Why would Zack Snyder, the director behind such clearly adult movies as "300" and "Dawn of the Dead," want to make a PG-rated movie about a community of owls based on a popular children's book series?
You might think that the father of five wanted to have a project that he could share with his kids. But you'd be wrong. "I saw a painting in the offices of Animal Logic [an animation company] and it had these owls in armor, with battling claws. I said, 'That is so cool. What is that for?' " Turns out Animal Logic was trying to get a movie made of Kathryn Lasky's "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" series.
Snyder was hooked. "I made this movie for myself. Maybe there's just too much of the kid in me," he said.
Three years after seeing that painting, Snyder is getting ready for the world to see his film. "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" opens in theaters Friday and is based on the first three books in Lasky's series.
The movie tells the story of Soren, a young barn owl who is kidnapped by an evil band of owls who brainwash captured animals to wage war against Ga'Hoole's wise, peaceful owls.
The books feature fight scenes and themes of war and family betrayal. "We actually had to tone down [some of the violence in the books] to make the movie," Snyder says.
The director was not familiar with the books when he started the project and admits he didn't know much about owls either. But he has learned a lot since then. In a scene early in the movie, an owl snaps up a mouse. "It was important to show that owls are predators, to let kids know that early." He also adds with delight that Lasky has seen the movie and is more than pleased with how her characters and world have been transformed on film. "She thought it was amazing; she was out of her mind -- and she hadn't even seen the final version," Snyder says with a laugh.
But the real audience is kids, and Snyder hopes that the 3-D world of Ga'Hoole will "seem like another planet" to them.
To get the fight scenes involving the owls just right, Snyder brought in stunt actors and had them put on cardboard wings and pretend to be owls battling. "They felt pretty dorky, but it really worked," he said.
What do his kids think of the movie? His 13-year-old son (Snyder's kids range in age from 10 to 17) "tries to be too cool for an owl movie," but while he was watching a scene in which Soren flies through a blinding storm while being pelted with rain, Snyder says, his son said, "Dad, that is inspiring."
That's just what Snyder was going for. "I wanted to make a movie with childlike qualities but one that wasn't childish."
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