Rise of The Guardians (2012)
Guess whose back?
Yes I know it has been almost a year if not a year since my last review, and while I'd like to come up with some excuse, the fact is I haven't had much drive to write anything about the movie I've watched. That's not to say I did not watch any good movies in the previous year, my DVD shelf would point out the fallacy of that statement pretty damn fast. Rather, most of them I either could not put into words (such as The Cabin in the Woods) or just could not find enough to say (such as The Dark Knight Rises). Add in I was spending a lot more time focusing on my health, which, I am glad to say, has improved quite a bit, and you can understand why I haven't exactly been making with the reviews.
I plan to change that.
I have plenty of movies to talk about, and hopefully plenty more to watch when those are done. If nothing else, this gives me an excuse to do some writing when I'm not feeling too creative.
With all of that out of the way, let's get down to business. For my glorious return, I'm looking at a movie that, oddly enough, won me over the moment I heard it's plot. That's rare when you think about it- plenty of movies sound good when you read the synopsis, or look good when you see the trailer, only to fall flat on the actual execution. This is not the case for today's movie, best described on a message board I frequent as "The Avengers for kids". How else can you describe a film where a sword-wielding Santa Claus, a bad-ass Easter Bunny and other childhood heroes go toe to toe with the Bogeyman himself?
This is Rise of The Guardians
Backstory
Little bit of background here, both on my end and in general. Rise of The Guardians is based on, and essentially a film sequel to William Joyce's The Guardians of Childhood series of books. While I have not read any of these books, I am very tempted to check them out both based on the film they inspired and the plots themselves. The books deal with the formation of the titular Guardians and their original battle with Pitch Black, the Nightmare King, or The Bogeyman for short. The books originated when Joyce's daughter asked him if he thought Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny knew each other, and he formulated a story and world in which yes, they did know each other, and were much more bad ass then we had been led to believe.
I discovered the film and book when a news story broke on imdb.com about the film, specifically it's cast, made up of Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine, Isla Fisher and Jude Law. The concept of these actors all doing voice work in the same film peaked my interest, as did the simple plot the article explained: "Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, The Sandman and Jack Frost team up to protect the children of the world from The Bogeyman". Sounded good, but I was not completely sold until the first trailer for the film was released, and the few scenes shown won me over. When at last I was able to watch a copy, not only did I do so, I did so twice in the same weekend- that's a very rare thing for me to do. So what made this simple sounding film so good? Let's find out.
Plot
The film begins three hundred years before the main story, as we witness Jack Frost, voiced by Chris Pine, rise up from a frozen lake. Getting his bearings, he realizes he has power over winter- ice, snow, and wind. He gains his name from The Man in The Moon, but soon learns that no one can see him, as people believe that the Jack Frost in "Jack Frost is nipping at your nose" is just a saying. Thus Jack spends the next three centuries alone and invisible, but finding ways to have and bring fun to children through snow days and other winter related elements. Meanwhile, Nicholas St. North, the muscle-bound, tattooed and Russian accented Santa Claus, voiced by Alec Baldwin, has a premonition that Pitch Black, the Bogeyman, voiced by Jude Law, has returned and set his sight on the children of the world. Summoning his fellow Guardians, E.Aster Bunnymund, boomerang throwing martial artist Easter Bunny, voiced by Hugh Jackman, Tooth the Tooth Fairy, voiced by Ilsa Fisher, and Sandy the Sandman, who is silent but communicates via symbols that appear over his head. They get confirmation that Pitch has returned by The Man in the Moon, who also reveals they are to induct Jack as the latest Guardian, though Bunny disagrees as he and Jack do not get along, and he does not believe Jack cares about the children they protect. Still, he, along with two of North's Yeti assistants, kidnap Jack and bring him to the North Pole, where they reveal he is to join them. He is apprehensive, especially as The Man in the Moon has never spoken to him outside of giving him his name, and he resents not knowing why he was resurrected. Bunny also pokes a sore spot of Jacks- that the children do not believe in him. North talks to Jack about what it means to be a Guardian, and tells him to find his 'center'- that which he is the guardian of- North's being wonder, Bunny's hope, Tooth's memory, and Sandy, of course, is dreams. The meeting is cut short when Pitch attack's Tooth's palace, taking all the children's teeth, along with all but one of her fairy assistant. Appearing to taunt the Guardians and question Jack's being with them, he reveals the downside of being a Guardian- their power is derived from belief, and if the children stop believing in them, they will be powerless. Jack learns from Tooth that all Guardians were once someone else before they were reborn, and discovers that Jack does not remember his past. Revealing that the teeth Pitch has stolen, including his, contain his lost memories, Jack decides to aid the Guardians so that he may discover who he is. Unfortunately, Pitch has been planning his revenge for three hundred years, and as he defeats the Guardians at ever turn, destroying the children's belief in each of them, it falls to Jack to discover who he is, and why he is a Guardian in time to protect the last child who believes in the Guardians.
