First off, if you don't like movies about talking animals, you're a bastard-person.
Second, I couldn't be more interested in checking out this talking-animal movie about heroic warrior owls, based on Kathryn Lasky's fantasy series of the same name.
You know, like all 'talking animal kingdom' films, this one has its very original roots in the inspiration wrought from the original, most epic of all, and first 'talking animal fantasy' novel, Watership Down. In which talking bunnies are awesome.
But I can't hold a grudge against any other talking animal film or novel just because of that - Anything 'Redwall', or 'Tailchaser' is just as awesome to me, and so is this goddamn owl movie.
And for ultra nerds, it will be screened in 3-D, 2-D and IMAX 3-D beginning on Sept. 24, 2010 in the US.
(This is probably a great movie, if for no other reason that director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, Sucker Punch) is behind it. Not a lame-ass kid's movie, I would think.
Enjoy the embedded trailer below - I wish whoever edited it had chosen a different musical score to accompany it, but whatevs. Did someone say 'talking animals'? Voiced by some great actors like Sam Neill, Helen Mirren, and Geoffrey Rush. Less great actors include Abbie Cornish, Jim Sturgess, and Emily Barclay.
I wish whoever edited the trailer had chosen a less lame soundtrack, but whatevs - it has my attention. Did someone say 'talking animals'? Was it me?
Being that it was her first time she was very distraught about the whole thing but her mother calmly explained to her that it was perfectly normal and a part of growing up. It was very touching. I held back the tears though.
As a matter of fact it did. In the beginning of the movie a young girl owl pukes for her first time and the mother owl points out that it's the bones and fur of the mouse she had just eaten.
The puke is what the evil owls are using to take over the world.
So, the owl puke figures prominently, eh? I'll bet it looks great against the awesome backdrop of the sky, with mailed owls dashing around heroically against the sunset.
I brought my kids to see this last night at a state-of-the-art theater which costs a small fortune to go to and it was totally worth it. The story aside, I didn't realize the plot centered on owl puke, visually it is one of the most amazing animated films I've seen yet. Incredibly artistic, very Frazetta-like in many of the scenes. The 3D was very nice as well. Not in your face but a bit more of a subtle compliment.
I imagine they'll want to get this bad boy out on 3D Blu-ray as quickly as possible because if it hits before Avatar 3D, which is a Toshiba exclusive weirdly but I'm sure they payed enough, it will be THE reference disc to use to sell family and friends on 3D TV's. The first 3D Blu-ray release next month is going to be The Last Airbender which is a pretty smart move because people dying in anticipation to see 3D on their new TV's will buy it regardless of how much the movie sucks. It's probably the only way they'll move any copies.
Its just the traditional hero's journey with owls. I don't like talking animal movies. Marmaduke destroyed any potential a talking animal movie may have had.
Blasphemer!! *gets on the phone with the rest of the Inquisitors and prepares the dungeon and rack*
Its just the traditional hero's journey with owls. I don't like talking animal movies. Marmaduke destroyed any potential a talking animal movie may have had.
I'm good Bigmac. I generally don't get riled up about things but I think my years of having to defend Stanley Kubrick and my own opinions on him and his movies has left me overreacting on things like James Cameron. If people had just disliked Kubrick and expressed why intelligently instead of saying things like he should be killed and that I must be a demented, horrible person for basically idolizing the man my entire life I could have learned to deal with it much better.
Was I the only one who liked to find owl puke as a kid? Let me explain.
Owls cannot digest hair, bones, and other tough material. They have a special little gullet like detour for such things that they ingest, that accumulates similar to a cat's hairball. Once in a while it'll peak, and they'll barf up an owl hairball.
We used to find them as kids. They were hard, hairy things, usually found at the bottom of tall palm trees. About the size of golf balls, though oval shaped. You could break them apart and find clean bones - usually from mice and rats and other rodents - including entire skulls.
Okay, maybe I'm a big weirdo, but as a kid? I thought this was cool and liked to find them. At least I haven't done this recently.
Hey, RAN, I figured you weren't too serious. But the Winnie the Pooh series has some deep childhood memories for me, so I had to respond. Hope there's no hard feelings.
And Heidi, I really don't have much of a problem with talking animals. Hell, I laughed my ass off when a piranha belched up a mangled penis, so I figure I'm game for anything. It's just this trailer left me feeling rather bored.
To be truthful, I love Disney's Winne the Pooh features. But you're talking about stuffed animals coming to life, not some other world where realistic owls (as far as we can tell) overcome not having hands or brittle bones. That's the major problem for me.
Regardless, something about this just rang hollow when I first saw this trailer, and I haven't changed my mind since. Maybe it was too cliche, maybe the fact that it could have been any other animal species, I don't know. It just didn't excite me as much as others on the forum.
