RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Grade: B+

Featuring the Voices of: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Dakota Goyo

Premise: When the Boogeyman threatens to replace all hope in children’s hearts with fear, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sand Man and Jack Frost must work together to stop him.

Rated PG (contains some action and scary images)

I had wanted to see Rise of the Guardians for some time. After all, the trailer promised another one of those brilliantly-animated kids movies with a few celebrity voices, but also a cool concept: Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sand Man and Jack Frost teaming up as a kind of mythical Avengers team to stop forces of evil in the world. Santa as a feisty Scandinavian wielding swords? The Easter Bunny as a six-foot-tall boomerang-wielding toughie? Yes, please! Rise should engage both parents and their children as an action-packed adventure, but, like the best holiday movies, it also brings back some of the simple joy of childhood, when you were innocent enough to believe in these fairy tale figures, and to believe that they’re watching over you at night.

            Rise begins and ends with Jack Frost (voice of Chris Pine), a mischievous loner who was long ago given the powers of flight and cold by the silent but ever-watchful Man in the Moon. But Frost, who has no holiday on which to be celebrated, and no fame amongst the children of the world, is lonely, and he’s increasingly weary of his solitary existence. His isolation ends when he’s selected to join forces with the Guardians—Santa (here called ‘North’, and voiced with an accent by Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and the Sand Man (who is mute)—to stop the Boogeyman (Jude Law), also known as Pitch Black, who has been slowly regaining power thanks to children’s increasing cynicism and distraction. Pitch’s goal is simple—keep Christmas, Easter, good dreams and regular tooth collection from happening so that children stop believing in the Guardians, thereby deriving them of their power and giving him free reign to terrorize the world’s population. As long as one child believes in the Guardians, there’s hope, and Pitch is determined to snuff it out. While Jack Frost proves a capable ally to the Guardians in fighting Pitch and his dark minions, it becomes increasingly clear that all the Guardians’ hopes may hinge on one lonely boy (Dakota Goyo) who is looked down on by his friends and neighbors for believing in all these children’s idols.

            Rise of the Guardians is a thrilling ride, packing together gorgeous animation and vivid imagination with engaged, engaging celebrity voice actors and a few impressive twists and turns. Law makes Pitch a truly sinister villain, allowing the deck to stack increasingly against our heroes before a deserved happy ending. While Rise doesn’t have the lingering emotional impact of Pixar at its best, it’s a very entertaining in-the-moment experience the whole family should be able to enjoy.

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Directed by Peter Ramsey

Written by David Lindsay-Abaire; Based on the book series “The Guardians of Childhood”, and the short film “The Man in the Moon” by William Joyce

Rated PG

Length: 97 minutes