We’ll be honest – when we saw the trailer for Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole it looked to us an awful lot like Hedwig: The Movie.

Having now seen 20 minutes of impressive 3D footage introduced by Watchmen and 300 director Zack Snyder, though, we feel a lot more positive about the latest cartoon opus from animation studio Animal Logic.

Being the Australian outfit that brought us Happy Feet in 2006, these guys are ahead of the flock when it comes to creating convincing avian characters in CGI.

Small wonder, then, that the owlish protagonists of this heroic fantasy are beautifully rendered from the fluff on their heads to the talons on their feet.

They’re also considerably more expressive than one might assume from creatures best known for their rather freaky stillness, tiny beaks and heads that rotate fully enough to earn them walk-ons in an Exorcist remake.