Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this 3-D adaptation of Kathryn Lasky's best-selling Legend of the Guardians books is more intense and violent than most animated adventures -- even though the characters are all owls. The movie focuses on the conflict between a group of owls that considers themselves a master race entitled to enslave "lower species" of owls and the Guardians, a hidden group of warriors that fights to defend all owls from evil. With such a heavy plot and many action-packed battle sequences, this isn't age-appropriate for all young children. But kids old enough to read the books and mature enough to handle the themes will benefit from the movie's message that all owls (and therefore people) are worthy, not just those whom one group thinks are better than the rest. Note: The 3-D factor makes many of the movie's battle/fight scenes much more intense.
Sexual
Content
A young male owl flirts with a female owl, and married owls embrace a couple of times.
Violence
Lots of animated violence, confrontations, and battles. The scenes with owl-to-owl combat are dark and often feature extreme slow-motion close-ups. Several owls die -- one falls into fire, and others are killed during combat. It's obvious that the owls are dead or injured, even if there's no blood. The 3-D makes the violence much more intense.
Language
"Hell," plus some insulting, demeaning language about other owls, like "you're weak," "soft," "old," "what a waste," etc.
Social
Behavior
The movie's overall messages are positive, with the primary take-away being that believing in your dreams is what makes you strong and focused. Another positive message includes the idea that family and friends are more important than the promise of power and strength. The movie also demonstrates the power of myths, defending others, and and standing up to evil. The evil owls are very "species-ist" and think that other owl species are sub-par and meant to be enslaved -- but the Guardians see the worth and contribution of all owls.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Not applicable
