Rise of the Guardians

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Rise of the Guardians

PG

2012

1h 35m

Kids & Family

Adventure

Fantasy

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

159 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Generation after generation, immortal Guardians like Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) and the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) protect the world's children from darkness and despair. However, an evil boogeyman named Pitch Black (Jude Law) schemes to overthrow the Guardians by obliterating children's belief in them. It falls to a winter sprite named Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to thwart Pitch's plans and save the Guardians from destruction.

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Critics Consensus

A sort of Avengers for the elementary school set, Rise of the Guardians is wonderfully animated and briskly paced, but it's only so-so in the storytelling department.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Sep 7, 2017

B

Charming, sweet and enchanting, but not without its flaws, Rise of the Guardians is the hopeful, feel-good movie for kids that's fitting for holiday movie watching with the family.

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Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Nov 30, 2012

1.5/4

Rise of the Guardians is harmless enough, and the lack of easy pop-culture jokes represents the post-Shrek direction of DreamWorks well enough. But this is the studio's least entertaining film.

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Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Nov 30, 2012

C+

The conceit has its charms but too much of this movie, directed by Peter Ramsey, is more clamorous than inspired, and little kids might find parts of it too scarily intense.

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Matt Neal

ABC Radio (Australia)

Mar 6, 2023

4/5

As with The Avengers, each of the characters is given their time to shine and is nicely developed, while a tidy sense of humour sparkles on top of the darker undercurrents of the story.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Sep 21, 2022

2.5/4

[The film] has an intriguing premise that makes you wish the writers had spent more time developing the conflict.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 21, 2020

3.0/4.0

Rise of the Guardians isn't a masterpiece, but it's an enjoyable film and very well suited for this time of year.

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Mindy J

Dec 12, 2023

I'm so glad I finally got to see this on the big screen! This movie's become a holiday classic for me but it's also just a fun movie in general.

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Declan D

@filmbuffkid Sep 20, 2026

“Rise of the Guardians” is another film that was phenomenal but flopped and never got a franchise. So this film is like “The Avengers” but with holiday icons and i decided to give it a rewatch and… This is one of the best DreamWorks films ever, and as a kid when I watched the trailer it looked like a average run of a mill kiddy film but when you watch this film, It’s very dark and has a lot of moments that has meaning to it. Jack Frost is a phenomenal character and his whole character arc can be relatable to many people, and having ice powers now that is a awesome superpower, and at one moment he went full dragon ball Z at pitch black and that was absolute cinema. But if you weren’t there in the early 2010’s with the fan art…. Your lucky. And I love pitch’s goal because he wants what any guardian wants to not be alone, and some quotes he says hits different when you’re older. Overall, although that the plot of this film is almost identical to avengers, it’s a phenomenal film. 9/10

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 12, 2026

Rise of the Guardians = a *4* star Movie!

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William T

@RT83384050 Sep 7, 2026

so good I would watch it 6 times in a day 🥙

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levi N

@RT25289890 Sep 4, 2026

It is a movie that if you can watch it

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diogo13 T

@Tua_mera Jul 12, 2026

A fantastic, imaginative, and magical adventure that reimagines the legends of our childhood on an epic scale. Bringing together Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman as a team of warriors defending children is a brilliant idea. The film boasts excellent pacing and focuses on Jack Frost's emotional journey to discover his purpose in the world. With stunning visual effects, thrilling action sequences, and a beautiful message about the importance of believing, it stands as one of the best and most memorable animated films of its era.

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Peter Ramsey

Director

Chris Pine

Jack Frost

Alec Baldwin

North

Jude Law

Pitch Black

Isla Fisher

Tooth

Hugh Jackman

Bunny

Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - Sentenced to Solitude

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - The Sandman vs. Pitch

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - Dreams Come True

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - Battling the Boogeyman

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - Guardians Reassemble

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - The Origin of Jack Frost

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - Easter Egg Land

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - A New Guardian

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - Not Your Grandma's Sleigh

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Rise of the Guardians: Official Clip - Honorary Tooth Fairies

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Synopsis

Generation after generation, immortal Guardians like Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) and the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) protect the world's children from darkness and despair. However, an evil boogeyman named Pitch Black (Jude Law) schemes to overthrow the Guardians by obliterating children's belief in them. It falls to a winter sprite named Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to thwart Pitch's plans and save the Guardians from destruction.

Director: Peter Ramsey
Producer: Christina Steinberg, Nancy Bernstein
Screenwriter: David Lindsay-Abaire
Distributor: DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Pictures
Production Co: DreamWorks Animation
Rating: PG (Thematic Elements|Some Mildly Scary Action)
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 21, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $103.4M
Runtime: 1h 35m

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