Review

Rise of the Guardians

Common Sense Media says

Holiday icons defend childhood in gorgeous adventure.
Age
7
Quality
 
  • Educational value0
    More for entertainment purposes than educational, but there's an interesting folkloric origin story to how these childhood icons were endowed with the protection of children's hopes and dreams.
  • Positive messages4
    The movie stresses the importance of the wonder of childhood, including belief in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, etc. Preserving the innocence and joy of childhood is the reason the Guardians exist. Although the movie isn't religious, the idea of faith in something you can't necessarily see is demonstrated as a positive force in children's lives.
  • Positive role models4
    All of the Guardians are strong and brave and ready to do what's necessary to protect children. The Tooth Fairy and her adorable little fairies keep baby teeth because they store children's precious memories. Santa loves providing toys because they spark imagination and wonder in kids. The Easter Bunny's eggs represent rebirth and new beginnings each spring. Jack's journey is to discover how he fits into the group and what makes him worthy of joining them.
  • Violence & scariness2
    (Potential spoiler alerts!) Some intense action. Pitch Black and his minions are able to destroy one of the Guardians. The other Guardians begin to lose their powers as children stop believing in them. Pitch cleans out the Tooth Fairy's castle, breaks all of the Easter Bunny's eggs, and generally breaks the hopeful spirit of all the children he encounters. He undoes the work of the Sandman so that kids have nightmares instead of sweet dreams. Pitch's shadowy black stallions can be frightening. In a flashback, viewers see that the boy who was Jack Frost drowned saving his sister and then transformed into the icon of winter. Santa uses swords.
  • Sexy stuff0
    The Tooth Fairy seems smitten with Jack Frost, and a couple of her "baby" fairies swoon in his presence. In one brief scene, Tooth and Jack share a moment of staring in each other's eyes.
  • Language1
    Australian Easter Bunny says "bloody" this and "bloody" that fairly frequently; Pitch Black tells Bunny to "go suck an egg," and some insults are thrown back and forth, including "coward."
  • Consumerism2
    No product placements in the movie, but there's a good bit of Rise of the Guardians merchandise available, from plush sets and figurines to games, apparel, calendars, and more. The story is also based on a book series.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Rise of the Guardians is sort of like The Avengers with childhood icons: Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman. There's lots of action and some mild violence revolving around the menacing bad guy Pitch Black, who turns children's dreams into nightmares with his cavalry of scary stallions (some scenes may feel more intense in the movie's 3-D version). (Spoiler alert!) One Guardian is destroyed but comes back to life at the end of the movie. There's some insulting language like "coward" and "selfish" and "go suck an egg," and in a flashback, a main character drowns but transforms rather than dying. Whether they personally believe in these characters or not, kids will root for the Guardians as they fight the forces of chaos and despair.

This review of Rise of the Guardians was written by
Age
7
Based on 26 parent & educator reviews:
  • 69% say there are positive messages
  • 62% say there are positive role models
  • 50% say violence is an issue
Read the reviews

Most useful reviews by all members

Parent of 8 year old
November 22, 2012
5
OK for kids & up
 
The film is visually beautiful, and I left the theater with a smile.
My 8 year old said, "That was a good movie. I liked it." As for myself, I think I actually loved it. The characters are well done and creatively imagined. Good conquers evil in the end, and needless fear and paranoia are banished (if only we could do this with politics in the grown-up world!). Characters are in peril at times, but there is no gore. Different personalities learn to work together and get along. It's a lovely little film.
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Parent
November 24, 2012
6
Pause for kids & under
 
Pitch's horses are far scarier then CSM's initial review would lead one to believe.
It's definitely one that you should read about and determine if your kids would be okay with. There were some parts that I worried would scare my youngest son, but he was fine. After, he said: "There was a bad guy with scary horses," but then he moved on to talk about the parts that were really beautiful. It's a gorgeous movie, but there are definitely some very scary parts--the villain’s goal was to replace hope with fear in children, so that doesn't help. It's also very fast, so if your kids are sensory-sensitive, this might not be the movie for them. My guys are okay with stuff like that, but I was still a bit worried when Pitch came on the screen. Notice in CSM's review, they don’t mention much about just how scary Pitch's stallions are. This site is usually spot-on, so I was surprised when they first came on the screen.
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Parent of 5, 8, and 10 year old
November 24, 2012
6
OK for kids & up
 
