by Steph Sharples

Nice Hooters....The owls, they're beautiful. USA Today has the first look at Zack Snyder's (Watchmen) new animated film Legend of the Guardians. The film, based on the first three books of Kathryn Lasky’s series, follows Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess), a young barn owl who is kidnapped by the owls of the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, or St. Aggie’s. The academy is supposed to be an orphanage, but instead it brainwashes its pupils into becoming soldiers who will ultimately clash with the wise, peaceful owls of Ga’Hoole.
Now we have a first look at the trailer via Yahoo. Visuals look great and overall I'm interested in seeing a feature trailer.
You'll be able to see the first trailer for the film with Alice in Wonderland this weekend. The film's name was just recently changed from Legend of the Guardians to Guardians of Ga’Hoole. Hmm ... the latter is catchier. The film opens on September 24th.

Deborra-Lee Furness plays Barran, the queen of the great tree, a source of knowledge for the noble owls of Ga'Hoole. "She's powerful, but a diplomat as well," says Legend of the Guardians director Zack Snyder. Snyder says he chose Furness as much for her energy as her voice. "One of the things I looked for in casting voices was enthusiasm, and she had plenty of it."

Noctus, who is father to main hero Soren, is voiced by Hugo Weaving, whose hypnotic voice wafted through the Matrix and Lord of the Rings trilogies. "I was just trying to find a voice of that kind of dad you believe in, who won't lead you down the wrong road. Hugo has the voice of a teacher, which is exactly what we needed."

Nyra is an evil queen of the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, where the birds are actually brainwashed into becoming soldiers. Helen Mirren, who played a conflicted monarch in The Queen, gets to "become kind of a female Darth Vader" this time around, Snyder says. Though she has a reputation for being regal, Mirren plays a vicious leader "who pulls some of the strings and has a need for power."

Emilie de Ravin plays Eglantine, left, a good friend of Soren, center, and a member of the owls' search-and-rescue team. Jim Sturgess plays Soren, while Ryan Kwanten provides the voice for Kludd, right, Soren's jealous brother. "Soren is a classic hero," Snyder says. "He loves his sister, who is sweet, but smart beyond her years. He's a dreamer. He loves myths and stories. Kludd sees all that as weakness."

Richard Roxburgh plays Boron, center-left, the kindly King of Ga'Hoole. He's fond of scatological humor and carousing with sea gulls, which keeps things lively in the tree. "We're looking to find a balance," Snyder says. "The books are very layered and intense, which is why they're so popular. But we want to make a movie the family can see, so you want to have humor and things for kids, too."