Fantastic characters, so-and-so storytelling

Rating: Null/10 (4 January 2019)

I adore these stories where all myths are true at the same time, inhabiting the same world and mythos. In this particular instance, all your childhood stories are real, from Santa Claus to Tooth Fairy, from Easter Bunny to our protagonist, Jack Frost. Unfortunately, the darker sides of our childhood stories are also real.
I also like that they didn't make these characters be in any way generic. Santa is still very recognizably Santa, but he has a Russian accent, swings around swords and has the words Naughty and Nice tattooed on his forearms. I mean, kudos for originality. The same applies to all the characters, with the possible exception of Jack Frost, but he is the audience surrogate in any case so it makes sense not to make him too exotic.
The animation is also fluid, looks suitably festive, keeping with the theme of holidays, and has a great sense of movement and energy. It has aged perhaps a little bit since then, but not by much and the overall design is such that it can withstand time.
What keeps the film from being a truly great holiday classic is the fact that the story is a jumbled mess. The beginning and the introduction to the idea is done well enough, but then the film cannot keep it together. We have no idea who the villain is, no idea what he is doing to reduce the power of the eponymous Guardians, what it even means when he captures one of the good guys, and so on. Things happen on the screen, but they have no reason or rhythm behind them. Perhaps the original novel, The Guardians of Childhood by William Joyce, explains it better, but if it does, the movie totally fails in conveying that to its viewers.
Still, it's an enjoyable movie. Aggravatingly vague in its world-building, but enjoyable nonetheless.