I for one like his expression. It suits the impression I got of his character from the first trailer (though I haven’t seen the second one). And yes, the water effects are amazing.
New character posters released here. I like a few of the posters (Gylfie & Digger are my favorites) but some of them I could care less for.
I’m impressed. I really am. Ugh. I forgot the last time I was this impressed by a trailer. I love how they’re semi-realistic yet not really into the Uncanny Valley.
I have to say, I’m not terribly excited about this. Now, I haven’t read any of the books, but (1) Happy Feet didn’t win my heart, and (2) the realistic characters will probably confuse me as they did with the preceding bird-centric flick. Of course, I’ve only seen the trailer once, but I had a lot of difficulty distinguishing the characters from one another. I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with me, though. The characters don’t need to be super cartoony looking, just not quite as bland and anatomically correct.
Great Glaux! Thanks Great Mouse Detective! 
I laughed at Soren, Eglantine, Digger and Gylfie’s posters because it’s like they were aiming for ‘maximum cuteness’- you know, like how some audiences reacted to Flynn’s ‘smoulder gaze’ in the Tangled trailer? I also like the character-description taglines (reminds me of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice series) and the beautiful backdrops.
I think it has to do with those liquid eyes, a technique Pixar pioneered and Avatar fine-tuned. They’re so expressive (and much better than Mumble’s adult peepers).
You have made valid points on it being a bit difficult to tell characters apart, and the character designs do have a more realistic take than say, Up or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.
That said though, you should really read the books (They certainly exceeded my expectations) and I’m sure that when we see the final product in theatres, they’ll properly explain hoo’s who (lame owl pun) and newcomers will be able to keep up. I can’t vouch for the movie, but if it’s adapted faithfully to be as great as the books are, I think we’ll have a strong contender for TS3 and HTTYD this year.
Now that I’ve finished reading the second book, I can see why a few fans are worried that Mr Synder may do a couple of plot changes like the ones mentioned above by Esmedes. This was, after all, the same director of the Watchmen film which apparently botched Rorschach and the ending according to my friends- I myself have not seen the movie yet, but have read the graphic novel. So naturally, there is some concern that while he might be faithful visually, which so far, he is, as the film’s owls look and act every bit as I imagine them in my head to be; narrative-wise, it’s still ‘up in the air’, so to speak.
Nevertheless, I’m still optimistic, although now having read the first two books I just have a few reservations as opposed to before. The thing about film-adaptations is they always have the expectation to live up to the source material, which is not an easy task. I still do have high hopes that it’ll be every bit as spectacular as Happy Feet, and hopefully, have a better third act too.
…
A critic from Collider went for a sneak preview of four scenes and as predicted, he has returned with rave reviews (which he claims has nothing to do with the awesome goodie bag he just got). I’m more interested in where I can get my hands on those character Beanie Babies…
Warner Bros. Screens Footage of Zack Snyder’s LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE
And a ‘behind-the-scenes-look’ back in April on Australia’s Sunrise (a morning talk show programme). Fifi Box (a presenter and columnists in Sydney’s papers) takes a trip to the ‘Pixar of Australia’, Animal Logic. I liked the part where they blend-shaped an ‘Angry Soren’ and when Fifi fan-gushed after Soren’s line in the trailer:
Soren: “That’s my favourite part!”
Fifi: “It’s mine too!” 
I’m not so sure about this movie. I was at the movies with my step brother who read the books, and I asked him if it looked good, and he said that it was a good book series, but that it probably shouldn’t be made into a movie. I mean, I can’t really say anything since I haven’t read the books, but that’s kinda making me a little iffy about this movie.
Also, when animals talk, it kinda turns me off (even though there are a few things like that in Pixar movies 
)[/i]
I half-agree with your brother. If I had my way, a more restrained director like Guillermo Del Toro or Peter Jackson (or even any of the Pixarians) would be a better pick than Mr Snyder, who tends to exaggerate things with slow-mo and violence a bit, judging from his visual signature. But I feel LotG is much simpler than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (which have pretty good film-adaptations), and I think adapting the first three books is a reasonable target for a feature-length film. Not to mention that there are like 11 or 12 books in the series, which would make a neat trilogy if they ever turn it into a franchise.
As for whether they should, I don’t mind. It’s not like those ‘untouchables’ like Watchmen in terms of scope and detail. I think an adaptation is quite feasible, and so far the trailers haven’t made me thought otherwise (except of course for the plot discrepancy as mentioned by another member earlier). But I guess it’s very difficult to please all the fans. I guess the defining factor for me is whether it’s a good movie on its own, and whether the screenplay respects the source material while making it approachable for newcomers. 
I think this has potential to be the best film of the year, but it will be hard to beat Toy Story 3.
Thanks, by the way, TDIT for all those interesting links.
I read online that Animal Logic is currently writing a screenplay for a remake of Watership Down, which I think will [hopefully] be a good alternative from the original for young children.
