Film review – Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Film: Rise of the Guardians
Released: 2012
Director: Peter Ramsey
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Chris Pine, Jude Law

Synopsis:
When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world.

What I thought of it:
As the winter school holidays were coming to a close, I thought I’d treat Tadpole to a trip to the cinema. I’d been dying to see this movie ever since I first heard it was being made, and I heard about it a loooooong time ago, so its been a long wait. Tadpole had seen the trailer and said he really wanted to see it too, so we were on!

I’ll admit I was a little worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations – those worries were so groundless it’s almost laughable to think I fretted at all.

I was blown away!

From the very first opening sequence, even just the first few seconds, I was hooked, and Tadpole was on the edge of his seat. The characters are engaging from the off, so even before you know much about them, you care about them and what happens to them. Yes, we all know about Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sand man and Jack Frost, but these versions of those well known and well loved characters are so expertly brought to life that now I cannot picture them any other way! It now seems obvious that St. Nicholas should have Naughty and Nice tattooed on his forearms, and that the Tooth Fairy (and all her little fairies too) should buzz around like little hummingbirds, and it seems impossible for the Easter Bunny to be any other size than 6′ 1″ with an Australian accent. This is just how they are. It is so and any child who sees this movie will agree with me (some might even claim to have seen them in the flesh for themselves, and I’m sure they know what they’re talking about!).

And Jack Frost himself, well, how can anyone doubt he exists? Who else could create such incredible fern designs on windows and make sure there are plenty of icy patches for kids to skate on?

And now we come to the villain of the piece. Every kid in the world will testify to the existence of the Boogy Man, or the Monster Under the Bed (come on, even the adults believe again when there’s a power cut and it’s all dark and creepy – you know it and so do I!), and Pitch Black is the embodiment of that, causing fear in even the boldest hearts. He’s fearsome indeed, and somehow very compelling…

If you haven’t seen it already, go! Go now, while it’s still in the cinemas! We saw it in 2D because there’s no way Tadpole would keep those 3D specs on, but I am gagging to sneak back and watch it again in all its 3D glory.

Why are you still sitting here reading this review? Book your tickets, grab your jacket and RUN to the cinema immediately, because you don’t want to miss this one. And you’re definitely going to buy it on DVD when it comes out, because you’re going to want to watch it again and again!

And while you’re at it, you might want to consider getting hold of the books on which this is based… Just sayin’!

Rating:
Quite simply, this is what all animated films should aspire to. Not only is the animation nothing short of sublime, but the writing and voice talents are also of the very highest caliber – it just doesn’t get any better than this!