Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

6/10

Starring the voice of

Alec Baldwin

Chris Pine

Hugh Jackman

Isla Fisher

Jude Law

Directed by Peter Ramsey

Lacking a strong story, the fun of this flick comes from its fast-paced action and the exciting effects when Light (Sandy) takes on Darkness (Pitch). The movie’s fast pace is filled with some fun dialogues, but the story does lack suspense and depth, so it’s often clear how it’s going to end. The voice acting isn’t bad either—Alec Baldwin pulled off a nice Russian accent in his role as Santa.

Rise of the Guardians is a movie packed with excitement, thanks to a good screenplay and standout action scenes. The special effects used to depict both Pitch and Sandy are exceptional and remain a highlight throughout the movie.

The movie is based on a short film named The Man in the Moon, a CG animated short film created in 2005 by Aimesworth Amusements, a computer animation company. The short film was inspired by a book series called The Guardians of Childhood by William Joyce (art designer for Toy Story (1995) and A Bug's Life (1998)). The short film served as the foundation for Rise of the Guardians. DreamWorks acquired the rights to the film from Aimesworth in 2008, and William Joyce joined as an executive producer.

Rise of the Guardians is a 2012 3D computer-animated fantasy adventure film, set 200 years after the events of the book series. The movie’s plot revolves around the Guardians: North, or Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin); the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher); Bunnymund, or the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman); and the Sandman. The Guardians face an evil spirit known as Pitch (Jude Law), who wants to take over the world by covering it in fear.

The Guardians must join forces to confront their common enemy, who aims to erase them by making children stop believing in them. To do this, Pitch clouds their minds with fear. The Guardians then enlist Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to help stop Pitch. Frost, who has been in the business of being frost for 300 years, seems to be the only spirit capable of matching Pitch’s power.

The movie serves as an introductory story to who Jack Frost was before he became Jack Frost and what his driving force is.

There’s potential for a sequel that could explore the origins of each of the other Guardians, but the possibility depends heavily on this film’s box office performance. The movie is fun to watch and a great choice for a family outing.