EDIT: Here is a test image from Watership Down. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Water … _image.JPG
My reaction to AL possibly remaking Watership Down has met me with a mixed reaction. The original was just so amazing… I don’t know if it’s worth recreating. The test shot just keeps me more torn. I love how it looks like a rabbit… but it looks a bit TOO much like a rabbit, crossing into uncanny valley there… it’s a shame, because Watership Down is my favorite book of all time. I dunno.
Regarding the Watership Down test image, it’s really impossible to make a solid judgment from that. In animation especially, you really have to see it in motion to be sure that it will work. Many times, character designs have seemed unworkable to me, but when I see them in action they’re amazing (the recent CGI TMNT movie is perhaps the biggest example of this for me, but even Up and Toy Story 3 have some designs that initially raised issues). It will be interesting to see if Watership Down will work in CGI. One of the great aspects of the story is the contrast between the mundane and the fantastic. In the book (my favourite novel, for what it’s worth), this is perhaps shown in the stories within the main story, whereas the film accomplishes this through Fiver’s visions (the famous “Bright Eyes” sequence being the best example) and its contrast with the generally realistic style of the rest of the film. I’ve yet to see a CGI film that manages to pull off such a contrast, and without it, you’re heading dangerously into Uncanny Valley territory. Still, if anyone can do it, it’s probably Animal Logic. As I believe I’ve already mentioned, one of the first thoughts that came to mind when I first saw the trailer for Legend of the Guardians was “owl equivalent of Watership Down.” It remains a risky prospect, but the artistic potential is huge.
On topic, I’ve recently seen the second trailer, and it managed to blow me away all over again. While it doesn’t quite have the wow factor of the first one, it shows that the film does actually have a plot, and potentially quite a good one at that. It’s also interesting to see a few details in repeated footage that I missed when viewing the original trailer. Very interesting indeed.
I have one annoyance, though. Animal Logic is an Australian studio, so you’d think the film would be released in Australia first, or at least as close to the US release date as possible, right?
US release date: 24th of September
Australian release date: 9th of December
Two and a half months after the US release. What in Ga’hoole is up with that? And here I was hoping that Toy Story 3 had signalled an improvement in Australian release dates.
I’ve been seeing IMAX and other cinemas’ ‘Coming Soon’ release dates for Ga’Hoole, and it’s around late September (THIS one, for example, says it’s on the 30th).
Still a bit of a bummer to get it a week after the Yanks, when most of the animation was done by a Sydney-based studio, but I have a feeling in my gizzard it won’t be the IMDB-listed 9th December release date (IMDB sometimes gets its release dates wrong, so have faith!).
Well, I’m always willing to accept a six-day-later release, because that’s just the first available release date that’s not before the US release (since the US release movies on Fridays, and Australia releases them on Thursdays). Here’s hoping you’re right, and IMDB is wrong.
New Poster.
On one hand, I like the organic, nature-y feel to it. On the other, it’s a little bit boring. I’m not sure how I feel about this one. Thoughts?
Yeah, it does rather lack the epic win aspect of most of the other promotional material, though the helm definitely lends a hint of it. From a business perspective, however, that might make some sense. Emphasise different aspects in different ads, to get a wide audience. In that regard, I’m kind of surprised that I’ve yet to see any ads mention that this is from the director of 300 (amongst other things). You’d think that would generate some hype amongst certain groups. Maybe they figure it would drive parents away from showing it to their kids.
Saw this a few minutes ago on FB (I ‘liked’ the official fan group), but looks like Basil beat me to it!
It’s kinda disappointing this is really a lazy composite of most of the character posters in a new scene, but it’s nice to see the marketing campaign is under way! And is it me, or do I see Mrs P’s coils in the lower left-corner by the mask (or it could be just be a bit of vine… I dunno, what do you think)?
I saw the previews and the trailer for this before Toy Story 3, and it didn’t really impress me. My main beef is how the owls don’t have any unique characterizations that make each of them stand out from the rest; they all look the same, and they look TOO realistic. That was also my main issue with Happy Feet (and I didn’t even like that film either.)
In my opinion, there are several different types of owl that are quite clearly different, and the only ones I had major trouble differentiating between are Soren and his family (which makes sense, arguably). It is certainly a problem, and it could hurt some of the action sequences, but it’s a lot better than (and I should probably stop using this as a comparison) Watership Down, where I had far more trouble distinguishing between the rabbits.
Great Glaux! A new poster and a redesigned website!
Epic-awesome image, but why is Twilight looking confused? Anyway, there’s now a neat side-scroller render of the original background so you can now see those beautiful rain-drops at different distances, giving a nice 3-D effect. As well as the two theatrical trailers, some new images in the gallery, and the character posters as a download! It’s enough to make you go yeep!
I can only say the following: dat 3D website.