Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians is one of the most adorable animated films of the year. It is magical, charming, funny, simply put: it is indelibly wonderful. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this film. The trailers were unappealing and its underperformance at the box office made a negative impression. You could say that since my expectations were so low, I ended up enjoying this film a bit too much. Although, I wouldn't say expectations have anything to do with the actual film. It is more to do with me having the fortune of being the right kind of audience for this film.

I was heavily disappointed by the standard of animation films this year. Apart from Frankenweenie, ParaNorman and perhaps Brave, no other animated film really made a lasting impression. Rise of the Guardians manages to go the distance, as it becomes a time portal, which takes you away into its world. It may not be the most tightly scripted film, or even as great as Frankenweenie but it has a sense of wonder and spellbinding sweep that it makes you want to hug yourself. It is literally exploding with enchantment and wonder. The animation is gorgeous but it is the heart of the film that is carefully and tenderly placed that makes all the difference. I laughed at the jokes and cried during a few snuggly moments. The crying was out of sheer joy, mind you.

Hotel Transylvania gathered classic movie monsters; Wreck-It Ralph did that for the arcade video games. Rise of the Guardians unites our childhood heroes namely North (a.k.a. Santa Claus), Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Easter Bunny and Jack Frost. The villain is Pitch (a.k.a. Boogeyman) and Jude Law does a fine job with some enigmatic voice acting. The film is based on William Joyce's book which tells the story of a group of characters from mystic folklore that managed to find a place in the hearts of kids all over.

I myself had relationships with Santa Claus, Sandman, Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost. These relationships were mainly due to movies/ fairy tales but there is a nice little touch in the film that Jack Frost is invisible as no child really believes in him. He doesn't have a festival or a specific urban legend attached. I was surprised when I realized I never really paid attention to Jack Frost either. Maybe because I never actually had a chance to play in the snow because, well... there was never any snow around. The only memory I have of him is a bad Michael Keaton movie called Jack Frost (1998). (This has nothing to do with me watching it countless times on VHS)

Rise of the Guardians reminds me of The Polar Express (2004), a film I utterly loved but was surprised to find its low box office and sub-par reviews. The Polar Express stayed on screens for a while as the word of mouth caught on, similarly I learned Rise of the Guardians has earned a good word of mouth and is slow and steady at the box office.

The reason why I'm mentioning these films together is not because they are Christmas/ Holiday films or that they were badly timed/ marketed but because they made me want to be a child again. That is a rare quality almost vanishing from movies today. Very few movies “have fun” while they play on screen. Rise of the Guardians is an ode to childhood. It is a perfect film for the holiday season. It is one of those movies I feel like revisiting right after watching them. Not to mention the smile plastered on my face while I walk out. If you are a child at heart, I highly recommend you give this one a visit.

Over the years I have seen ample animated films & enjoyed most of them. Infact, I also watch a lot of animated shows (albeit not kid's cartoons) & thought that this holiday release would be a fun fare. How does it pan out?
It's a semi-watchable kid's fare that has some dazzling visuals but nothing much beyond that for an adult viewer.

The story, as with most festive releases is a good v/s evil fairy-tale. When an evil spirit known as Pitch is out there to instil fear in all by making them believe that the good guys, namely Santa(with a Russian Twist), the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost, the Easter Bunny & the Sandman don't exist, they come together to combat the dark forces and reinstate some Christmas spirit.

When it comes to starcast(voices), this film has some big names to boast of like Jude Law, Hugh Jackman & my favourite, Alec Baldwin amongst others. But do these names justify their true value? Far from it. Though I love the fun that Alec brings to the character, it doesn't quite go far enough in making it a watchable fare.

One thing that does stand out is the ethereal visuals & some fun action peices. You have to hand it to Hollywood for eye-gasming us time & again with some stunning animation. Though I caught the 3-D version I would have loved the much more colourful and vibrant 2-D. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a show that allowed me the same.

All in all, if you have kids; Sorry, I mean ONLY if you have kids, go watch this one. Or else, skip it. Its baby Avengers!

In the holiday season we all look out for a film that makes us feel good and is an ideal evening out for the family. Rise of the guardians comes at the right time then, but except Santa Claus I don't know if the kids here are familiar with Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Easter bunny and the Boogeyman.

It tells the story of Jack Frost (Chris Pine) who's superpower is freezing everything around him with a wand. The problem is nobody believes that he exists. Jack is chosen by the man in moon to be part of a team that has to fight Pitch ( Jude Law) the boogeyman who is hell bent on making the kids of the world not believe in stuff like Santa Claus ( Alec Baldwin), Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), Sandman and Easter Bunny ( Hugh Jackman).

It is essentially a team of superheroes fighting against one villain but director Peter Ramsey uses this story to delve into a theme of finding your centre. It is about preserving the small things that makes a child believe in magic and the goodness of life.

The film is gorgeous to look at with animation sequences that are a treat to your eyes but it packs in so many sub plots and themes that by the end of it you don't come out with that feel good factor you were looking for.

Just like Santa asks Jack in the movie to find what is his centre? Ramsay should have reflected on the script to find its own centre.

Word of mouth - Rise of the guardians is a joy to behold till the ride lasts.

Rating - *** (Above Average)

Ticket Meter - worth 150 bucks

'Rise of the Guardians' is handsomely mounted animated flick that aims to transport older viewers to a time when they perhaps believed in magical beings such as the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. Boasting of some impressive computer generated visuals coupled with brilliant 3D this fairy tale is essentially about having faith in not just oneself but in others too.

The children of the world are watched over by a chosen group of fantastical beings known as the guardians. They comprise of the Tooth Fairy (voice of Isla Fisher), the Sandman, the Easter Bunny (voice of Hugh Jackman) and Santa Claus (voice of Alec Baldwin). Not all fantastical beings are guardians and when a great evil in the form of Pitch Black (voice of Jude Law) returns to terrorise the children of the world, a new guardian is indicted into the team. This new guardian is Jack Frost (voice of Chris Pine) who spreads snow and chill through the world (keeping the Earth's climatic norms in mind, so kids in Bombay wishing for snow are out of luck) bringing cheer to kids. Jack Frost is still trying to figure out the purpose to his being in this world and craves a little recognition from the kids for bringing them joy. Pitch on the other is trying to reaffirm his status as a bringer of gloom, nightmares and fear. He believes if he can put enough fear in the minds of the children, they will stop believing in the guardians without which the guardians will cease to exist. Frost is initially reluctant to join the team but after Santa tells him to find his core (what makes him who he is) and the tooth fairy offers a chance to learn about his past before he was Frost, he joins the team to take the fight to Pitch.

The movie screams out CUTE; everything right from the adorable little humming bird like helpers of the Tooth Fairy to Santa's elves to even a transformed Easter Bunny later in the film will fill your cute tooth. The story though it contains themes about believing in oneself, is geared heavily towards much younger audiences and with quite a few rollercoaster sequences scattered throughout will keep the little ones thrilled. Adults might want enjoy some of the witty dialogue but might find proceedings kind of uninvolving in places simply because this is a kid's movie.

The animation is lavishly rendered and is a treat for the eyes along with gorgeous visuals the 3D does actually accentuate. The plot may border on naive and the movie does feel a tad bit over cutesy sometimes but keep in mind this is very strongly a product geared towards kids. They will enjoy it the most.