Now, that's just my opinion, and I reserve the right to be wrong. However, as the preview stands, it seems rather predicable and lame in my opinion. Wow, some yonug believer searches to find heroes, only to find the hero within. Please, even Lord of the Rings wasn't that cliched. And, any time you anchor a movie with species based in reality, a filmmaker runs the risk of criticism base on a real life model.
Though I've been wrong about trailers before, and will call myself on that if warranted.
Bigmac I think I've lost all respect for you as a film buff. If you had watched Winnie The Pooh you'd know that owls wings double as hands when they need to pick things up. Owls putting their own armor on is entirely plausible.
Not that I have a thing against talking animals, but this trailer just didn't appeal to me. It's not that I'm not a fantasy fan, but I just can't fathom owls building armor, let alone being able to put on helmets.
Watership Down is definitely somewhere in my top ten favorite books of all time. Silflay hraka, embleer-rah!
The interesting thing about this film is that it appears to be straight unabashed fantasy - starring owls. By that, I mean the script probably could have been easily adapted to human beings (or, more likely, was adapted *from* a script with human beings starring in it). If that makes any sense.
I think you've absolutely nailed what made it look so good to me. I wasn't really thinking about the fast that they are owls but more that they are warriors.
Watership Down is definitely somewhere in my top ten favorite books of all time. Silflay hraka, embleer-rah!
The interesting thing about this film is that it appears to be straight unabashed fantasy - starring owls. By that, I mean the script probably could have been easily adapted to human beings (or, more likely, was adapted *from* a script with human beings starring in it). If that makes any sense.
I saw the trailer for this many months ago and thought it looked interesting without even knowing who directed it. I generally hate talking animal movies though because there aren't a whole lot of adult oriented ones. Chronicles of Narnia is pretty amazing and I love Watership Down but its been so long since I've seen it that all I can remember is all the dead rabbits and more blood than Piranha 3D.
I'm sorry, but I don't see a scene in this trailer where the owls do the booty-dance to that "I like to move it, move it!!" song. I thought the law was passed that every animated movie had to have that scene.
Comments
Being that it was her first time she was very distraught about the whole thing but her mother calmly explained to her that it was perfectly normal and a part of growing up. It was very touching. I held back the tears though.
I like that is uses the owl puke in a nice, family-bonding way.
As a matter of fact it did. In the beginning of the movie a young girl owl pukes for her first time and the mother owl points out that it's the bones and fur of the mouse she had just eaten.
The puke is what the evil owls are using to take over the world.
So, the owl puke figures prominently, eh? I'll bet it looks great against the awesome backdrop of the sky, with mailed owls dashing around heroically against the sunset.
Could you tell if it had mice tails in it?
I brought my kids to see this last night at a state-of-the-art theater which costs a small fortune to go to and it was totally worth it. The story aside, I didn't realize the plot centered on owl puke, visually it is one of the most amazing animated films I've seen yet. Incredibly artistic, very Frazetta-like in many of the scenes. The 3D was very nice as well. Not in your face but a bit more of a subtle compliment.
I imagine they'll want to get this bad boy out on 3D Blu-ray as quickly as possible because if it hits before Avatar 3D, which is a Toshiba exclusive weirdly but I'm sure they payed enough, it will be THE reference disc to use to sell family and friends on 3D TV's. The first 3D Blu-ray release next month is going to be The Last Airbender which is a pretty smart move because people dying in anticipation to see 3D on their new TV's will buy it regardless of how much the movie sucks. It's probably the only way they'll move any copies.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
sorry....that got stuck in my head.
Its just the traditional hero's journey with owls. I don't like talking animal movies. Marmaduke destroyed any potential a talking animal movie may have had.
Blasphemer!! *gets on the phone with the rest of the Inquisitors and prepares the dungeon and rack*
Its just the traditional hero's journey with owls. I don't like talking animal movies. Marmaduke destroyed any potential a talking animal movie may have had.
You are all destroying my talking owl fantasy with owl puke!
Oh and owl puke rocks!
Especially if it's in 3D!!!
If the warrior owls puke up their slain enemies, I'm there!
Oh and owl puke rocks!
Go owl puke!!1
I'm good Bigmac. I generally don't get riled up about things but I think my years of having to defend Stanley Kubrick and my own opinions on him and his movies has left me overreacting on things like James Cameron. If people had just disliked Kubrick and expressed why intelligently instead of saying things like he should be killed and that I must be a demented, horrible person for basically idolizing the man my entire life I could have learned to deal with it much better.
Oh and owl puke rocks!
Now, if the owls had burped up a......
Was I the only one who liked to find owl puke as a kid? Let me explain.
Owls cannot digest hair, bones, and other tough material. They have a special little gullet like detour for such things that they ingest, that accumulates similar to a cat's hairball. Once in a while it'll peak, and they'll barf up an owl hairball.
