I just saw the Dreamworks holiday flick today. Thought it would be horrible when I first saw the posters and heard the concept. Like 2 steps back from How to Train your Dragon, which actually managed to resist having worn out pop culture references like so many of their other movies. But then I saw the trailer for it when I saw Wreck-it Ralph and thought it at least deserved a shot. It...actually wasn't bad. Not great. But not bad. It wasn't some silly mess of pop culture references (though there is one part close to the end that I felt was trying really hard to reference Jurassic Park). The morality about the power of belief is mishandled though and ignores a lot of obvious logical loopholes. That's probably the biggest drawback of the story, since it factors heavily into it. I actually think it works best if you can just ignore, for a moment, that it's supposed to be Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Sandman. The holiday season gimmick is really distraction that carries a lot of baggage from the holidays they source. As character isolated to just this one movie, they are actually pretty entertaining. Granted, the holiday edge to it allowed for some fantastic and creative imagery. Sandman's abilities gets an A for that. But the highlight of the movie really is Jack Frost. And I don't say that just because he's meant to be easy on the eyes. Although- let's face it- he is. He's actually a pretty brilliant character for a family film. A person who feels he was pretty much born to be invisible and alone. And for 300 years, no less. There was some very real and easily-digestible pathos to him. Buried beneath all the Easter eggs and loose teeth, there was actually a very good story somewhere in there. And he has the power of cryokinesis. Who doesn't love that?
It was a pretty good movie. My favorite characters were Santa and the Easter Bunny. Jack Frost was interesting and in a lot of ways I could relate to him. I enjoyed his storyline for the most part. In my opinion the quality and storyline of Wreck-It Ralph was pulled off better than Rise of the Guardians but they were both good. I wish they would have spent more time on the side characters in RotG. I would have liked to known the back story of them all. There were some pretty funny parts that I enjoyed. I really liked their accents. It made the movie even better for me. I did notice a couple things that bothered me but that's to be expected with my experience as a sociological movie critic. I noticed there was only 1 significant female character and she hardly ever spoke and was pretty much the least significant character of the entire story. I also noticed every adult female character was enamored with Jack Frost. And the Afr. Amer. kids were side characters whereas the white characters were in the forefront.
I liked the sandman. I think it's cool that his sand becomes nightmares and he's an interesting character in general
I can't wait to see it! Although apparently I'm taking a parade of little cousins along...I think Jack Frost is kinda cute; I wonder if he has an older brother...
I honestly couldn't wait for this thing to come out. And it didn't disappoint, not in the slightest. I fucking loved Santa. It was clear that there were so many ideas for him, but they managed to keep his character together. To see excitement spilling out of him as he's pointing with his 2 swords was one of my favorite bits. Sandy was amazing, as well. There's actually a goddamn backbone to him. I mean.. I wasn't doubting that beforehand, but if nothing else, see the movie JUST to see Sandy fight. You'll be impressed. This movie has some hilarious bits that I'll refrain from speaking of, simply to not give out spoilers. But yes, although there WERE happy-meal toys made for the movie, it was clear that the writers did this because they wanted to and they had the passion to write it, not for the extra quick bucks.
I think the whole "belief" thing is a bit overblown though. My problem was, for example, that I could really admire the creativity behind characters like North, and Tooth, and Sandy. And the whole gang really. But the movie insists on thrusting its heavy handed message about believing they exist. And that just won't work when you don't really believe they exist. I, for one, never believed in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, or the Sandman. Santa worked for a while...until I started noticing he seemed to use a lot of the same wrapping paper my mother used. Jack Frost just worked for this movie because the mythology behind him is so vague and obscure to begin with. So, he was essentially a new character. I don't think you really have to believe something like Santa Clause exists though to take home what is important about his character though. I mean, who really believes Super Man is real? They can still find inspiration in him, young and old. But the story seems intent on making you feel bad for thinking he's not real...
