Rise Of The Guardians Review (w/ Director Q&A)

So a funny thing happened on the way to see Tyler Perry…

Recently, I went with a friend to see a sneak preview of Alex Cross here in Atlanta. However, since Tyler Perry is the star of that film (and this city is home to his production studios), the screening filled to capacity and my friend and I were offered a chance to see a sneak preview of the CG animated movie Rise of the Guardians instead. This turned out to be a really good choice.

As we put on our 3D glasses, we’re introduced to Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine, ‘Star Trek’) who lives a carefree life creating blizzards and cold temperatures wherever he goes with his staff. He imagines kids love him because of the snow days (off school) he provides and wonders about the mysterious Man On The Moon who sometimes seemingly guides things. One day though, he gets tricked into following someone who turns out to be Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman, ‘X-Men’). He and two giant yetis kidnap Jack and bring him before other inspirational figures such as the lovely Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher,’ Definitely Maybe’), Sandy the ever-silent bringer of pleasant dreams, and their Russian leader Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock).

This pantheon represents all the imaginative beliefs that children have and they work to guard this imagination with everything they have. The guardians have come to welcome Jack into their ranks (with a full music procession no less). However, Jack doesn’t want to join and believes he does a decent job making kids smile on his own. However, the Easter Bunny lets him know that kids don’t really know he exists due to his low-key nature. Santa lets them know there’s an even bigger problem with a being called Pitch, The Nightmare King (Jude Law, ‘Gattaca’) who for all intents and purposes is The Boogeyman.

Pitch has a plan to destroy the Guardians’ standing among the children of the world, starting with an attack on the Tooth Fairy’s stronghold where she keeps all the teeth she’s collected (along with the memories of their former owners), using various creatures who are literally the stuff of nightmares. It’s during this attack that the group starts to realize Pitch’s ultimate goals and strategy. However, one kid in particular named Jamie (Dakota Goyo) refuses to ever stop believing in such magical beings, and may be a threat to Pitch’s plan.

Watching this movie play out felt like seeing a holiday version of a Final Fantasy game. The animation techniques and 3D use were top notch in the battles against the nightmare creatures, particularly in the multiple aerial sequences and fight scenes. The 3D effects worked well enough to be interactive without being overwhelming, and the models have decent texture and construction. The voice acting was believable to hear as the characters developed and I honestly didn’t recognize Baldwin as the Russian Santa Claus until after the movie was over.

The screenplay wasn’t bad at all and achieves a good balance to keep children entertained without being boring to adults talking down to its audience. It’s based on a series of novels entitled ‘The Guardians of Childhood’ by William Joyce. Those books take place 200 years prior, but this movie takes place in modern day because Joyce didn’t want comparisons to his novel, and was hoping for fresh audience anticipation of the story’s experience. Originally, Joyce was slated as co-director alongside Peter Ramsey for this adaptation, but Joyce had to withdraw due to the untimely death of his daughter.

This left director Ramsey to helm the project by himself. Fortunately, after this screening was over, he came out to address the audience in a Q&A session. Apparently, there were invites sent to local colleges such as Spellman, Morehouse, Art Institute, as well as Mays High school (at least this seemed to be where the majority of the questioners were coming from) and many students and educators came to meet the first African American to direct a 3D CG Animated theatrical film. Ramsey said it took him 8 years of working at Dreamworks to become a director after primarily doing work on storyboards for animated and live projects. He landed this one after having directed the television sequel to Monsters Vs. Aliens. Ramsey wasn’t originally looking to become animation director per se, but had been inspired by Spike Lee, John Singleton and others in the early 90s to become a filmmaker and found his way to animation.

At one point, Ramsey was asked about Easter Bunny being Australian; he said he was told the screenwriters had depicted the Bunny this way and was initially dubious but Ramsey always pictured him being a cowboy / ranger type character so Jackman’s accent and style fit well during the film’s 3-year development. I got to ask about the possibility of an adult-minded animated movie (in the mold of Titan AE for example) since so few are actually made. Ramsey responded he believes movies such as Shrek as well as Pixar’s works like Toy Story is written intelligently for adults but the money is mostly in works geared toward kids. However if a profit can be demonstrated to be made from such a project, Ramsey says it could happen, and he believes sequel to Rise is possible if enough money is made.

As to Rise of the guardians though, this is a holiday film for families. I’m a bit out of the targeted age range obviously but if the audience reaction and level of story interest I witnessed during the Q&A are any indication, I think this movie can bring a sense of wonder back to adults enough that they can enjoy this movie with their children and get into the spirit of its story. Recommended.

Grade: A-