this movie so much.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/12/25

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Benjamin S

10/10 movie, i watch it with my siblings all the time! The animation is stunning for a movie made in 2010, the voice actors did an amazing job, and the story is phenomenal. I think the only reason it didn’t get the attention it deserved was because it was competing against movies like httyd, brave, tangled, mega mind, etc. TLDR: please watch this movie I beg you

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/26/25

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Bri M

My favorite family movie, right next to how to train your dragon

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

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Everest H

The visuals are gorgeous as well as how he tells the story. This has been one of my favorite movies from childhood. I am about to turn 21 and I rewatched it just today and it is still one of my absolute favorites. I love the humor, the action, the storytelling, and how it gives a really good twist on things. It would be great for middle school or younger children as well as adults who love stories. It has a nice mix between nostalgia and fantasy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/12/25

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Maya M

Released back in 2011, this movie may not have received the recognition it deserved at the time, with critics offering mixed to negative reviews and no sequel ever following. But here we are in 2025, and it's clear this film has aged surprisingly well. The storyline is refreshingly straightforward—neither overly complex nor insultingly simple—striking just the right balance to keep viewers engaged. Visually, the graphics are stunning, even by today’s standards. It’s honestly hard to understand why it was overlooked upon release. This movie absolutely deserves more appreciation and a second chance in the spotlight.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/25

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Cason T

I think that movie deserves a sequel, maybe the story was a little simple but it was heartfelt.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/04/25

Full Review

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Jim Sturgess

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Synopsis

A father owl's tales of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole enthrall his son Soren, but an older son scoffs at the stories of winged warriors who fought an epic battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. Later the brothers become captives of the Pure Ones, but Soren makes a daring escape and, with the help of other young owls, seeks out the Guardians and brings them back to defend their people once again.

Director: Zack Snyder
Producer: Zareh Nalbandian
Screenwriter: John Orloff, Emil Stern
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Village Roadshow Entertainment, Animal Logic
Rating: PG (Some Sequences of Scary Action)
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 24, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $55.7M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS

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