Stunning animation, entertaining situations

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2013)

The first thing I have to say is that the animation is stunning. When watching movies on TV, I often let my eyes wander, checking facebook for a minute, getting up to do some exercises while I watch, but I didn't do that for Rise of the Guardian, because every second of film was worth watching. Imagery is very densely packed and things happen very quickly.
I also found the movie quite funny in that same quick, overstuffed way.
And yet, there is something about the movie's story that kind of bothers me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but then I read a review of it that described it as seeming like it was written by committee, and I thought, yeah, that could be it. There is something calculated and safe about the story that made me unable to entirely connect with it. But it was still a fantastic experience.