Rise of the Guardians

 Rise of the Guardians
PG -- 97 min. -- IMDB

Just finished this movie a hour and a half ago. Still processing everything but I do know that I liked it. I liked it a lot. After watching the movie I now want to read the children's books written by William Joyce known as "The Guardians of Childhood" series. It would be fun to see if the characters are the same in those as they are in the film.

Speaking of characters, oh my gosh. Funny, modern, and different. They certainly aren't like what I've been fed my whole life to think that their personas are. Santa isn't just the Jolly Fat Man; Easter Bunny isn't all cuddly; and etc, etc. I like the twist on all of them. It was engaging to have something new and not idealistic. They all seemed more real.

The animation is also stunning. DreamWorks definitely paid attention to detail with this one. The movement of Sandy's sand and Jack's ice is awesome. Very believable and fluid. The small details to each character is thought out really well.

The story is simple and does move pretty fast. Considering that most of us grew up with these characters throughout our lives, development wasn't absolutely necessary. We knew what the characters did for their jobs. We really didn't have to know their backgrounds, except for Jack. He is enigma, and is supposed to be for good reason. Having more to Tooth's reason for collecting teeth was cool. That was a nice touch. The humor throughout the movie was also great. You just had to love all of those characters more because of it.

This is a fun movie. It appeals to younger audiences as well as older ones. It's fun for the whole family and has a nice balance for both. You don't have to working about your brain melting due to sheer stupidity or the children being bored. Go see it. You'll enjoy it.