Great story, beautiful animation, some scary scenes with the Boogie Man
Our 5, 8 and 10 year olds (AND mom and dad) all really enjoyed this movie. Great for family movie night! The 2 girls liked it more than "Wreck It Ralph", and they really enjoyed that movie too. There was some "perilous" scenes that would probably scare some children. And, for better or for worse, I would say this cemented my kids belief in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost. I would see this again and recommend it to others.
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Teen, 15 years old
November 22, 2012
6
OK for kids & up
 
Five stars!
It is the best movie I have ever seen, honestly it is my new favorite movie! I laughed and cried and enjoined every second. I'm 15 and went with my grandma and two younger siblings that are 10 and 11 and they all absolutely loved it. The graphics were positively beautiful and the voices were fantastic...perfect family movie! I'm defiantly going to go see it again! <3 Jack Frost <3
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Parent
November 21, 2012
7
OK for kids & up
 
Not for the younger kids.
I think this is something for kids age 7 or 8. One of mine was younger and she came with it stating: "the black man is bad". And of course Jack Frost was white so we really had to get in depth to try to make sure that she did not associate black with being bad.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 22, 2012
6
OK for kids & up
 
Rise of the Guardians (SPOILERS)
This was a pretty good movie. It was better than I expected. The story was really cute, and the script was well written. Thought I didn't think it was that much of a Christmas movie. The Guardians are very positive role models, they risk everything for the children of the world (one even dies). Though the Guardians are very positive role models, Pitch is a negative one. He is willing to terrorize the children of the world just to be believed in. I personally didn't find anything in this movie scary, but some kids might find the sequences in which Pitch's nightmare horses are present frightening. Some rude comments are said, but there really wasn't any profanity. So overall this was a pretty good movie for family night.
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Teen, 17 years old
November 24, 2012
7
OK for kids & up
 
Solid animated holiday flick!
What kid doesn't like Santa, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, etc? So when all 3 (and then some) clash together into one whole movie? Your child will probably be begging you to take them to this one. Although the villain is Pitch (The Boogeyman) who strives on children's fear, the movie is very family-friendly. Be aware that Pitch is somewhat creepy and his black horses especially may scare very young viewers. Violence does not include any blood, gunfire, or stabbings but uses magic for most of it's violence - such as Jack Frosts' staff which can turn anything into ice he wishes to. (SPOILER ALERT:) There is also a major character death that may be quite upsetting considering the character was the scene stealer, but that character later comes back to life. There is minor flirting and a quick eye-gazing scene, but no kissing. Language is limited to "bloody" which comes out of the Australian Easter Bunny's mouth somewhat frequently as well as "coward" and "go suck on an egg" which Pitch uses to insult the Easter Bunny. As lots of children's movies do, this movie provides a great message in not only believing in "The Guardians" but also Jack's transformation into a Guardian after basically playing the evil invisible trickster his whole (inhuman) life. Overall, Rise of the Guardians is a very good holiday children's film that all ages will enjoy - even you, the parent!
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Parent of 7 and 9 year old
November 25, 2012
7
OK for kids & up
 
Great movie, great story.
I loved this movie. I thought it was pretty empowering for the kids to know that they have control, in a sense, of what they can choose to scare them or not. (I won't explain further so I don't ruin the ending). There were two times my girls got a little sad, but as it should, it all turned out ok in the end.
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Parent of 15 and 15 year old
November 25, 2012
5
OK for kids & up
 
What is your center
My teenage girls (15) enjoyed this very much. I also enjoyed it very much. An engaging tale with a multiple positive messages and very creative twists updating the traditional images for our holiday figures. I especially enjoyed them being strong and assertive characters rather than washed out and pacified. I particularly enjoyed the theme of finding your center or knowing yourself and what it is that defines you.
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Kid, 9 years old
November 24, 2012
6
OK for kids & up
 
Don't take 5 year olds or Younger!
This is a great movie but it might be scary for the younger kids to see Santa, the Easter bunny,Sand Man and the tooth fairy fighting with pitch. As you can see I selected language but that is just making fun of people and teasing. My 5 year old little brother and I saw it together but he got scared 40 min. in the movie. I will say he is always emotional though. I selected violence for Santa using swords and the Easter bunny using sharp boomerangs. There are no explosions or guns at all. If your younger kids see this remember to tell them that the guardians didn't actually get hurt or anything. That it was all pretend.
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