The Echidna

"Remember, when your wings are weak, your spirits done and you've flown as far as you can, you're halfway there!"

―The Echidna calling out to Soren & the band as they are flying away in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

The Echidna
Description
Species	Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)
Gender	Male
Notable markings	Blue paint on his face and quills
Media Appearances
Movies	Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Notes
Soothsayer

The Echidna is a monotreme oracle that claimed to know the future and directed the band to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. He is a character that appeared exclusively in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. He is shown to have colored the ends of his spines blue, and he carries a curved stick featuring teeth or bones from unknown animals, as his staff.

History

Character background

The Echidna is a character unique to the movie. Art director Grant Freckelton talks about the design and purpose of the Echidna on page 38 of the art book:

The Echidna and his crows as they appear in the art book

"A murder of tribal crows, in reality based on Australian Ravens, usher our Band. to the Echidna's Perch. The perch is a basalt spire rising from the Sea of Hoolemere, inspired by the landscapes of Cape Raoul in Tasmania. It is adorned with an ornate gate carved directly from stone. The gate echos a similar structure at the Great Tree, conceived as both a navigation marker and a symbolic right of passage - all young owls flying to the tree must first meet the Echidna and pass through the gates. The notion that owls need to fly through a gate was deliberately absurd, as was the idea that an echidna would live atop a seaside spire. Thankfully the Echidna himself is an absurd enough character to make the scenario work."

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Soren, Gylfie and Mrs. P, having teamed with with Digger and Twilight, fly towards the Sea of Hoolemere. Nearing the coast, the Band are then approached by a murder of Australian Ravens. This mirrors a scene in The Journey where the Band are mobbed by crows. The crows steal Twilight's lute, to which Digger exclaims "Good riddance!" before realizing Mrs. P is riding in the lute. The owls fly after the crows, Soren managing to catch the lute after Twilight grabs his talons and hurls him through the air.

The Band then discover the crows lead them to the gates of the Sea of Hoolemere, where the Echidna appears and proclaims that the Band's arrival "twas foretold", and that he "knows all". Gylfie challenges his claims of being all-knowing, but Soren remembers part of the legends that Noctus told him - "Da said... Guided by the spines of the echidna... Wait! You're an Echidna!" The Echidna then reveals that the crows deliberately brought the Band to the gates, and he instructs them in how to follow the stars to find the Great Tree. When the Band hesitates, the Echidna explains how they are all destined to become a family, and reveals their roles; Twilight, the warrior; Digger, the tracker; Gylfie, the navigator (who doubts); Soren, the leader; and Mrs. P, the heart. After this, the band find the confidence to take off.

When the Guardians of Ga'Hoole return from battling the Pure Ones in The Beaks, the Echidna triumphantly exclaims "I foretold you so!" as the Guardians fly past with the rescued owlets.

Trivia

• Some fans have pointed out that the Echidna plays a similar role to Dumpy the puffin in the books, directing the band to the Great Tree after they fly off course.
• He is most likely a Short-beaked Echinda, as his design most closely resembles that particular species.

Gallery