Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Sadly, nobody saw this film when it came out. It did so poorly that it financially hurt Dreamworks Animation Studios enough to cause layoffs and to lower the company’s stock price. Yet it’s a really fun film and any flaws it has are minute. It creates a world where the world’s children are protected by four supernatural heroes: Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy and The Sandman. And the villain they must protect children from is the sinister Pitch Black aka Boogey Man. Step in our hero, Jack Frost, who will join the Guardians to put an end to Pitch Black’s most recent and daring plan of spreading nightmares to all the world’s youth. What makes this film really special is the design elements used to create the Guardians; they look really cool. The Easter Bunny is not some fluffy cute creature, he’s a boomerang welding warrior. Santa Claus isn’t your typical jolly fat guy, he’s a giant Viking general ready to kick some ass. The Tooth Fairy is a hummingbird queen and The Sandman is a magical spinning top. I loved what director Peter Ramsey and team did with this film and have to check out the books by William Joyce which was this film’s source of inspiration. Grade: A-