Tenth Anniversary of the Guardians Movie

• Notes from Kathryn

A thrilling and scary event

For an author to learn that her book is to be turned into a movie is both a thrilling and scary event. It is very much like handing over your baby, or in this case, owl chick, to strangers. I went into this more than six years ago with what I can only describe as a wing and a prayer. I was prepared for things to be altered somewhat in order to condense the first three books of the Guardians of GaHoole into a ninety minute film, the Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of GaHoole. What you hope is that the filmmaker will remain true to the spirit of the book and its characters. Animal Logic, Simon Whiteley, Grant Freckelton and director Zack Snyder more than exceeded these hopes. 

In fact there were many things that I wished I had figured out how to do in the books that the writers, designers, animators, fx and lighting artists and director accomplished in the film. For me the most exciting part was to see how they brought the Band to life. For ten years over the course of writing these fifteen books Soren, Gylfie, Digger and Twilight had become my family, but of course it was a literary family and existed only in my head. To see these four owls so exquisitely rendered, to hear their voices and to watch them fly was an incomparable experience for me. 

In the scene where Soren flies through the storm I worked very hard to combine action and beauty. So to see it come to life on the screen was incredible - even though it was through a scrim of my own tears! The most delightful surprise of all was Eglantine, whom I feel nearly steals the show. Why didn't I make her more adorable in the books? Maybe this is where the limitations of a writer versus a filmmaker come in. I could go on endlessly about the brilliant treatment of the owls' eyes by the artists, but Eglantine is a case in point. And I know it's not just the addition of her eyelashes. 

Another instance of the artists' imagination outdistancing that of the writer, is the depiction of the owl armor. The battle claws and helmets are so elegantly conceived. I wish I could have depicted them as brilliantly as they did. The weapons and the battle gear were always rather fuzzy in my imagination, particularly the mechanics of how they actually worked. If I could have seen what the artists were going to create it would surely have added to the richness of the writing. Although I have seen the movie countless times, to read this book is a real eye opener - almost literally! For indeed I know it will open my inner eye and help me as I continue creating fantasy worlds for young readers.