November 26th, 2012
MEOW!
Reader, I was probably like you when you saw the advertisements for Rise of the Guardians. It looked uninteresting, downright bizarre, and possibly a little too scary for younger audiences. When I first saw the teaser poster on ComingSoon.net, I thought it was a joke. THIS is the type of animation that Dreamworks was displaying for a wide audience? It almost felt like that it was inspired by a low-rent animated Ten Commandments that was released five years ago.
Well, OK, maybe not that bad, but you get the jist.
To make matters even more drastic for Dreamworks, a few weeks before the release of this film, Disney released Wreck-It Ralph, which I still consider to be one of the most delightful films I've ever seen in my life. As I've said before, it was a fireworks display of creativity, imagination, and wonder--something that Disney was all about in the past when they produced The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Beauty and the Beast in the 90s. So as you can see, I came into Guardians rather biased and selfish after seeing something so marvellous and wonderful as Wreck-It Ralph.
Then, I realized something kind of crucial about Dreamworks: whenever it came to marketing their films, such as How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda 2, they've always ended up being the opposite from what I cynically expect. They are truly wonderful films that always need the optimistic word-of-mouth in order to become a success in the future. It's a real shame that, in this economy, it needs to be like this--the fact that one person has to spread the word in order to assure moviegoers that they get their money's worth.
Look, folks. I'm not a professional film critic along the lines of somebody like Roger Ebert or Gene Shalit. I'm like you. I actually pay for every movie I go to see, and I write my reviews because, well, I have a passion for writing something like this. It allows me to express and share my thoughts with you whether you're looking for entertainment or understanding. That said, I'm a curious and optimistic moviegoer, and I take a chance on discovering the wonders of cinema so that you could possibly have the same experience as I had (That, and there's Rotten Tomatoes, but oh-ho-ho has it been wrong before.).
Which leads me to why I'm going to become that one person for a few minutes, and ask that you take a chance on believing in the power of imagination once again. Not too long ago, I took a chance by paying $11 to see Rise of the Guardians in 3-D with my good friend Sarah Veilleux (I call her Kitty. You'd probably understand if you've seen Monsters, Inc.). She was extremely excited to see this film, while I was more excited about seeing Wreck-It Ralph a fourth time afterwards. Still, I remained cautiously optimistic that it would be a good time at the movies.
About ninety minutes later, the credits roll, a song called "Still Dream" starts to play, and the tears of joy start to form in my eyes.
It's not a sad film. It's not Toy Story 3 where you are forced to say goodbye to your own childhood and never look back. Instead, it's a film that understands what it means to have a childhood. Any adult who grew up believing in either Jack Frost (Jack--Chris Pine) Santa Claus (North--Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Bunnymund--Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Tooth--Isla Fisher), and/or the Sandman (Sandman--uh...Sandman) will understand the message it's trying to teach to children, and unless if they have seen something like The Polar Express, they might be processing that message for the first time in their lives. It's an absolutely beautiful thing to give. I guess that's why this was released during Thanksgiving.
I would dare say that Rise of the Guardians is one of the best children's films to be released in the past decade. I emphasize the word children because that's exactly what the target audience is for this film. This film understands children. It understands their hopes, their fears, and above all else, their ability to dream every night when they go to sleep. What they believe is the complete opposite of what anyone over the age of 12 believes. They still view the world as a hopeful place--an opportunity to have an adventure whether it is playing with their imagination in the backyard, or reading a book such as "Rainbow Fish," where it can take them under the sea and back before the day is done.
As for you adults...well, I must admit that it will depend on your ability to release the child within you. If "Still Dream" has the ability to form tears in your eyes by the end of the film, then I think it has done its job. At that point, you realize that you can still hear the bell ringing after all. You can still feel as if you can fly through the air, even if you're just walking around flapping your wings inside your house. Most of all, as the end credit song encourages, you can 'still dream.' Even when a nightmare seems to loom around your doorway, a dream can appear and become something entirely different. Something beautiful.
I can't imagine seeing Rise of the Guardians being filmed in live-action. Unless if an insanely talented artist worked on a live-action project of this concept, there's no way a film like this would be suited for a realistic environment. Animation seemed like the proper choice when creating a film like this. Along with Wreck-It Ralph, there's an astonishing amount of freedom that is exploited through the creative imagination of its animation. And man, if there's one thing that Dreamworks knows what to masterfully create, it's a 3-D experience that is nothing short of miraculous! A day before seeing Guardians, I saw Life of Pi in the 3D format, and while it was used exceptionally well at times, I was constantly searching for a purpose as to how the 3D fit with the overall theme it was trying to send. With Guardians, its purpose was clear from the moment I was trying to reach for the snowflake coming toward my nose. It's one of the best uses of 3-D animation I've ever seen in a film, and some of the best animation of snow I've ever seen.
The story? It's about as simple as childhood itself, which I think is kind of the point. So many animated films I have seen in the past few years--with a few exceptions--have been so obsessed on making it heavy for such a young audience, that it feels like they are being introduced to the cold, cynical world of reality a little too early. Not the case here. In fact, my skepticism flew out the window when we meet the Boogeyman (Pitch Black--Jude Law). Before seeing this film, I was worried that the Boogeyman and his league of black beauties (horsies) would make the parents pay for their child's therapy bills. Unless if they are really, and I mean REALLY impressionistic children, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. If they know that the Guardians will always be there to protect them, then parents, congratulations, you may be earning yourself a few extra hours of sleep for the next few months!
That being said, the writers have not sidestepped some rather bold and mature topics, even if they are simple enough for children to understand them. For instance, Jack Frost lives alone in a normal town full of children who never seem to notice him because, well, nobody believes in him as much as North or Bunnymund. There are three traits children have that question their existence: a.) they feel as if they are lonely and that there is no one to talk to, b.) they feel as if no one believes them in an intensely difficult situation, and c.) they feel as if they're invisible, and anybody would look through them as outcasts. Any child who sees this film will probably relate the most to Jack, and once they see what caused him to become Jack Frost, the amount of inspiration they will have afterwards could be overwhelming.
Jack Frost also knows how to have fun when performing such a difficult task as saving the world from the Boogeyman. That's another moral it isn't afraid to throw at your face, which is that it's alright to have fun. And this film. is. F.U.N. When we are introduced to the Guardians, it almost plays out like a series of breathless 3-D tracking shots. Then there's a moment when Jack creates a snow day for the children of the town, and Jacks helps a boy named Jamie (Dakota Goyo) ride his sleigh through the ice like a motion simulator. And then there's the climax and the final sequence afterwards. Yeah, it must've been in 3D, because the chills were all over my body at that point. Without giving too much away, think of The Avengers.
DRAT! I thought I would get away with writing this review without having to use The Avengers as a reference.
Rise of the Guardians is a sur--sorry, wrong flick.
Rise of the Guardians is a surprise on nearly every level. It's not only one of the best animated films to come out this year, but also one of the best films of the year in general. It's visually breathtaking, has fantastic themes for children, and above all else, it allows the young and young at heart to "still dream" once again. If you've already seen Wreck-It Ralph about twenty-thousand times in theaters (twenty-thousand-and-one eventually for me), please support Dreamworks by seeing this wonderful film; it's one of their best films to date. I plan on seeing it again sometime soon.
Until next time,
MEOW!
And because you've all been so nice during this review, here is a gift for you all. Happy Holidays! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTy0sOb3nsI
