Rise of the Guardians (2012)

The first major family flick of the holidays, this Avengers-for-children boasts the most epic line-up of characters you're likely to see this Summer: Santa (Alec Baldwin), Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), Jack Frost (Chris Pine) and the dream-making Sandman going up against fear himself, Pitch Black (Jude Law). It's a neat concept to begin with, but Dreamworks amps up the fun by contorting our preconceptions of these icons – especially the Easter Bunny, here played as an ocker warrior – and delivering the goods in humour, emotion and action. It goes a moralistic touch too far on occasion, and the story is certainly predictable, but the overwhelming sense of giddy excitement running through the movie's veins outweighs any plot contrivances or missteps that occur. A sweet start to the festive season for kids of all ages – including those in adulthood.

Fmovies: As a big animation fanatic, I was very keen to see Rise of the Guardians as it did look like an very interesting film. I have to say that it was high expectations lived up to. The best animated movie of the year? Not sure, ParaNorman and Frankenweenie were a little better(can't wait for Wreck-It Ralph), but I do think it is in the better end of the movies of the overall year so far. Was there anything that could have been done better? Well, I did think the movie drags a little bit in the middle. However, there is very little to fault anywhere else. The animation was amazing, the characters were well-modelled and the colours and landscapes were really beautifully realised . Alexandre Desplat's music score has the right amount of sparkling adventure and whimsical fantasy. The writing is thoughtful and well-balanced, not coming across as too childish for adults or too confusingly sophisticated for kids. The visual puns were marvellous, Pitch's night-mares(very spooky) and Bunny's egg-plants were the highlights. The story was a winner too, some may find it predictable(the good vs. evil concept is not necessarily new territory) and dull, I didn't think so at all, some of the middle is not as securely paced as the rest but the chase action and battle were exhilarating, it was fun and it does have a refreshing holiday feel as well as a meaningful message. The characters have distinct personalities and have a definite charm to them, hard to decide who was my favourite. The voice acting was terrific, nobody was bad, Jude Law is suave and sinister and Hugh Jackman is very funny. But Alec Baldwin was a huge surprise, partly because he was totally unrecognisable. All in all, a great animated movie that completely lived up to my expectations. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Rise of the Guardians has a lovely concept about these imaginary childhood legends. It tells a fascinating new mythology about them. It sets out to be highly imaginative and thoroughly heartfelt. With these people making this film, there is no surprise that they succeeded to execute those ambitions. Though, the storytelling is a bit messy with endless action set pieces. Despite of those flaws, it's still whimsically magical and heartwarming.

The story centers a childhood guardian, Jack Frost. Among the guardians, he's the least known and believed by the children. It's pretty interesting since most of us only know very little about him, we intend to intrigue about his story. When it goes to the famous legends, it gets bigger and quicker with plenty of humor. The film is also an action movie. The action scenes are amazingly done and eye candy, but they somehow get excessive causing a bit mess to the storyline. It's charming when they go to their relationship with the children, and it's appealing when it explores to their worlds.

The characters are wonderful enough. The voice performances are great. Chris Pine's performance is charming enough to keep Jack Frost pretty endearing. Alec Baldwin brings plenty of joy to his character. Hugh Jackman uses his Australian accent to the Easter Bunny which really fits to the character. The rest are expectedly delightful.

The visuals are undeniably astonishing. Every scene of the film is spectacular and beautiful to look at, making the experience very magical. The 3D enhances the experience more or less. The character designs are inspired. I bet many would love the Sandman's that looks so lovable. And the music score adds sweetness to the sequences.

Rise of the Guardians is a little bit disappointing but also a bit satisfying. It has the heart in a right amount but only the half of the film. The rest is all action and having fun, but it's not a bad thing. They just could have moderated the craziness and get a bit of focus to the storyline. The film is still worth watching. It can be a classic if it has a better storytelling but if you don't care then that won't be a problem. Overall, it's filled with excitement and beautiful animation. Rise of the Guardians can be considered one of the great films of the year.

Rise of the Guardians fmovies. Rise of the Guardians is probably one of the best movies I've seen in a while, besides seeing Wreck It Ralph last weekend (also a must see movie for a blast-to-the-past) I loved this movie, cried during most of Jack's story, I know the feeling of being alone and feeling like I'm invisible/under appreciated/ignored/looked down upon. I would defiantly recommend it to any age, it gives you a total blast to the past of being a kid by bringing together all of the childhood hopes and dreams you had before they were crushed. The animations was excellent, the storyline was so sweet, and I can not wait to hear if there is going to be a second movie or not.

