Die Schutzbrüder

The English voice acting is horrible! I only loved Meryl Streep's narration!

When it comes to children's animation I usually like to cut the film makers some slack for making an attempt at family films. But there is little to love about this film. From the poor choice of music to the head-scratcher story (what exactly was the moral trying to be portrayed here?) to the ultra-cliche characters, this one misses on just about every cylinder.

The real problem was the plot and story line. Exactly what were the writers and directors trying to teach here? That the way to accomplish good is to create extreme bad? Such philosophical nonsense is not a story to teach young children. It's a little difficult to tell who is the good guy and who is the bad here. The sub-plot of the bad-guy competitor is unnecessary to the main story... or is the main story a sub-plot of the evil competitive restaurateur? Hard to tell.

While the sight-gags are understandable for young children (the fart gags might gain a laugh from the 7-&-under audience), they might leave older children and adults cold. (Characters fighting over a lone bathroom because they all have quote "diarrhea" unquote... isn't all that funny.)

The cliche characters and questionable theme serve to make this an hour and a half wasted. The animation is good, the sound is well-mixed (except for the iffy American song choices). Beyond that, one can give this a pass. I don't know whether this is a case of Asian film lost in the Americanization... or if it was simply poor to start with, but it was a yawner by the 20 minute mark and didn't much improve in the remaining time.

I have enjoyed many movies from China, and I've certainly enjoyed a lot of movies from America. Unfortunately, when China and America get together to make a movie, the results are usually a misfire. This particular co-production does not do anything to change the trend. There is nothing wrong with the visual look of the movie; the animation and art design is colorful and pleasing despite not having the polish of Pixar or other top American animation outfits. And the core idea of the movie is pretty original and could have worked if there was one clear direction the story unfolded at instead of being pulled in two directions. Thanks to the American Weinstein brothers, the movie (at least in the English dubbed version that I watched) has pretty awful voice acting for the most part, narration that seems a desperate addition to make the movie make sense, and embarrassing use of American songs like "Kung Fu Fighting" and "(Theme from) Shaft". Also, it appears that the Weinsteins severely cut down the movie for western audiences, because there are a bunch of plot threads and characters that make little sense and/or are not finished by the time the end credits start to roll. But while there are signs that the original Chinese version might have made more sense, much of the movie would probably unfold at an even slower pace than it presently unfolds, and be cluttered with even more plot than it is now. In the end, the movie is a big disappointment. Kids may be more forgiving towards it, but I don't think they will request repeated viewings.

An animated gem which is a pleasure to watch. Expect great visuals, a cool story and family-friendly fun with lots of soul. Looking forward to the next installment by the creators. I highly recommend this movie!

Prior to sitting down to watch "The Guardian Brothers" (aka "Xiao men shen") I had not heard anything about it. Actually, I didn't even know it existed. I read the synopsis and decided to watch it. Plus, it was set in an Asian setting, which also appeals to me.

This animated movie had a very nice story to tell, and it is very enjoyable even if you are not overly familiar with Chinese mythology. You quickly and easily immerse yourself into the storyline and the world in which the story takes place.

The art style used in this animated movie was quite good, as it was definitely unique and lovely at the same time.

It was just a shame that it was an English dubbed version that I saw, although they had some pretty good voice actors on the cast list for the English dub.

"The Guardian Brothers" is definitely worth taking the time to sit down and watch, whether it is by yourself or with your family and kids.