Thoughts
I'm going to be straight here- this movie is awesome. The backstory given to the Guardians, while brief (the rest is in the books) is well thought out, as is the source of their powers and the explanation as to why they and Pitch have been at war all these years. The animation is top notch, which each character and their worlds well designed. The battles between the Guardians and Pitch throughout the film, especially the climax, are beautifully executed. Jack's story arc feels very organic- they easily ccould have made him an arse for no reason, but you sympathize with him- he has no idea who he was, or why he has been given his power, and no one has tried to help him- Tooth even mentions at one point that if they had known he lacked his memories maybe they could have helped him. He also points out the flaws in his fellow Guardian's actions- they protect children yes, but have not actually interacted with them in a long time, whereas Jack, even though he is not believed in, spends all his time around children, providing them with amusement whenever he can.
While Jack is the main character, every one of the Guardians is well done. North is a boisterous warrior who is almost always in a good mood but will not let that get in the way of his duties. Tooth is kind and caring, and is the first to accept Jack and his help. Her design, a half-human half hummingbird sort of creature, seemed odd when I first saw the trailer but after watching the film it grew on me. Sandy, while silent, is very entertaining, especially in an early scene where he is trying to get the others attention, finally resorting to grabbing one of North's elves and shaking him to make the bell on his hat ring. He also proves himself very powerful in battle, and more importantly, has the strongest impact on the story once belief in him is lost. Bunny, my favorite of the Guardians, can best be described as Jackman's Wolverine if he were a six foot rabbit. Like Wolverine, he does not play well with others but will protect those he cares about to the end. He is quick with a one liner and enjoys fights and contests, such as when he, Jack, North and Sandy are aiding Tooth in collecting children's teeth, and the four have an entertaining little race to see who can get the most. Out of all the Guardians I found the explanation of his centre the best, summed up in a line midway through the film "There will be spring time, on every continent, and I'm bringing hope with me!". Easter, and by association, spring, is a time of renewal, rebirth, and hope for the coming year, and Bunny exudes that during the lead up to Easter. This leaves us with Pitch, a well written and complex villain that Jude Law brings to life creepily well. It is alluded to that prior to the formation of the Guardians, back in the Dark Ages, Pitch was extremely powerful as fear was rampant among the people of the world. He reigned supreme, until the Guardians arrived and brought hope, wonder and dreams to the populace, thus causing children to believe the bogeyman was just a story, or, in his own words, "just a bad dream". He is angry at losing not only his power, but at not being believed in. Yes he wants his power back and to destroy his enemies, but his reasoning makes perfect sense. He, like Jack, just wants to be believed in, as without that, he is nothing. His methods and larger plan are very well executed and for a while you really do think he might actually win. To those who know me, you know I enjoy a story were the villain wins, or at least comes close.
But even with a great story, cast, characters and animation, a film can still fall flat if not for one thing; heart. This film has it, you know that the people who made it cared both about the source material and the world they were creating to give in their all. They could have made the story much simpler or family friendly but they kept it even, with equal parts darkness and joy. The voice cast could easily have phoned their roles in but each one gives it their all and imbues each character with unique elements. Everything works together in this film and it is to it's credit that not only does it work, but it works perfectly.
Now of course that's not to say the film is for everyone. It is still at it's core a family film, but for someone like me, a kid at heart, I was able to enjoy it, much more then I have enjoyed other family fare. I know plenty of people probably won't be interested or like this film, but no film can please everyone.
Conclusion
Two films were released in 2012 that told of characters rising, and out of the two, I believe this one did it right. No offense to The Dark Knight Rises, it was a great film, but of the two, this is the one I see myself watching over and over. For once, an adaptation with a star studded cast and top notch animation worked, and if you enjoy movies you owe it to yourself to see this film. If you, like Joyce's daughter, ever wondered if your childhood heroes knew each other, or if the Bogeyman really was waiting under the bed, you should give this movie a chance. While the movie made a profit, due to the cost of it's advertising the studio considered it a loss, which is a shame as I would love to see more with these characters. But eh, maybe if enough people watch it, like it, and buy the DVDs, the studio will realize they have something here. Worked for Family Guy.
4.5 Frost Covered Sled Rides out of 5
That's all out of me, but not for long. Until next time, I'm the Drew, and this film be Awesome.
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