Sean McQuillan www.thatsmye.com

Dreamworks animation has not quite had the success rate of Pixar, but if Rise of the Guardians is any example of where they're heading, they're on a good path. RotG is like a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen of children's fables that band together to protect the children of the world from fear itself. Led by Santa Claus, the Guardians include the Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, and the Sandman. An old evil that thrives on the fear of children is returning, and the powers that be have chosen a new guardian to rise to the occasion, Jack Frost. Can Frost rise to legendary status of his peers? Will he be able to dispel fear and bring joy to the children? It's an amazing ride through fantastic worlds to find out.

The design of the characters really drew me into this one, when I first saw the trailer. Santa is an enormous, tattooed, urshanka wearing, sword wielding, commander of Yetis. Tooth Fairy is designed after a beautiful humming bird, as are her fairy minions. The villain has a sleek design with piercing eyes. I was not disappointed. This movie is beautiful. The set pieces are brilliant and epic, yet subtle. You can see the influence of Pan's Laberynth Director, Gillermo Del Torro, who was an executive producer here. The animation is great, and makes real good use of the 3D, which I fully admit I normally dislike.

The voice casting is superb, Chris Pine holds his own as Jack Frost, while Alec Balwin is almost unrecognizable as North (Santa). The biggest highlight for me is Jude Law as the villain. You can hear a snippet of him in the trailer. The children in the room have young voice actors, but are all greats.

The review might seem a little unbalanced, but I'm really struggling to come up with any big flaws. It is a great film for children and adults alike. Some people say it might be too scary for kids, but at its core the movie is about overcoming fear. It is an epic romp. It's not really a Christmas movie, as much as a winter movie. Go see it! Here's a trailer and character posters to hold you off until it's released.

Before the end of the thanksgiving weekend I had with my cousins, I went with my brother to see this particularly in 3D, hoping that it would exceed my expectations as the trailer had promised. Later, after seeing the movie, I couldn't believe that my expectations were raised by not only how interesting it look, but how beautiful it looked. So, are there any flaws? Well, let's just say that there is one for it does drag a bit on the middle, but there isn't anything else to fault this epic adventure with.

Some people may find the story of this movie predictable due to it's good vs evil concept, but for me, I don't think it was that bad. It had it's heart in the right place and has some nice messaging about using your courage and it did got me shedding some tears since it reminded me what it's like to be a child. The dialog is also witty and the script is refreshing and funny. What I also like about the story is how it focused on Jack Frost's origins and how he came to be. I would've like to see the origins on some of the other childhood icons like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy, but I think that Dreamworks Animation is saving those for the sequels if they ever make them. The music from Alexandre Desplat is beautiful, tear-jerking, and whimsical and it's orchestra is well done which makes it one of his best music in a feature length film.

There are some other redeeming aspects of the movie. First, there's the characters which are likable in every way. Jack Frost is a charming lead, Nicholas St. North (or Santa Claus) is a bada** character with his Russian accent and has a sleigh machine, the Sandman is silent, but that's what makes him more interesting and his comedic moments is funny, the Tooth Fairy (or Toothiana) is a beautiful female character and the way she explains her ways of getting all of the children's tooth is well thought out, and Bunnymund, the easter bunny, is a great fighter and by the far the most hilarious character that most people would adore. Pitch, however, steals the show and is a great villain thanks to Jude Law's menacing voice-work. In fact, the voice acting for the character is great especially Alec Baldwin who was a great surprise being here. The fight sequences and the chase scenes are not only amazing, but exhilarating, but the strongest aspect goes to the animation.

It's character animation is well inspired and creative, but what stands out the most about the animation is it's visuals. The places are amazing in scope including the North Pole, the Toothfairy's land, Pitch's evil lair, the Easter Bunny's home with the eggs being the highlight and more. Looks like Dreamworks Animation never fails to amuse me with their beautiful animation.

Overall, Rise of the Guardians is by no means a classic and with all of my heart, this deserves some recommendation to those who haven't seen it yet. Go watch it! It's that good just like Disney's Wreck-It Ralph.