# Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

> 2010 animated film directed by Zack Snyder

**Wikidata**: [Q622763](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q622763)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Guardians:_The_Owls_of_Ga'Hoole)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/legend-of-the-guardians-the-owls-of-ga-hoole

## Summary

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a 2010 animated adventure fantasy film based on the bestselling children's book series "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" by Kathryn Lasky. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, with animation by Australian studio Animal Logic, and tells the story of a young barn owl who embarks on a quest to save his kingdom from evil forces. It combines fantasy storytelling with action-packed adventure elements targeted at children and family audiences.

## Key Facts

- **Release Year**: 2010
- **Runtime**: 90 minutes
- **Budget**: $80,000,000 USD
- **Box Office**: $140,000,000 USD
- **IMDb Rating**: 5.7/10
- **Metacritic Score**: 53/100
- **Rotten Tomatoes**: 52%
- **Production Companies**: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, Animal Logic
- **Animation Studio**: Animal Logic (Australian visual effects and animation studio, founded 1991)
- **Country of Origin**: United States, Australia
- **Film Classification**: Animated film, fantasy film, adventure film, children's film
- **IMDb ID**: tt1219342
- **Wikidata ID**: /m/05fcbk7
- **Wikipedia Sitelink Count**: 33
- **Official Website**: http://www.legendoftheguardians.com

## FAQs

**What is Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole about?**
The film follows Soren, a young barn owl living in the forest kingdom of Ga'Hoole, who is kidnapped by evil owls and taken to the Pure One's fortress. He must escape and rally the Guardians of Ga'Hoole to defeat the evil forces threatening all owl kingdoms.

**Who are the main voice actors in the film?**
The film features David Wenham (Australian actor born 1965, known for Lion and The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course), Jim Sturgess (English actor and singer-songwriter), Deborra-Lee Furness (Australian actress), and Barry Otto (Australian actor and artist) in voice roles.

**What production companies were involved in making the film?**
The film was produced by Warner Bros. Entertainment (founded April 4, 1923, headquartered in Burbank, California), Village Roadshow Pictures (founded 1986, headquartered in Los Angeles), and animated by Animal Logic (founded 1991, headquartered in Sydney, Australia).

**What genres does the film belong to?**
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is classified as an animated film, fantasy film, adventure film, and children's film.

**When was the film released?**
The film was released on multiple dates in 2010: September 24, September 30, October 7, and October 14, with the primary release date being October 14, 2010.

**Who wrote the screenplay for the film?**
The screenplay was written by John Orloff, an American screenwriter and citizen of the United States.

**How did the film perform financially?**
The film had a budget of $80 million and grossed approximately $140 million worldwide at the box office.

## Why It Matters

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole matters as a significant animated feature that brought Kathryn Lasky's beloved book series to life on the big screen. The film represents a collaboration between two major American film studios and Australia's premier animation house, demonstrating the global nature of animated film production. It contributed to the fantasy animation genre popular with family audiences during the 2010s, offering an alternative to Disney and DreamWorks animated features. The film's themes of courage, friendship, and the battle between good and evil resonated with its target demographic of children and young adults. Its production also showcased Animal Logic's capabilities as an Australian animation studio competing on the international stage, helping to establish Australia as a viable location for major animated productions.

## Notable For

- **Australian Animation**: Produced by Animal Logic, one of Australia's leading visual effects and animation studios
- **Book Adaptation**: Based on Kathryn Lasky's popular "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" book series (12 books)
- **International Co-Production**: Joint venture between American and Australian film companies
- **Family Fantasy Genre**: Combined animated adventure with fantasy elements for children's entertainment
- **Voice Cast**: Featured notable Australian actors including David Wenham and international talent
- **Box Office Performance**: Grossed nearly double its production budget worldwide

## Body

### Production Background

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole was developed as a feature film adaptation of Kathryn Lasky's "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" book series, which began publication in 2003. The film entered production as a collaboration between Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, two major American entertainment companies. Village Roadshow Pictures, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Los Angeles, partnered with Warner Bros. Entertainment, which has been operating since April 4, 1923, with headquarters in Burbank, California.

The animation work was contracted to Animal Logic, an Australian visual effects and animation studio headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1991, Animal Logic has established itself as a significant player in the global animation and visual effects industry, having worked on numerous high-profile film projects before undertaking Legend of the Guardians.

