Rise of the Guardians
Dir: Peter Ramsey
2012
****
Rise of the Guardians hit Dreamworks hard. I really don't see why though? Maybe the marketing was a little slack, it's not really a Christmas film but many thought and still think it is. Maybe Dreamworks had unrealistic targets, it really wouldn't surprise me these days as films are regarded as failures if they don't make a billion or don't make 100 times what they cost to make. Unfortunately, this is almost like they're admitting that the film wasn't very good. People won't watch and I know of people who aren't interested because of this. The film was only released a few months before Dreamworks admitted defeat after the first weekend. It's a puzzling state of affairs, especially as Rise of the Guardians is a very good film. I was initially unconvinced by the style of animation but that didn't last long, I loved the way each character was represented. Maybe people didn't like Santa's Russian accent, maybe they didn't like his Tattoos or the fact he wasn't quite as fat and Rosy as he is usually portrayed. Who knows? I know I liked it though, it's tons better than the majority of animated films that have come out in the last decade. I hope the trend of film failure due to the public's lack of imagination rather than the film makers will end soon but then the public have been spoon fed crap for many years so maybe it's comeuppance!