What if Amblimation was still open?/Rise of the Guardians

***Rise of the Guardians*** is a 2012 traditionally-animated action fantasy film based on William Joyce's *The Guardians of Childhood* book series and *The Man in the Moon* short film by Joyce and Reel FX Creative Studios. Peter Ramsey directed the film, while Joyce and Guillermo del Toro were executive producers with voice acting by Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, and Jude Law. Produced by Amblimation and The Kennedy/Marshall Company and distributed by Universal Pictures, it was released on December 25, 2012.

Set about 300 years after the book series, 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. The film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

## Plot

Jack Frost awakens from a frozen pond with amnesia. Upon realizing no one can see or hear him, he disappears. Three hundred years later, Jack, as the young Spirit of Winter, enjoys delivering snow days to school kids, but resents 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, Sandy, and Tooth, to arms. They are then told that Jack Frost has been chosen to be a new Guardian, and has him brought to the North Pole by Bunnymund. 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, 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 Tooth. In order to thwart Pitch's plan, the group decides to collect children's teeth. During their journey, a quarrel between North and Bunnymund 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 Sandy is overwhelmed and killed by Pitch.

As Easter approaches, the dejected Guardians gather in Bunnymund'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 Easter and Bunnymund. Losing his trust in the Guardians, 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 tooth, he learns that he was a mortal teenager who fell into the frozen pond while saving his younger sister. Inspired, Jack repairs his staff and returns to the lair to rescue the kidnapped baby 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 see Jack. Jack and Jamie gather the boy's friends, whose renewed belief bolsters their fight against Pitch. Pitch threatens them, but their dreams prove stronger than his nightmares, resulting in Sandy's resurrection. Defeated and disbelieved in, Pitch tries to retreat, but his nightmares, sensing his own fears, turn on him and trap him in his lair. Afterward, Jamie and his friends bid goodbye to the Guardians as Jack accepts his place as the Guardian of Fun.

## Cast

* Chris Pine as Jack Frost
* Jude Law as Pitch Black (the Boogeyman)
* Alec Baldwin as Nicholas St. North (Santa Claus)
* Hugh Jackman as E. Aster Bunnymund (the Easter Bunny)
* Isla Fisher as Tooth (the Tooth Fairy)
* Dakota Goyo as Jamie Bennett
* Georgie Grieve as Sophie Bennett
* Dominique Grund as Cupcake
* Olivia Mattingly as Pippa