# Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray Review



## Peter Rygiel (Jan 21, 2010)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11317[/img]
*Title: Rise of the Guardians*

*Movie :4stars:
Video :4.5stars:
Audio :4.5stars:
Extras :3stars:

HTS Overall Score: *85






*Summary*

DreamWorks Animation brings together some of the world’s most famous and familiar childhood heroes or fantastical mythical creatures; however you saw them as a youngster, for a superb adventure about the power and impact of simply believing. 

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11323[/img]Santa Clause/North (Baldwin – doing a Russian accent and periodically speaking in broken English to add to the stereotype) has called upon the other Guardians, the Easter Bunny (Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Fisher), and the Sand Man (a character I know almost nothing about – he helps you doze off and have pleasant dreams, right?) for an urgent meeting. It seems an old nemesis referred to as the Boogeyman/Pitch Black (Law) is back after an appreciably extended absence. The black, smoky, sometimes undefined figure feeds on children’s fears and revels in turning dreams into nightmares. Pitch’s sudden appearance is so potentially devastating that it warrants the Man in the Moon to step in and select a new fifth Guardian to help the others in the foreseeable battle with the dark presence. Jack Frost (Pine) is bestowed the task of aiding the foursome fight Pitch and his nightmares, but it is an honor he himself doesn’t yet know about. It is not until two of Santa’s Yetis ambush and teleport him to the North in a sack where Santa informs him that the omnipresent Man in the Moon has chosen him to be a Guardian. Understandably the news comes as a huge surprise to Jack and he is apprehensive to change his mischievous and carefree ways until he is thrust into the middle of a confrontation involving the sinister and conniving Pitch. 

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11320[/img]The whole scenario of how Pitch desperately wants to be the one that children believe in and the conceit of how he plans for everything to come to fruition is clever and immediately captivating. Pitch’s plan is nicely detailed and the movie wastes no time in placing the viewer in the middle of the struggle between these beloved fictional characters and an evil counterpart. The different and elaborate places the fast action and dramatic scenes take place in are beautifully shaped with structure and the limbo-like worlds are interesting and imaginative. 

The creativeness in the representation of these magical beings really shines through in their unique and diverse looks. Santa partly resembles a tough biker from the show _Sons of Anarchy_, Jack looks like he stepped off the battlefield of the Japanese saga _Final Fantasy_, the Tooth Fairy looks pretty conventional as a flying sprite/pixy, the Sand Man is nothing how I would have imaged him being mute and dwarf-like, and the Easter Bunny is surprisingly grumpy and argumentative, and that’s all great because it’s something different and off the beaten path.

_Rise of the Guardians_ at its core is about belief both in yourself and things we sometimes take for granted like wonder, kindness and hope and that there is good in the world. It’s all explored through a fine balance of good characters and one nasty one and visualized using vibrant colors, sensational other worlds, familiar characters and an interesting storyline. 
*
Rating: PG*

*Video :4.5stars:*
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11321[/img]_Rise of the Guardians_ is a digital masterpiece from the moment you see Jack Frost and his naturally flowing platinum blonde hair. Ice crystals and other winter related elements are highly detailed. Fine textures on fur, skin, wings, clothing and other inanimate objects are evident and look as if many hours of overtime went into developing the clarity and sharpness that registers with the viewer. The shiny and tiny glowing grains of sand the Sand Man uses to conjure his thoughts look so effortless, but no doubt took an entire technical team to manifest. The entire color wheel is represented. Vibrant and various color palettes are used plentifully to bring the creatures and characters to life. There is never a dull or bland moment visually in _Rise of the Guardians_ because so much labour went into creating an astonishingly combined array of characters, worlds, and large to minute environmental objects. There is a high level of digital/visual substance in _Rise of the Guardians_ that shouldn’t be ignored by people who appreciate this format; go seek out this movie because it’s a memorable one.

*Audio :4.5stars:*

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11322[/img]Although _Rise of the Guardians_ is encoded with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack I can only comment on the sonic experience I had from a 5.1 system and believe me it is amazing. From the outset every speaker comes to live as Jack Frost learns of his icy/snowy powers, sliding across a pond crystalizing all he touches in his wake. The soundtrack is immediately noticeable as being busy and complicated. Despite being filled with plenty of directional effects and constant subtle background sounds you never get the feeling that any of it is superfluous. The range of sounds is impressive and immersive and the score is nicely incorporated into scene be it action or dialogued centered. Santa, the Sand Man, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny and Pitch each encompass a variety of different physical sounds and all are naturally represented through a calculated combination of the front and back speakers. _Rise of the Guardians_ has a soundtrack that never gets boring and is just as pleasing, wonderful and intricate on the second and third listen. I was blown away by just a 5.1 presentation, I can only envy those who have a robust 7.1 system to experience the movie through. 

