Dreamlike with beautiful snowscapes, moonlit nights, and blue-gray tones, Rise of the Guardians begins with the birth of Jack Frost, a capricious imp, who at times is an “irresponsible and selfish,” young lad of three-hundred-years old who only wants to be believed in by the children on whom he bestows snowdays from school and the giddy happiness of snowball fights and speeding toboggans. Instead, he is merely a figure of speech constricted by the “Jack Frost nipping at your nose” lyric, outshined by the Aussie Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the hummingbird-like Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and the tattooed, Russian-Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), who all leave tangible gifts in the form of eggs, money, and presents. These Guardians “keep children safe,” along with Sandman who provides pleasant-dream-filled nights of slumber, while Frost is an outlier. That is, until Pitch Black (aka the Boogeyman, voiced by Jude Law) feeds from his own resentment of being shunned and proclaims that his “nightmares are ready.” They come in the form of black sand twisted and sinewy in the form of galloping horses that invoke thoughts of the apocalypse.
Therefore, the Man in the Moon, the creator of the Guardians, selects Frost to join the heroic brood. At first, there is apprehension on each side. Frost resents the others’ popularity and recognition; the others feel Jack is too irresponsible and selfish to help anyone. Guardians, in part, sends the message that team work is more powerful than the individual, and it succeeds in this. However, there are deeper themes aimed at the adults here.
Guardians examines the phenomenon of children growing up too quickly, confronted by naysayers who rail against the existence of Tooth, Bunny, and North (Santa Claus). In part, Guardians wants children to continue to believe, but it also illustrates the whittling down of imagination and the venture into early maturity. In real life, this is exemplified by the “young adult” marketing that floods many industries. This mislabeling at once feeds the competition to grow up, but also forces children unready to become adults to dismiss their youth and adopt a false persona. Given that the most recent Black Friday began on Thanksgiving evening, I’m not sure that this criticism is invalid. If anything, Guardians reminds us of the lost perspective on the holidays and the ways in which they have become bureaucratic business models built around efficiency. The Yeti (not the elves) construct, paint, and design toys for Santa; the elves are thoroughly amusing, but are mostly delivery persons. Bunny delivers eggs, but he doesn’t paint them all; and their delivery is facilitated via tunnels. Tooth is frenetically energetic and passionate when it comes to children, but her little hummingbirds collect all teeth and substitute them with coins.
The big three of the group are simply detached from the children they strive to please, and the children are more focused on the rewards they reap than from their tokens’ origins.
This is also a film that offers three-dimensional spectacle but promises it to be superb even without the twenty-dollar ticket and uncomfortable glasses. There are few gimmicks here. The film’s visuals speak for themselves and the transition to a two-dimensional screen is flawless and amazingly enjoyable.
At the same time, Guardians begins so well that the third act almost inherently needs to be less than anticipated. It feels as if the film resolved to insert a generic argument that ostracizes Jack from the group so that he can look within himself. This ties into the friendship is better than isolation trope, but the conflict feels inorganic and forced. He’s accused of leaving the group for his own interests – which he does – but the assumption is that Easter was ruined because of Jack’s absence. This hardly seems the case. The other four were unable to prevent the eggs from being destroyed, so it seems that the presence of a fifth person would have merely prolonged the gap in time before imminent destruction. (What’s also rather ironic is that there is selfish infighting between North, Bunny, and Tooth well before they begin to trust Frost, so claiming that his selfishness sunk Easter is a bit shortsighted.)
Regardless, the climax of the film teaches children that faith and belief are intangible, something we all should be reminded of as we unwrap gifts and gather for the holidays. There’s also something refreshing about a film that reminds us that fear exists, and that it makes us act curiously, paranoid, and in our own self-interest, but that accepting it and trying to understand it is more effective than using it as an excuse for isolation and hatred.
