'Wreck It, Ralph' is better!!!!

Rating: 5/10 (2 December 2012)

A really interesting concept for a movie, with an incredible ensemble of talent to provide the voices; however, this film pales in comparison to other animated films currently in the theaters. I enjoyed this film; however, 'Wreck It, Ralph' was far more superior on almost every scale imaginable (plot, humor, content, graphics, nostalgia, etc).
The "Guardians" are a group of immortals comprised of North (Santa Claus) voiced by Alec Baldwin, Bunny (The Easter Bunny) voiced by Hugh Jackman, Tooth (The Tooth Fairy) voiced by Isla Fisher, and Sandy (The Sandman) who gestures rather than speaks. Their whole existence on the planet is the protection the children of the planet; however, they can only exist if the children of the world still believe in them. Once the children no longer believe that a Guardian is real, their facade, magical powers and abilities will diminish, and start to fade away.
The villain of this film is Pitch Black (voiced by Jude Law). He is the keeper of nightmares. He once reigned supreme during the Dark Ages; however, the 'Guardians' have been able to keep him under control for several centuries. Pitch has been able to strengthen his powers by manipulating the dream powers of Sandy, The Sandman. His goal is to methodically zap the powers of each 'Guardian' one-by-one, by having the children of the world start to doubt their existence; while simultaneously getting his presence into their mindset thus making him a stronger force to be reckon with. Once Pitch Black destroys the 'Guardian' alliance, the children of the world will be at his mercy.
Perhaps the two (2) best things that this film has going it are Santa (North) and the Easter Bunny (Bunny). Both are great characters. The scenes showing North, his Yeti staff (which actually do all the work at the North Pole), and his incompetent elves (which I just adored); is simply genius. The rivalry between North and Bunny is great comedic levity, and adds much candor to the storyline and plot. Making Bunny a 6-foot tall, boomerang-throwing Australian accented entity was an interesting choice.
The decision of Dreamworks to release this first film during the Holiday Season is questionable at best, because this film is in no way a holiday movie. The timeframe for this film is three (3) days prior to Easter I can only assume that Dreamworks felt that having a movie poster featuring Santa on it would lure family audiences into the theater seats. So be warned, this film really has nothing to do with Christmas!!!! Again, this is not a bad film; however, it's not a great film either. I would wait, and save seeing this film for home viewing. I'd much rather pay to see 'Wreck It, Ralph' a second time than suggest that you spend your hard earned money to pay and see 'Rise of the Guardians' in theaters. Just my personal opinion.
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