Don't be fooled by the animation or pretty and colourful owls in the previews, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a dark and harrowing tale, not aimed at young viewers. The story follows a young owl Soren who loves hearing the stories of 'The Guardians', only to realise that they are in fact real, and somewhat menacing. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the film was animated and featured only owls as characters, it could easily run as a haunting drama aimed at adults.

The effects used to create the owls is splendid, and the distinction between the 'good' and 'bad' owls is notable just by their facial features and their feather structure. Admittedly those might even be considered stereotypical as the bad guys look meaner and uglier than the good guys, but given that it the owls are the characters, it works in terms of distinguishing which character is which.

The story itself does take a while in terms of pacing, and drags a bit in the middle and end, so there is what feels like quite a wait to finally get to the big climax. Some of the most revered actors lend their voices to Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, including Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill, Miriam Margolyes (of the Harry Potter series), Anthony LaPaglia, and Abbie Cornish, and give the feathery creatures distinct characters merely by the way they emphasise certain words and the vowel and syntax with which they speak. The film is aesthetically beautiful, given the blue and grey hues of the skies, and the multi-coloured and layered owls. What the story may lack in plot it definitely makes up for in visuals.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is out on DVD and Blu-ray now and available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.