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| Copyright Dreamworks Animation |
After being banished by the forces of good centuries before, the Boogeyman returns to terrorize the children of the world with fear. That is, unless a group of legendary protectors -- Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost -- can band together to stop him, in Rise of the Guardians.
The story follows Jack Frost (Chris Pine) and his induction into The Guardians. A mischievous character, Jack is also a lonely boy with no memory of his former self. Regular people pass right through him as if he were a ghost; he simply yearns to be seen and believed in. When called upon by Santa, he is reluctant to join, but gets swept up in the action when he discovers that the Boogeyman (Jude Law), aka Pitch, may hold the key to unlocking his past.
Based on the popular William Joyce book series, these aren't the lovable characters that you remember from those cute Rankin-Bass cartoons. From the sword-wielding, tattooed Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), to the tough, boomerang-tossing E. Aster Bunnyman (Hugh Jackman), these are powerful magical characters with a little bit of attitude, and kids are going to love the hip, new interpretations. The Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), who has an army of hummingbird-like helpers at her command, is there to give the film some girl power, while the Sandman will be a particular favorite for many. He never speaks, but has the power to create anything he can dream up -- Green Lantern by way of Harpo Marx.
It would have been easy to make this about Christmas, but they smartly avoid that by setting it at the end of winter, leading into Easter (when the home video will come out, no doubt). There are plenty of scenes set at the North Pole to give you that holiday feel, but the emphasis is on creating a possible franchise that could work in multiple seasons. (Dreamworks must be thinking of all that Nightmare Before Christmas money Disney makes each year!)
It's a strong concept with which to grab the audience's attention, sort of a League of Extraordinary Gentleman meets The Avengers take on children's myths. While the story treads heavily on the familiar ground of its comic book influences, it's mostly successful at marrying the various mythologies together and keeping you excited with some very dynamic action sequences. The story does have a few dark moments that may frighten small children (Guillermo Del Toro of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth fame was an Executive Producer), but there's also a lot of fun, magic, and wonder to temper that.
"Setting the Frame" Film Grade = B
Based on the popular William Joyce book series, these aren't the lovable characters that you remember from those cute Rankin-Bass cartoons. From the sword-wielding, tattooed Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), to the tough, boomerang-tossing E. Aster Bunnyman (Hugh Jackman), these are powerful magical characters with a little bit of attitude, and kids are going to love the hip, new interpretations. The Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), who has an army of hummingbird-like helpers at her command, is there to give the film some girl power, while the Sandman will be a particular favorite for many. He never speaks, but has the power to create anything he can dream up -- Green Lantern by way of Harpo Marx.
It would have been easy to make this about Christmas, but they smartly avoid that by setting it at the end of winter, leading into Easter (when the home video will come out, no doubt). There are plenty of scenes set at the North Pole to give you that holiday feel, but the emphasis is on creating a possible franchise that could work in multiple seasons. (Dreamworks must be thinking of all that Nightmare Before Christmas money Disney makes each year!)
It's a strong concept with which to grab the audience's attention, sort of a League of Extraordinary Gentleman meets The Avengers take on children's myths. While the story treads heavily on the familiar ground of its comic book influences, it's mostly successful at marrying the various mythologies together and keeping you excited with some very dynamic action sequences. The story does have a few dark moments that may frighten small children (Guillermo Del Toro of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth fame was an Executive Producer), but there's also a lot of fun, magic, and wonder to temper that.
"Setting the Frame" Film Grade = B
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