Kathryn Lasky Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Zack Snyder has abandoned the comic book store and ventured into the children's literature department for his next film, an animated adaptation of Kathryn Lasky's series The Guardians of Ga'Hoole. This week, Warner Bros decided to blandly re-title it The Legend of the Guardians, but the news was followed by some gorgeous stills and the first trailer -- which helps it become a lot more memorable.

USA Today has the first look at the film and caught up with Snyder, who decided to take a break from the hardcore and visit a world of owl mythology. "At some point, I figured, I had to do something my kids could watch. Now I'm the one into the stories and mythology." Despite his reputation for sex and gore, he scaled back the intensity of the books because he actually felt they were too dark to animate. Reading about owl battles is one thing, but no kid wants to see owls ripping things apart with their talons, believe me.

While the photos are full of feathery beauty, the trailer from Yahoo! Movies is actually quite stunning. Snyder's aesthetic is definitely all over it, but it's really quite lush and rich in its animation. If I want to reach out and pet their fluffy bellies in 2-D, 3-D should have kids actually reaching out and trying. It has a very impressive voice cast (Helen Mirren, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, David Wenham) but they may all be drowned out by Jim Sturgess' Soren who really comes off a bit too forced in his wide-eyed enthusiasm. Check out the trailer below. I know the books are really popular, and anticipation is high for the film with its fans. I'm anxious to hear if it meets their stringent expectations!

The gallery from USA Today is also below. I hate to admit it, but this will have my ticket purely for the Cute Overload of Owls. What about you? Is this a film that's now on your radar, or is there a reason why no one makes any movies about owls?