We used to find them as kids. They were hard, hairy things, usually found at the bottom of tall palm trees. About the size of golf balls, though oval shaped. You could break them apart and find clean bones - usually from mice and rats and other rodents - including entire skulls.
Okay, maybe I'm a big weirdo, but as a kid? I thought this was cool and liked to find them. At least I haven't done this recently.
Hey, RAN, I figured you weren't too serious. But the Winnie the Pooh series has some deep childhood memories for me, so I had to respond. Hope there's no hard feelings.
And Heidi, I really don't have much of a problem with talking animals. Hell, I laughed my ass off when a piranha belched up a mangled penis, so I figure I'm game for anything. It's just this trailer left me feeling rather bored.
Now, if the owls had burped up a......
Oh. let's not go there!
Bigmac, how dare you say such things about a movie with talking animals.!
"The owls are not what they seem..."
Goddamn, I need to sit down and watch TWIN PEAKS again soon.
I was only kidding by the way. This seems like such a serious discussion about a talking owl movie.
The PS3 browser is so archaic I can't use emoticons.
BTW, I absolutely hate talking babies. Especially when they sound like Bruce Willis.
To be truthful, I love Disney's Winne the Pooh features. But you're talking about stuffed animals coming to life, not some other world where realistic owls (as far as we can tell) overcome not having hands or brittle bones. That's the major problem for me.
Regardless, something about this just rang hollow when I first saw this trailer, and I haven't changed my mind since. Maybe it was too cliche, maybe the fact that it could have been any other animal species, I don't know. It just didn't excite me as much as others on the forum.
Now, that's just my opinion, and I reserve the right to be wrong. However, as the preview stands, it seems rather predicable and lame in my opinion. Wow, some yonug believer searches to find heroes, only to find the hero within. Please, even Lord of the Rings wasn't that cliched. And, any time you anchor a movie with species based in reality, a filmmaker runs the risk of criticism base on a real life model.
Though I've been wrong about trailers before, and will call myself on that if warranted.
If anyone has seen Sword in the Stone, by Disney, you would know that Owls are magical. So everything about this trailer makes scientific sense.
You know, if owls get something like opposable thumbs, then I want to be able to turn my head upside down. Fair is fair.
Bigmac I think I've lost all respect for you as a film buff. If you had watched Winnie The Pooh you'd know that owls wings double as hands when they need to pick things up. Owls putting their own armor on is entirely plausible.
It's not that I'm not a fantasy fan, but I just can't fathom owls building armor, let alone being able to put on helmets.
How about if they're sentient hyper-intelligent owls with opposable thumb claws?
Uh, let's see.....
Nope, still can't buy it.
What, Heidi...You didn't hear that Snyder signed on for Alvin and the Chipmunks:Third Squeak Is the Charm?
It's not that I'm not a fantasy fan, but I just can't fathom owls building armor, let alone being able to put on helmets.
How about if they're sentient hyper-intelligent owls with opposable thumb claws?
Not that I have a thing against talking animals, but this trailer just didn't appeal to me. It's not that I'm not a fantasy fan, but I just can't fathom owls building armor, let alone being able to put on helmets.
Watership Down
Watership Down is definitely somewhere in my top ten favorite books of all time. Silflay hraka, embleer-rah!
The interesting thing about this film is that it appears to be straight unabashed fantasy - starring owls. By that, I mean the script probably could have been easily adapted to human beings (or, more likely, was adapted *from* a script with human beings starring in it). If that makes any sense.
I think you've absolutely nailed what made it look so good to me. I wasn't really thinking about the fast that they are owls but more that they are warriors.
Watership Down
Watership Down is definitely somewhere in my top ten favorite books of all time. Silflay hraka, embleer-rah!
The interesting thing about this film is that it appears to be straight unabashed fantasy - starring owls. By that, I mean the script probably could have been easily adapted to human beings (or, more likely, was adapted *from* a script with human beings starring in it). If that makes any sense.
I saw the trailer for this many months ago and thought it looked interesting without even knowing who directed it. I generally hate talking animal movies though because there aren't a whole lot of adult oriented ones. Chronicles of Narnia is pretty amazing and I love Watership Down but its been so long since I've seen it that all I can remember is all the dead rabbits and more blood than Piranha 3D.
I think Snyder hasn't made a 'bad' film yet, which is another reason I'm excited about this.
No rap scenes with a chipmunk sidekick in a hula-hoop in this film, I think. Looks like a real fantasy film following real epic guidelines for such.
and it'll probably LOOK amazing.
No worries. Snyder will totally one up it with his take on the scene, Cash.
I am suddenly interested in this now knowing Snyder is the director. I like that kid and think he gets a bad rap.
I'm sorry, but I don't see a scene in this trailer where the owls do the booty-dance to that "I like to move it, move it!!" song. I thought the law was passed that every animated movie had to have that scene.
It better be in the finished film, Snyder...