*Extras :3stars:*
-Jack Frost Snowball Showdown!: - remote-based game where players control Jack Frost in a snowball battle
-Rock, Paper, Scissors with Sandy: remote-based game of chance against the computer
-Behind the Magic: making of documentary comprising of four featurettes:
*1.* Dreaming up the Look
*2.* Naughty & Nice: Designing Memorable Characters
*3.* Enchanting Effects
*4.* Creating an Epic Scope

-The Man Behind the Guardians
-Dreamers & Believers
-Sandy’s Dream Guide
-Filmmaker’s Commentary
-Previews
-World of DreamWorks Animation: snippets from _Shrek_, _Madagascar_, _How to Train Your Dragon_, and _Kung Fu Panda_

*Overall:*

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11319[/img]_Rise of the Guardians_ continues in the trend of being targeted not only to children but also to adults who appreciate clever dialogue that’s brought to life through natural sounding voice performances. These are my favourite type of animations because they are never boring, are filled with memorable main and auxiliary characters (Santa’s minions are fabulous in this movie, just like Gru’s minions from _Despicable Me_ (2010) are awesome), and are visually stunning and sonically immersive. Rise of the Guardians doesn’t always stay on track and sometimes the deviations seem like filler, but then again these are normalcies in this genre so faulting the movie for that is a bit unfair. I had fun watching the movie and consistently laughed or giggled. I admit I started the movie with a preconceived notion that I wouldn’t like it because I saw in the trailers the different angle it was taking toward all the fabled childhood characters, but it only took about ten minutes for my opinion to completely change to one of pure enjoyment. 

*Additional Information:*

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Chris Pine, Jude Law, Dakota Goyo
Directed by: Peter Ramsey
Written by: David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay), William Joyce (book)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Studio: DreamWorks
Rated: PG
Runtime: 97 min
Blu-Ray Release Date: March 12, 2013


*Buy Rise of the Guardians on Blu-ray at Amazon*


*Recommendation: Buy!*
*Watch the Official Trailer*


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*

thanks for the review peter. I agree with you on the audio/visual side. absolutely stunning.

unfortunately I'll have to be the black sheep here and say that I was actually really disappointed in the story. it was a novel approach, but I just couldn't get into it. maybe I was over hyped by the fact that it was a MARVEL movie, but it didn't seem to be up to their normal quality writing. I'm gonna give it another go in a week or so with the wife so I can see if my pre-conceptions ruined my first viewing or not


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*

I actually REALLY enjoyed this one. I had little interest in seeing in theaters, but when it came out on DVD/Blu-ray, I picked it up and watched the same day. It was A LOT of fun and I am definitely glad that I picked it up. I felt that this movie captured my attention and kept me engaged much more than even a lot of movies recently. Thanks for the review, Peter!


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*

I will say that Jack Frost continued to resemble King Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones, which was somewhat off-putting. Nevertheless it didn't detract much from my enjoyment of the film.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*



Mike Edwards said:


> maybe I was over hyped by the fact that it was a MARVEL movie


It wasn't a Marvel movie. It's from Dreamworks Animation, 
based on a series of childrens' books by William Joyce: 










You're probably thinking of... 










...which is a year and a half away.


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## kingpin748 (Feb 20, 2013)

Liked the movie and the story but I'm not a fan of how they chose to draw them. I felt like the textures they were using on the characters had too much detailed/contrast for shapes they gave the characters, that the balance was off if that makes any sense. Brave, IMO, managed to pull it off better. The Brave characters where drawn in a typical Pixar fashion and the skins just seemed to be a more integral feature. 

It took me a bit to figure out what was throwing me off. Still, I liked the story and my kid certainly didn't care about my personal nitpicking. I've also been a bit of a Pixar fanboy since Wall-E...


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*



sdurani said:


> It wasn't a Marvel movie. It's from Dreamworks Animation,
> based on a series of childrens' books by William Joyce:
> 
> 
> ...


you're right, I was thinking of Guardians of the Galaxy... been following that since day one and for some reason got the two mixed up in my mind


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*

Thanks for the review Peter! :T

I also did not see this in the theater. I pre-ordered it and watch it the day I got it. I enjoyed it immensely - now, I think I might just read the books!


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## smurphy522 (Sep 21, 2010)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*

Saw it in the theater and enjoyed it the other day at home. A great watch for the kiddos too! Good repeatability factor. I liked how crisp and detailed the characters were drawn/rendered and ther sound - well 7.1 and Dreamworks = great Demo material.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Watched this this afternoon with my daughters, very well done movie. The audio in this is great. I loved the use of the surrounds in this one very dominant when it needed to be.


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

Excellent review. We saw this in the theater and the kids enjoyed it. Very good movie..


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## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

Thanks for the review, Peter! 

My 2D/3D copy is due in tomorrow and I hope to watch both versions before the weekend is out.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: Rise of the Guardians - Blu-ray review*



Mike Edwards said:


> I was thinking of Guardians of the Galaxy... been following that since day one


Some pics just released of the pre-production art for that movie: 




























Kinda has a StarWars-ish feel to it.


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