Zach Snyder (300, Watchmen) is the director of the new animated film, "Legend of Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole". The film is being released by Warner Bros. on September 24.
"Isn't it every kid's fantasy to become a character in his or her favorite story?" director Zack Snyder asks. "In our film, it's a young owl who wants to find these legendary warrior owls that have been part of his personal mythology since he was born. And when the stories actually turn out to be true, it's very powerful."
A movie for his kids
In addition to the challenge of taking on his first entirely computer-generated project, Snyder, whose previous work includes the epic action films "300" and "Watchmen," found that his motivation for making this particular story hit close to home. "I know it sounds cliche," the director admits, "but my kids are always saying to me, 'Dad, when are you gonna make a movie we can see?' And the chance to work with the animators at Animal Logic really appealed to me; there were moments in 'Happy Feet' that I found artistically breathtaking. So when I saw their initial 'Guardians' artwork, and then read the stories of Soren and his friends on this incredible quest, I looked at it as a perfect opportunity to bring my own sensibilities to a family film."
3D animation for the first time
In taking this adventure from the ground to the air and across the sea, there was no better way to capture the scope of this expedition than to make it in 3D, and no medium lends itself better to 3D than computer animation," Snyder affirms.
Stepping into the animation realm for the first time, Snyder enthuses, "Animation is filmmaking without limits. When I saw the potential of what the movie could be, and thought about the chance as a filmmaker to actually be able to create any shot I wanted…I couldn't wait to see what we could do."
Animation
"The work these guys at Animal Logic did was pretty groundbreaking," Snyder states. "Everything they accomplished not only met but exceeded my expectations. They made it possible for us to really push the boundaries at every stage."
"We played around with the literal eye of the movie," Zack Snyder says. "Though it's counterintuitive for computer animation, we really tried to manipulate the tools of 3D to make it work…to stretch those concepts."
Characters
"From the very first meetings that we had, I was very enthusiastic about the way the characters and locations were coming together," he recounts, "and continued to feel that every step along the way."
"Soren is the moral compass of the movie," Snyder states. "It's about family–your true family–and the fact that you can, and should, fight for that."
