50 Fun Facts About Rise of the Guardians

Which studio produced Rise of the Guardians?

It was the studio's last film distributed by Paramount Pictures before a move to 20th Century Fox.

In what year was Rise of the Guardians released in theaters?

It opened in the US on November 21, after a premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October.

Who directed Rise of the Guardians?

It was his feature debut, and he became the first African American to direct a big-budget CG animated film.

Whose book series, The Guardians of Childhood, inspired the film?

He also made the short film The Man in the Moon that introduced the idea, and won an Oscar for another short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Who wrote the screenplay for Rise of the Guardians?

The Pulitzer-winning playwright also wrote the lyrics to the end-credits song "Still Dream".

Who voices Jack Frost?

Leonardo DiCaprio had originally been announced for the role in 2009 but left the project.

Which actor was originally announced to voice Jack Frost before leaving the project?

It would have been his animated feature debut; the film was then tentatively titled The Guardians.

Who voices the villain Pitch Black?

Pitch is the Boogeyman and Nightmare King; by the end he is frightened of his own nightmares.

Who voices Nicholas St. North, the film's Santa Claus?

He plays North with a Russian accent and persona, modeled on the folk figure Ded Moroz.

Who voices Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy?

Tooth is part human and part hummingbird, with mini fairies that are split-off extensions of herself.

Who voices E. Aster Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny?

Bunny keeps the actor's Australian accent, and he wields boomerangs.

Which Guardian never speaks, communicating only through sand images above his head?

Sandy is the Guardian of Dreams and the oldest of the Guardians.

North is the Guardian of what?

Each Guardian has a "center" they foster in children; Bunny's is Hope, Tooth's is Memories and Sandy's is Dreams.

What does Jack Frost discover his "center" to be?

He realizes it while making it snow in Jamie's bedroom and rallying the children to play, which weakens Pitch's hold.

Toothiana is the Guardian of what?

Every baby tooth holds its owner's childhood memories, which is why Jack's own teeth hold the key to his past.

Bunnymund is the Guardian of what?

When Pitch's Nightmares smash every Easter egg, children stop believing in him and he shrinks to a tiny rabbit.

Who chooses Jack Frost to become a Guardian?

He transformed Jack after the boy drowned but never told him why; Jack spends 300 years invisible before learning his past.

How long after emerging from the frozen pond does Jack's main adventure begin?

The film is set about 300 years after the events of the books, which explain the Guardians' origins.

What does Pitch steal from Tooth's palace to weaken children's belief in her?

He also kidnaps her mini fairies, so the Guardians go out collecting teeth from children themselves.

Who is Jamie Bennett?

Voiced by Dakota Goyo, he becomes the first person ever to see and believe in Jack Frost.

Where does Pitch break Jack's staff and throw him into a chasm?

Ashamed after Easter is ruined, Jack flees there; unlocking his teeth's memories inspires him to repair the staff.

How did Jack Frost die as a mortal boy?

The pond is the same one he awakens from at the start of the film; his sister Mary is voiced by Olivia Mattingly.

Which Guardian is killed by Pitch's Nightmares and later resurrected?

The children's dreams prove stronger than the Nightmares, which bring him back and then turn on Pitch.

What happens to Pitch at the end of the film?

Once no one is afraid of him, his creatures turn on him.

Who built North's Ice Castle and workshop at the North Pole?

North is served by the Yetis and by Christmas Elves, but it is the Yetis who do the real work.

Who composed the score for Rise of the Guardians?

It was the first DreamWorks Animation film with no involvement from Hans Zimmer or his Remote Control Productions composers.

Which soprano performed the end-credits song "Still Dream"?

The score itself was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road and Air Studios.

Which Stravinsky piece plays when North first appears?

It is one of the few pieces of pre-existing music used in the film.

Which famous cinematographer advised on the film's lighting?

He had already consulted on How to Train Your Dragon, picking photographic references for color keys.

What open-source tool did DreamWorks develop to handle the film's volumetric sand and smoke effects?

It had already been used on Puss in Boots and Madagascar 3 and was later released to the industry.

Which filmmaker joined the books' author as an executive producer on the film?

Joyce had been co-director but stepped back after the death of his daughter, leaving Ramsey to direct solo.

What was the film's production budget?

It grossed more than double that worldwide but still lost money once marketing and distribution were counted.

Roughly how much did Rise of the Guardians gross worldwide?

About $103 million came from the US and Canada and $203 million from other countries.

How large a write-down did DreamWorks take on the film?

It was the studio's first loss on an animated film since Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.

Which was the last DreamWorks film to lose money before Rise of the Guardians?

Flushed Away is a different footnote: the Guardians opening was DreamWorks' lowest since that 2006 film.

Which three films finished ahead of Rise of the Guardians on its opening weekend?

It earned $23.8 million over the three-day weekend for fourth place.

What grade did CinemaScore audiences give Rise of the Guardians?

Critics were more mixed: 75% on Rotten Tomatoes and 58 on Metacritic.

Rotten Tomatoes' consensus called the film "a sort of ___ for the elementary school set"?

The site gave it 75% from 159 reviews while calling the storytelling "only so-so".

Rise of the Guardians was nominated for which Golden Globe?

It was also nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.

The film's release was moved from November 2 to November 21, 2012, to avoid which Pixar film?

Pixar then moved its film again, to June 2013, and Wreck-It Ralph took the November 2 slot instead.

Which DreamWorks film took the November 2011 release date originally planned for Rise of the Guardians?

The delay pushed Guardians a full year to November 21, 2012.

How many home entertainment units had the film sold worldwide by October 2014?

It had the highest box-office-to-DVD conversion ratio of any major release in mid-2013, and a 2013 re-release came with a wind-up elf toy.

Which company published the console video game based on the film in November 2012?

The 3D beat-em-up lets up to four players switch among all five Guardians across Burgess, the North Pole, Bunnymund Valley, Tooth Palace and Sandman's Ship.

What is the name of the town where Jamie Bennett lives?

It is one of the worlds in the tie-in video game, alongside the North Pole and Tooth Palace.

How does the film's timeline relate to the Guardians of Childhood books?

Joyce wanted distance so readers would not compare the two; the books explain the Guardians' origins.

Which 1995 film did the Guardians' author work on as a concept artist?

He later earned credits on A Bug's Life and Robots, and his book inspired Disney's Meet the Robinsons.

For which short film did the Guardians' creator win an Academy Award?

Its story app briefly knocked Angry Birds off the top of the app charts in 2011.

Which Russian winter figure is North's persona modeled on?

Ded Moroz, "Grandfather Frost", is the Slavic gift-bringer; North also sports tattoos reading Naughty and Nice.

In which format was the film the second release ever, after Red Tails?

It was also digitally remastered into IMAX 3D for limited engagements.

Where did Rise of the Guardians have its world premiere in October 2012?

The international premiere followed at the Rome Film Festival in November.