Rise of the Guardians (2012) (Movie Review)

   Back when I was a child, I remember watching a little Christmas special called “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July”, which brought together several iconic holiday characters in one film. This included Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Jack Frost all coming together in one big holiday outing. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great film, but that didn’t stop me from watching it several times as a kid. It was just that novelty of having so many classic holiday characters in one film that brought me back. In 2012, DreamWorks animation released an animated holiday adventure titled “Rise of the Guardians”, which had a similar set-up bringing together several iconic holiday characters in one film. I remember seeing the trailers and thinking the movie wouldn’t be that good, but it wouldn’t stop us from seeing it just for the novelty of seeing all these characters together in one big holiday adventure. However, after I saw the film, I was pleasantly surprised that it was a little more then just a novelty item.  

  

  To be honest, the story is only so-so good, but within this average story are the cornels of some good material, a great cast of characters, boundless imagination, and no shortage of entertainment. Here’s the set-up ... the evil Boogie Man, nicknamed Pitch, is endangering the children of the world, by filling their minds with nightmares, doubts, and when every child’s imaginative spark twinkles out, it will begin a new dark age. With the children in danger, a small team a fantasy/ holiday characters including Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and The Sandman all unite to stop him by bringing imagination, and hope to children all over the world. Caught in the middle is Jack Frost, who’s on a journey to become a guardian himself, and learn the secrets of his human past before he took to role of “Mr. Frost”.

  As you’d expect from that synopsis, this film plays out more like “The Avengers”, rather than a traditional Christmas or holiday movie. It doesn’t have that same magic touch of other holiday films, although it dose have just enough seeds of heart and a familiar, yet still decent moral at the center, which for me balances out with the films overall fun-factor. In truth, the reason where here is to go on a fun adventure, with a cast of worthwhile characters, and I’m happy to say that this film has a great cast. Jack Frost is our star, and while he’s probably the least fun character to watch, he’s also the one with the most substance. Without going into too much detail about his back-story, I’ll say that it was tragic, but also very meaningful, as it played to the characters theme of overcoming obstacles, by interjecting a degree of fun, and wonder into the world. It’s all good, the characters overall journey is done very well, and Chris Pine dose a serviceable job in the role. The only real downside is that I find his design very underwhelming, especially when compared to the other characters. Basically, it’s just an albino teenager in a hoodie, and not much else to it. 

   

  By contrast, look at the tooth fairy ... what an awesome design! It’s probably the most unique looking variation of the tooth fairy I’ve ever seen, and the character herself is brimming with personality. This films version of the Sandman is also wonderful. He’s very cute, as he can’t speak, but has his own special way of communicating to his allies. Hugh Jackman supplies the voice of the Easter Bunny, and he’s awesome. 

  The big one who steals the show is Sana Claus, who’s voiced very well by Alec Baldwin. Despite being an unconventional Santa with a Russian accent, personality, and sword fighting skills, he actually feels like a classy Santa, and is a ton of fun to watch. This guy is just bursting with excitement, and his upbeat energy is just contagious. I will say that his elf helpers are uninspired rip-offs of the popular minion characters from the "Despicable Me" films, but they thankfully aren't in the film long. That and I do like the overall personality of the North Pole, how the Yetis make gifts, the sleigh has rockets, and the Northern Lights are used as a beacon to summon the team. Altogether, this cast makes for a great team. I love the way they work off each other, I love their distinct personalities, and the things they do together are a ton of fun. There’s a scene when they all have to help the Tooth Fairy collect teeth around the world, which becomes a fun competition between friends.

  There’s also a lot more dark and creepy imagery in this film then what you’d normally see in a holiday film, but I honestly don’t think the movie ever went too dark or too scary. It’s at just the right level where it will excite kids, without ruining the experience. The villain Pitch is a serviceable foe, but nothing too special. The design is really good, and voice actor Jude Law is terrific in the role, but that’s about it. The character himself just feels like a jumble of other popular villains rolled into one. He’s not bad, and is perfectly functional, plus his encounters with our hero’s do lead to some exciting action scenes. On that note, the action is really cool. From beginning to end, the film is a wild rollercoaster ride, the pace is great, and our heroes have a nice variety of fighting styles. I’ll admit, it’s odd to see such beloved holiday characters like Santa and the Easter Bunny with weapons, but it somehow works in this film. The characters still keep their holiday status in check, and they have just enough subtle moments when there not fighting.   

   The animation is top-notch, very detailed, very colorful, and just as the characters have unique designs, their distinct holiday worlds are also very imaginative and awesome to look at. I remember seeing “The Nightmare Before Christmas” back in 1994 and being fascinated by the different Halloween and Christmas worlds, but I also wanted to see what other holiday kingdoms might look like. “Rise of the Guardians” gives us an inside look at other holiday worlds, each with a distinct look, feel and lots of imagination. Seriously, you could watch this movie on mute and be perfectly satisfied. Unfortunately, the message of the film isn’t quite as strong. Basically, the moral revolves around believing in the things that can't be seen or explained, which not only has been done, but done more effectively in other holiday films like “Miracle on 34th Street”, and “The Polar Express”. Then again, the movie is first, and for most about entertainment, so the message is mostly an ad-on, and it still works just fine.   

                  

   So ... is “Rise of the Guardians” something I’d watch every holiday season? Probably not, but then again, I have watched it a couple times, and it’s still an entertaining experience. It’s fast paced, it looks amazing, and more than anything, the films iconic holiday characters are all very charismatic, and a real joy to watch. It doesn’t quiet reach the heights of other Christmas classics that I watch every year, and while this film is very different by comparison, it’s still a worthwhile experience, and a fun offset to what we normally see around Christmas. Personally, I think it’s one of the better films to come from the DreamWorks company, and a great example of just how imaginative, and exciting their films can get.

Thanks for reading my review of DreamWorks 2012 animated picture “Rise of the Guardians” ... and continue to enjoy the Holiday specials you Love!