### Release and Distribution

The film was released in 2010 with multiple international release dates throughout September and October. The primary theatrical release occurred on October 14, 2010, in the United States, with earlier releases in various international markets including Australia. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, leveraging the studio's extensive global distribution network to bring the animated feature to audiences worldwide.

### Creative Team

The screenplay was written by John Orloff, an American screenwriter and citizen of the United States. The film featured an ensemble voice cast bringing the owl characters to life. David Wenham, an Australian actor born on September 21, 1965, and graduate of Western Sydney University, provided voice work for the film. Wenham is known for his diverse career spanning film, television, and theater, with notable roles in Lion (2016), Blinky Bill the Movie (2015), and The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002).

Jim Sturgess, an English actor and singer-songwriter born on May 16, 1978, and citizen of the United Kingdom, also contributed to the voice cast. Sturgess has been active in the entertainment industry since 1994 and is known for his work across film, television, and stage, as well as his musical career as a singer-songwriter.

Additional Australian talent included Deborra-Lee Furness, an Australian actress, and Barry Otto, an Australian actor and artist. Both performers brought their extensive experience from the Australian entertainment industry to the production.

### Genre Classification and Target Audience

The film is classified across multiple genres: animated film (specifically created for cinema, television, or computer screen using drawings, stop motion, or computer animation), fantasy film (featuring magical or supernatural elements), adventure film (focused on exciting journeys and quests), and children's film (targeted at younger audiences). This multi-genre classification reflects the film's intent to appeal to family audiences while delivering an engaging fantasy narrative.

### Financial Performance

The production had a budget of $80 million USD, representing a significant investment in animated feature filmmaking. Upon release, the film grossed approximately $140 million USD worldwide at the box office, achieving a return of nearly 1.75 times its production budget. While not reaching blockbuster status, the film performed reasonably in the competitive animated film market of 2010.

### Critical Reception

Critical reception for Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole was mixed. The film received a 5.7/10 rating on IMDb, a 53/100 score on Metacritic, and a 52% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. These scores indicate moderate critical appreciation, with recognition for its animation quality and storytelling while noting areas for improvement in narrative execution.

### Technical Specifications

The film runs for 90 minutes and was produced in English for international distribution. The technical aspects of the production were handled by Animal Logic, which utilized computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create the animated world of Ga'Hoole. The studio's expertise in visual effects and animation contributed to the film's visual presentation of the owl characters and their fantastical environment.

### Related Entities

The film exists within a broader ecosystem of related works and organizations. It is connected to the broader film industry classification (Q11424 - Film: a sequence of images that give the impression of movement, stored on film stock) and the animated film subcategory. The production companies involved—Warner Bros. Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, and Animal Logic—represent significant entities in the global entertainment and animation industries. The voice actors involved represent notable figures in Australian and British acting, each with their own filmographies and achievements.

### Cultural Context

The release of Legend of the Guardians in 2010 came during a period of significant growth in the animated film market, with competition from established studios like Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, and Illumination Entertainment. The film represented an attempt to establish a new animated franchise based on existing literary properties, following the successful model of adaptations like Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia in live-action cinema. The fantasy genre, particularly in animation, had proven appeal to family audiences, as demonstrated by the success of films like How to Train Your Dragon and the Shrek franchise.

## References

1. The Movie Database
2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Rotten Tomatoes
3. [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219342/releaseinfo)
4. [Source](http://nmhh.hu/dokumentum/158992/2010_filmbemutatok_osszes.xlsx)
5. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
6. IMDb
7. [Source](https://www.aacta.org/aacta-awards/awards-history/inaugural-aacta-awards/loadwinners/feature-film)
8. BBC Things
9. [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219342/parentalguide/#certificates)
10. [Source](https://www.kijkwijzer.nl/films/legend-of-the-guardians-the-owls-of-ga-hoole/)
11. Entertainment Identifier Registry
12. terjesztesre_kerulo_filmalkotasok_nyilvantartasa.xlsx
13. List of film licenses issued from 1945 to 2020
14. [Source](https://www.eirin.jp/list/index.php?s_year=2010&s_month=9&e_year=2010&e_month=9&pageID=2)
15. Cineplex
16. Online-Filmdatenbank
17. [Source](http://cnc.abt.ro/registru/index.aspx?pageID=3&filmID=13089)
18. mymovies.it
19. Danish Film Database
20. [Source](https://norske-dubber.fandom.com/no/wiki/Legenden_om_Vaktuglene_(Film)?oldid=129198)
21. TheTVDB
22. Trakt.tv
23. FilmVandaag.nl