Rise of the Guardians – The Five Legends (2012)

Directed by: Peter Ramsey | 97 minutes | animation, adventure, family, fantasy | Original voice cast: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Khamani Griffin, Kamil McFadden, Georgie Grieve, Emily Nordwind, Jacob Bertrand, Olivia Mattingly, Dominique Grund, Ryan Crego, April Lawrence, Peter Ramsey , Isabella Blake-Thomas, Stuart Allan, Rich Dietl | Dutch voice cast: Bracha van Doesburgh, Vincent Croiset, Bas Muijs, Tara Hetharia, Sem Ragas, Mark Rietman, Xavier Werner

Did Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny ever meet? Mary Katherine, the daughter of writer and illustrator William Joyce, once wondered this aloud. It got Joyce thinking and gave him the idea to make a (picture) book series about what he calls ‘The Guardians of Childhood’, the protectors of youth. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny will be there, as will the Tooth Fairy and Klaas Veel. They all have a role in protecting the youth; one is the keeper of wonder, the other of hope, and a third of dreams or memories. In Joyce’s book series, the first part of which was published in 2011, the personal history of the characters is first explained: how did they get their magical powers? Meeting each other only happens at a later stage. However, in the DreamWorks animated film ‘Rise of the Guardians’ (2012), based on Joyce’s books, they form a sort of team of superheroes who must stop the evil Boogeyman. The screenplay was written by David Lindsay-Abaire, but Joyce kept a close eye on it.

The great inspiration for the film, Mary Katherine, did not live to see her dream come true: in 2010 she died of a brain tumor at the age of only eighteen. Just to pay one last tribute to his daughter, Joyce did everything possible to make ‘Rise of the Guardians’ (‘The five legends’ in the Dutch version) a special film. This was especially successful on a visual level. Immediately in the opening scene it can be seen that everything has been pulled out to make it a dazzling spectacle. We meet Jack Frost (voice of Chris Pine), the ghost of Winter, who tells how he became and who he is. He doesn’t know who he was before that, but he would love to find out. He spends his days providing children’s ice cream fun. Then he is summoned to the North Pole by the Man in the Moon – in this film a kind of omniscient nature god. There he meets The Guardians: North (a jolly Santa Claus with a Russian accent, voiced by Alec Baldwin), Tooth (the angelic tooth fairy, voiced by Isla Fischer), Bunny (a burly and gruff version of the Easter Bunny, voiced by Hugh Jackman). ) and Sandy (a silent Klaas Often). They need help protecting the children from the evil nightmares of Pitch (a jet-black Boogeyman voiced by Jude Law), who wants to take away the children’s belief in miracles, dreams and memories.

That it is exactly Jack Frost who will be involved in this rescue mission is a surprise to everyone. It offers the viewer something to hold on to, because just like us, Jack is also new in this wonderful world of Guardians. And what he doesn’t realize at first is that this mission opens his eyes to exactly who he is, where he comes from and what his purpose is in the world. Can he get the kids to believe in him like they believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy? The story is very American at first glance; Dutch children are more fond of Sinterklaas and if they believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, they don’t make such a big deal of it as they do across the big puddle. Adults in our sober Netherlands may find it all a bit too sweet. But if you want to go along with it – and the brilliant, dynamic animations are captivating and compelling enough to do so – ‘Rise of the Guardians’ is a movie that you can enjoy with the whole family, ideal for the last months of the year. Exciting thanks to an endearing villain, funny thanks to the charming sidekicks of North (Christmas elves and Yetis) and Tooth (Tinkerbell-esque flutter girls) and above all a sight to see.

The 3D technology really adds an extra dimension here. Just take the scene in which Jack Frost meets the boy Jamie and guides him through the city in a spectacular way by sleigh: thanks to the 3D you can feel the cold wind whizzing past your ears. As if you were there yourself! ‘Rise of the Guardians’ may not appeal to the imagination as story-wise as the average Pixar film, as far as the animations are concerned, this DreamWorks is definitely not inferior to that. Just like the equally breathtakingly beautifully shot ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ (2010), Roger Deakins is also the man who provided the finishing touch. Partly because of this, ‘Rise of the Guardians’ is worthwhile, especially for lovers of CG animation.