Preview: Rise of the Guardians online event

Who’d of ever thought that Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and the Easter Bunny would ever be superheroes? Did you ever expect that Jack Frost would do anything more than nip at your nose? In all fairness, when I had first heard about RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, I would have never thought that any of these childhood fantasy figures would be even remotely heroic. Then again, when you have Guillermo del Toro taking the reins, it might not be so hard to believe what children all over the world knew all along… Santa and crew can kick some serious butt!

This past Tuesday, JoBlo.com was invited to speak with the filmmakers behind the new animated feature. The event took place at DreamWorks Animation Studio in Glendale, and frankly there is something about being on the lot for something like this. While we were originally invited to see only a few scenes from the new film, that quickly changed into watching it in its entirety. That is always a good sign when the studio shows that much support for something. The question is, was this as safe a bet as it seemed for DreamWorks? I can tell you right now that it was for me.

Based on William Joyce’s “Guardian” book series, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS is a visually stunning motion picture and even the 3D works wonders. Generally I find that 3D in animation adds very little to the experience. Yet from the opening DreamWorks Animation logo, it works well beyond what I would have imagined. Thankfully, RISE is a heartfelt and entertaining adventure. This is a terrific holiday story that will inspire the young ones… plus it has enough heart to tug on the most hardened adult as well. It most certainly is a great story with great visuals.

While on our visit, along with a small handful of online journalists, we spoke to the great del Toro who is the executive producer of the film along with the director Peter Ramsey who made his feature film directing debut – he has a number of storyboard credits to his name. We also talked to the film’s producers, production designers and the head of character animation. After this experience, if I didn’t believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny before… well I certainly do now!

We’ll bring you more on this visit closer to the film’s release on November 21, 2012. RISE OF THE GUARDIANS features a talented cast including Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Chris Pine, Jude Law and Isla Fischer.