Happy 'International Owl Awareness Day'
Friday, August 4, 2017 at 5:00PM 
by Nathaniel R
Yes, International Owl Awareness Day is a real thing. For our purposes at The Film Experience owl awareness would be how those nocturnal birds are portrayed onscreen. They're hit-and-miss on celluloid and television. For example, we always needed more personality from Hedwig in the Harry Potter series, that damn mechanical owl in Clash of the Titans is an anachronistic disaster, and is it sacrilege to say that 'Owl' in Winnie and the Pooh is the least engaging Hundred Acre Wood denizen?
The following list is dedicated to the Twin Peaks owl(s) and Archimedes in The Sword and the Stone (1963) who didn't quite make it but we love them. TFE's five favorite screen owls are after the jump
5. "The Great Owl" (John Carradine) in The Secret of Nimh (1982)
Owls are almost always portrayed as wise and the good ones are also creepy. But how often do the scary ones give advice to brave widowed field mice in deference to their dead husbands when they could just snack on them instead?
4. "Nite Owl" (Patrick Wilson) in Watchmen (2007)
We wanted one sexy human owl and and have never seen The Story of O (1975) so Patrick Wilson and Patrick Wilson's Ass are a perfect duo for this list.
3. "Friend Owl" (Will Wright) in Bambi (1942)
'The birds and the bees,' by way of one of the birds. Do you think Twitter and its little blue logo were inspired by this immortal children's lesson?
2 Animoid in Blade Runner (1982)
"Do you like our owl?" Oh Rachel, we love everything about your movie.
1 "Macha" (Fionnula Flanagan) in Song of the Sea (2014)
The greatest and most undersung screen owl. She steals the whole movie and completes quite a character arc. Cartoon Saloon's movies are so marvelous. Why doesn't everyone watch these new Irish classics? Even with Oscar nominations they don't seem to break through. Parents who don't take their children to these movies but take them to every lame CGI toon must be fined for negligence!
Reader Comments (11)
From HP, is not Hedwig, but Errol (the Weasley's) who steals the show...at least, in the films.
One of my favorites is probably Big Mama from The Fox and the Hound, as voiced by Pearl Bailey, she is such a warm presence in that tear jerking film.
Don't you just love owls? They're such fascinating animals.
I love film owls but the owl from Global Force or whatever... in the words of Reby Hardy..... FUCK THAT OWL.
archimedes was robbed!
I second @par comment. You just read my mind. Archimedes is a delight in the film.
Btw, I love List-manias Nathaniel. Thanks xoxoxo
The owl seen on the first frame of Park Chan-wook's Joint Security Area was a nice touch as the film is about nightscape friendship among people who were trained early on in their lives to dislike one another.
"List-manias Nathaniel". Yep. Love them too!!!!
Wait, no mention of the owls in Labyrinth? David Bowie was practically one himself.
And the Secret of N.I.M.H. is a national treasure, which no one ever seems to discuss anymore. Don Bluth is a genius animator.
You forgot the owl who dances with Aurora in Disney's "Sleeping Beauty"