Rise of the Guardians

''Rise of the Guardians'' is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Ramsey (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on the book series '' The Guardians of Childhood'' and the short film ''The Man in the Moon'' by William Joyce. It stars the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, and Hugh Jackman. The film tells a story about Guardians Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman, who enlist Jack Frost to stop the evil Pitch Black from engulfing the world in darkness in a fight of dreams.

''Rise of the Guardians'' was released in the United States on November 21, 2012. It grossed $306.9 million worldwide against a budget of $145 million, but lost an estimated $87 million due to marketing and distribution costs. It was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.

It was the last DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Starting with '' The Croods'' (2013), 20th Century Fox would distribute DreamWorks' films until '' Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'' (2017).

Plot

Jack Frost awakens from a frozen pond with amnesia and disappears upon realizing that no one can see or hear him. Three hundred years later, Jack, as the Spirit of Winter, enjoys delivering snow days to schoolchildren, but still feels upset that they do not believe in him. At the North Pole, the Man in the Moon warns Nicholas St. North that Pitch Black is threatening the children of the world with his nightmares. He calls E. Aster Bunnymund/Bunny, the Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy to arms. They are told that Jack Frost has been chosen to be a new Guardian, and Bunny brings him to the North Pole. North explains to Jack that every Guardian has a center, something they are the Guardian of, but a call for help from Tooth's fairies ends the conversation.

Visiting Tooth's world, which resembles a palace in India, Jack learns that each and every baby tooth contains childhood memories of the children who lost it, Jack's teeth included. However, Pitch raids Tooth's home, kidnapping all of her subordinate tooth fairies except Baby Tooth and stealing all the teeth, thus preventing Tooth from sharing Jack's memories and weakening children's belief in her. In order to thwart Pitch's plan, the group decides to collect children's teeth. During their journey, a quarrel between North and Bunny awakens a boy, Jamie. Since he still believes, he can see everybody except for Jack. Pitch's nightmares then attack, provoking Sandy as the Guardian of Dreams. Jack tries to intervene, but Pitch overwhelms Sandy, who seemingly disappears.

As Easter approaches, the dejected Guardians gather in Bunny's home. With the unexpected aid of Jamie's little sister, Sophie, they begin the process of painting eggs for Easter. After Jack takes Sophie home, he is lured to Pitch's lair by a voice. Pitch taunts him with his memories and fear of non-belief, distracting him long enough for Pitch to destroy the eggs, causing children to stop believing in Bunny, who furiously berates Jack. With the Guardians' trust in him lost, a shamed Jack isolates himself in Antarctica, where Pitch tries to convince him to join his side. When Jack refuses, Pitch threatens to kill Baby Tooth unless Jack gives him his staff, the source of his magic. He agrees, but Pitch breaks Jack's staff and throws him down a chasm. Unlocking his memories inside his teeth, he learns that he was a mortal teenager who sacrificed himself to save his younger sister, dying from drowning. Inspired, Jack repairs his staff and returns to the lair to rescue the kidnapped tooth fairies.

Due to Pitch, every child in the world except Jamie disbelieves, drastically weakening the Guardians. Finding Jamie's belief wavering, Jack makes it snow in his room, renewing Jamie's belief and letting him become the first person to ever believe in and see Jack. They gather Jamie's friends, whose renewed belief bolsters their fight against Pitch. He threatens them, but their dreams prove stronger than his nightmares, resulting in Sandy's resurrection and the Guardians reuniting. Defeated and no longer believed in, Pitch tries to retreat, but his nightmares, sensing his own fears, turn on him and drag him to the underworld. Afterward, Jamie and his friends bid goodbye to the Guardians as Jack accepts his place as the Guardian of Fun.

Cast and characters

* Chris Pine as Jack Frost, the Spirit of Winter. Jack is a teenage hellion who enjoys creating mischief and has no interest in being bound by rules or obligations; he just wants to use his staff to spread his winter magic for the sake of fun, but also wants to be believed in. Via his staff, he possesses potent cryokinesis. At the end of the film, Jack became the Guardian of Fun.
* Jude Law as Pitch Black/The Boogeyman, the essence of fear and the Nightmare King. He has dark hair and wears a black robe/cloak. Despite being the literal embodiment of terror, ironically, at the resolution, he's scared of his own nightmares after being forgotten.
* Alec Baldwin as Nicholas St. North, the leader of the Guardians, and the Guardian of Wonder. He lives at the North Pole in the Ice Castle and is served by loyal North Pole natives, the Yeti