DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Rise of the Guardians – 2 Thumbs Up
© NaimaLett.com/blog

© Dreamworks new 3D release “Rise of the Guardians”

You know a film’s a winner…
when both me and my husband give it ‘2 Thumbs Up’.

We both love action adventure, superb storytelling and art that inspires truth and hope.

Dreamworks’ new 3D animated release, Rise of the Guardians, gave us all 3.

I get tons of inquiries about my opinion on different films, and I’ve been sharing periodically in my blogs. I’ll do my best to be more consistent, especially during this build up to Academy Awards season when we see so many screenings each week. So, I’ll start with Guardians since we just saw it night before last, and I’ll catch you up on the others. Deal?!

Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians is being billed as “the perfect holiday family film” (Deadline Hollywood).

The official film synopsis reads as follows:
When an evil spirit called Pitch becomes bent upon taking over the world by inspiring fear in the hearts of kids everywhere, a group of our greatest heroes — Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and Jack Frost — band together for the first time, determined to stand in Pitch’s way and protect the innocence of children all around the world. More than a collection of storybook subjects, “The Guardians” are also a band of superheroes, who possess their own special powers. Now joined in opposition of a common foe, the Guardians heed the call and combine their powers to defeat Pitch and protect the world from his campaign of fear.

A Little Skeptical

You’re probably thinking the same thing I was:
Since when did Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and Jack Frost become our greatest heroes? Seriously, we’re not talking DC Comics’ Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman or Marvel Comics’ X-Men, Iron Man and the Hulk. What was Santa going to do? Ho, Ho, Ho on somebody?

I admit I was a little skeptical.

And it made me even more nervous when they hired stars like Hugh Jackman aka Wolverine to play the Easter Bunny, Academy Award nominee Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes‘ Dr. Watson) for Pitch, Chris Pine (Star Wars) for Jack Frost, and Academy Award nominee Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) for Santa. Really?

Get ’em, Santa!

Without giving away too much, I was pleasantly surprised that the story worked. We laughed out loud. We rooted for our heroes. At one point I heard myself shouting, “Get’ em Santa!” Kevin is no longer embarrassed by my outbursts. After 11 years of marriage, he’s used to it.

And there are several powerful themes:
1) Find your center, who you’re born to be i.e. your purpose. You know I love that one!
2) Stand up to fear.
3) We still have faith/belief, even when we can’t tangibly see evidence, and
4) Sacrificing ourselves for others is the greatest love of all.

Sound familiar?
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13

One Caution, Maybe Two

It is a great holiday family film, but one caution would be to know how your kids deal with evil characters before you haul 3-year old Jackie or Kareem to the movie theater. Pitch (as in Pitch Dark) aka the Boogey Man gives kids nightmares. His dark horses are scary looking. Please show little Rocky the trailer first and figure out how he will handle those images flying at him in 3D. OK?!

And before you send me emails denouncing how a Minister of the Gospel could give such a glowing review of a film that elevates Santa and the Easter Bunny, please know that I am not offended by either. Neither one of them can ever replace our Savior Jesus or His birth or His death and resurrection. I don’t get all twisted up over mythical characters. I’m a storyteller and I recognize the power of story in transforming our lives, just as Jesus did.

In my earlier blog, Turkeys Yield to Santa, I explain how Christians took over a secular holiday and absorbed pagan festivals when deciding when to celebrate Christmas. Santa Claus was created to immortalize the 4th century Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (Turkey) who was known for secretly giving gifts to those in need. I use every opportunity of Santa to tell folks about Saint Nicholas. And by the time the Easter Bunny tells folks in the movie that Easter is about new life and new beginnings and hope, it’s a wrap!

A Bonus: Film Makes History!

To top it all off, Rise of the Guardians makes history. Peter Ramsey (pictured above) is the first African-American director of a big-budget computer-generated (CG) animation film. When interviewed by NPR, and asked about being a person of color in Hollywood, Ramsey says, “If you make something that people want to see and that they connect to on a deep level, then that’s something that anyone should be able to do, and there shouldn’t be any more discussion. You know, more than anything else, I would think that that’s what me being here is all about.”

Kudos to Peter Ramsey!
And also to Nancy Bernstein and Christina Steinberg (also pictured above) who were the 2 producers who happened to be women. I’m really celebrating Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks right now and the opportunities for minorities. Go forth!

If you get a chance to see it, let me know what you think!
Onward & upward,
Naima

Can you relate to The Guardians?
RESPOND TO BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2012 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved