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| The greatest gift is seeing all these mythological characters sharing the same screen. |
Somebody in the Dreamworks Animation marketing department is
an absolute genius. Release Rise of the
Guardians in theaters right before the Christmas rush and likewise, its Blu-ray
release just in nick of time for Easter. Coincidence? Hardly.
Rise of the Guardians
is best summed up as the Avengers of mythological beings - the best of the best
joining forces to rid the world of evil in the form of Pitch Black (Jude Law)
and his deathly steeds. A thickly Russian accented Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin) and
a boomerang-wielding Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackson) are givens to protect the
children of the world from the Boogeyman. Joining them in this eternal struggle
are the lesser known (or ones without holidays) Tooth Fairy and Sandman. And collectively,
they stand united as Earth's Mightiest Heroes...sorry Guardians.
Regardless of how many colorful characters are crammed into Rise of the Guardians, the story wholly concentrates around Jack Frost (Chris Pine) and his transformation from winter trickster to becoming the new addition to the band of Guardians. That unfortunately results in the remaining Guardians being underdeveloped within a rigidly edited 90 minutes. The few ounces of breathing room left rely solely on an intertwined subplot in regards to children continuing to believe in the Guardians.
Just off of its concept alone, Rise of the Guardians entices the inner child who once believed in
Santa or the Easter Bunny. It's a wonderful sight to see Santa working alongside
the Sandman in a manner that would seem normal were it a dream.
Perhaps Guardians
is not all that it makes itself out to be, particularly with its bipolar tone.
One minute elves are smacking each other slapstick style, and the next the
Boogeyman unleashes his nightmares horses out of a sinister vortex. That begs
the question. Is this a Christmas movie? Is this an Easter movie? Exactly what sort
of movie is Rise of the Guardians?
Simply put, it's all of the above.
The Blu-ray of Guardians
offers up a typical 1080p video transfer expected for an animated release. From
the icy blue North Pole to Pitch's lair of darkness, the colors pop
effortlessly and energize the contrasting laundry list of fantastical worlds.
Equally satisfying is the 7.1 surround audio, which benefits best from the
handful of spectacular confrontations between the Guardians and Pitch.
The Rise of the
Guardians combo pack fails to deliver with its special features, with too
much focus on interactive games for the little ones and not enough about the
making of the film. Granted, "Behind the Magic" and the filmmaker's
commentary drop hints regarding the production, but not quite enough invested
to completely satisfy interested viewers.
There's no reason not to drop a copy of Rise of the Guardians on Blu-ray in the Easter basket in a few
weeks, but if it's any consolation, there are a few more superior animated competitors
from 2012 that are must-haves in any family collection.
MOVIE: B+ (8/10)
VIDEO: A- (9/10)
AUDIO: A (10/10)
EXTRAS: C (5/10)
GRADE: B (8/10)
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