Rise of the Guardians

It is going to be hard for DreamWorks Animation to shake its "hit and miss" persona. They have their big four franchises: "Shrek", "Kung Fu Panda", "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Madagascar". The rest of their movies are failed original stories or sequels. I am sorry to say that even though "Rise of the Guardians" had some well-done elements, it has been categorized as a "miss" and I had a feeling that would be the case when I saw it. I may be guilty of not seeing the movie with an open mind but in my defense, the opening prologue did excite me somewhat. The story pattern had potential and the casting was better than on other DreamWorks films but ironically, the central characteristic of the film was not strong. The pace of the show also had a few problems.

This story talks about finding our center. Funny enough, this movie appears to have center issues. What is the heart of this show? What makes the movie so powerful that it has to be made for all to see? Is it Jack's desire to learn his true purpose or is it the quest to save children's faith? Both of those plotlines are good but I felt they competed for attention. "Rise of the Guardians" has some story elements that work but all the cinematic elements did not balance. Even though I had trouble relating to the center of "Brave" for example, that show still had a strong center that felt sincere. Story comes first and every other part of the movie is employed to making the story better. I felt that a few of the special effects outshined the central theme that was being employed. Also, the film had too many fast moving action scenes and many of the exposition/introductory scenes were a little rushed such as when the Guardians gather at the North Pole. Much of the dialogue was also spoken at the fast pace. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" had a fast pace but you were still able to follow everything that was going on. You can have a fast pace without overwelming the audience. The cinematography became overwhelming too."Rise of the Guardians" takes place in the present day unlike in the books on which the film is based. Author William Joyce did not want the film to compete with his literary works but I felt this animated film could have been more successful if a true adaption had been undertaken. A few decisions made for the film bugged me. Why does the portrait on the case containing Jack's teeth resemble Ben Teneson? If Jack is invisible, how is he able to carry the little girl home? While I felt that North was a well-created character, I have always believed that Santa is Canadian instead of Russian (not the stereotypical Canadian mind you). The Easter Bunny's Australian persona felt out of place. I could buy that Santa was Russian but not that the Easter Bunny was from down under. I felt he said "mate" way too many times. When he turns into a cute bunny in the climax, it did not create a sense of pity that we felt for the other Guardians after they have lost their power. We like Bunny when he is small & adorable and we should instead desire him to turn back to his old self. The humor from that story decision had negative consequences for the end of the movie. Why did such a similar moment work in "The Emperor's New Groove"? Because the villain turns into a cute animal and the film itself was a full on comedy while "Rise of the Guardians" is a fantasy adventure film. The climatic moment when Jamie's faith overcomes Pitch's fear seemed too convenient. I felt that our heroes won too easily when compared with immense host of evil they were battling. Finally, having the story take place at Easter seemed out of place for a movie released at Christmas. The reason for this was to show all the Guardians doing what they do best. North is the second most important character in the film and the movie is advertized to be a Holiday film. Sandy and Tooth work every night of the year and so Bunny is left out unless the film takes place around Easter time. The filmmakers were painted into a metaphorical corner that there was no easy way out of. One nice quality of the show is that it had some funny gags such as waiting in line to get change at the Laundromat. The running gag of the Yeti having to repaint his all toys and eggs was the best part of the movie. The best characters of the film were Tooth and Baby Tooth. The voice work of Isla Fisher was very good. As mentioned, the casting of the movie is a noteworthy quality. Chris Pine did well but I liked him better as the captain of the starship Enterprise. Alec Baldwin's Russian accent was great at making his character plausible. This is the second film that pairs Dakota Goyo with Hugh Jackman because they were both in "Real Steel". Goyo's work was sincere in this movie. The film is dedicated to Joyce's daughter who died of a brain tumor during production. She came up with the idea for the books.

Director Peter Ramsey is the first African American to direct a major CG animated movie. Speaking of the filmmakers, the trailers for "Rise of the Guardians" said that those who made “How to Train Your Dragon” created this movie. They should have said "From the studio that brought you..." instead because none of the writers, neither the director nor the producers from "Dragon" were involved in "Guardians". You can't make an immortal holiday classic by way of an assembly line that DreamWorks appears to use in creating two or three films in one year. Similarly, you can't take a successful story pattern, insert new characters and expect it to work on its own. It must feel original and sincere and while "Rise of the Guardians" has many good points, it doesn't have enough. The casting was good but the pace of the film was too fast. I have said this before but DreamWorks should slow down and make one film a year. Then each film they make will have the attention it deserves during production. Instead, DreamWorks seems set on making money. Money can be lost or taken away but not memories and this studio should focus on creating memories for their audiences that will last forever if good enough.

3 Stars