Luckily for mainstream animation studios, children are so easy to please... Not same is the luck of their parents, who need to sit through films that are, more often than not, mediocre, to say the least... Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole was rated as 4-5 stars by my children. I would have given it the same rating if it was only for the animation – really outstanding. But animation should only be a vehicle to drive a well-told story -- a simple yet basic fact that is often ignored by the studios (with the exception of Pixar). I have not read the original book on which this film was based, but I suspect it is much better than its adaptation to the screen. It is felt the adaptation is well-intended, yet it just fails to be original let alone enchanting. One thought I remember having while watching the film was – now I really seen everything. It was when the owls fight using martial arts moves, which, of course, are shown, in slow-motion... Luckily none of the owls was named Neo nor the voices provided by Jackie Chan. Oh, wait – I stand corrected - Hugo Weaving provided his voice – now its all clear...
In short: great, even exceptional animation, mediocre script and direction. Your kids will love it, and you can expect another installment in the foreseeable future as the original series included three books.