Rise of the Guardians
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: November 21, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
14
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyNov 21, 2012
The shaggy, whimsical characters have a primal familiarity, as though they were developed by a tag team of Maurice Sendak and Walt Disney. Read full review
80
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)Jan 13, 2020
Rise of the Guardians is an effervescent dose of fantasia that’s pretty hard to dislike. Unless, of course, you’re a cynical grump.
80
Paste MagazineDan KaufmanJan 13, 2020
Rise of the Guardians is definitely fun, and definitely worthy of a holiday outing to the theater. Read full review
80
The AtlanticChristopher OrrJan 13, 2020
This peculiar but delightful hybrid just may be the best animated offering of the year. Read full review
80
EmpireOlly RichardsNov 26, 2012
It's gorgeously designed, deftly written and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. For child or adult, this is a fantasy to get lost in. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 21, 2012
It's a grand, colorful adventure, an escapist romp draped in tinsel. And, who knows -- if you're all good little boys and girls this year, perhaps it will also be the first installment in a new DreamWorks holiday tradition. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazineJames RocchiNov 20, 2012
One of the best kid's films of the year, full of delight and action and charm and comedy. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJody MitoriNov 23, 2012
The Guardians make a winning team that is a prime candidate for a sequel, just like "The Avengers." Read full review
75
Portland OregonianStephen WhittyNov 23, 2012
A satisfying holiday treat for adults and children alike. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonNov 21, 2012
While Rise Of The Guardians boasts a great deal of visual energy and amounts to a lot of fun, it's mostly lacking in that kind of depth elsewhere. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertNov 20, 2012
There's an audience for this film. It's not me. I gather younger children will like the breakneck action, the magical ability to fly and the young hero who has tired of only being a name. Their parents and older siblings may find the 89-minute running time quite long enough. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanNov 20, 2012
Thoughts become things. That's the message of Rise of the Guardians, a charming if slightly dark and cobwebbed animated feature about how believing in something makes it real, or real enough. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 20, 2012
Rise of the Guardians is an all-star addition to holiday movies lists but the real question is: Which holiday? Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 19, 2012
Rise of the Guardians is enjoyable as a stand-alone adventure - not groundbreaking animation but a solidly entertaining 90 minutes for older children and adults. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNov 21, 2012
As much as its premise may sound like the start of a bad joke, Peter Ramsey's movie preserves just enough genuine childhood wonder in its whooshing, high-tech theatrics to make it a delight. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottNov 20, 2012
Works so hard at celebrating wide eyes and naïve joy that it comes close to spoiling its own intermittent wonderfulness. Read full review
70
Village VoiceChris PackhamNov 20, 2012
At times, it approaches some of Pixar's best. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanNov 20, 2012
It's all more lightweight-likable than exciting. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoNov 20, 2012
This does seem to leave room for bigger, bolder, more momentous adventures down the line. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigNov 20, 2012
With its fanciful razzle-dazzle, Rise of the Guardians is appealing, if slightly hectic, family fare. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezNov 20, 2012
This spirited enough yarn is sincere and heartening in its belief that our devotion to these youthful myths is healthy for our sense of wonderment. Read full review
60
Total FilmJosh WinningNov 25, 2012
More "oooh… aaah" than "ho-ho-ho", ROTG is so full of yuletide razzmatazz that only true Scrooges will have trouble stomaching it. If only Santa's workshop had given the script more of a tinker... Read full review
60
NPRStephanie ZacharekNov 23, 2012
Rise of the Guardians is adapted from Joyce's book series The Guardians of Childhood. But the occasional Joycean touch aside, it bears so little resemblance to the look and feel of its source material that it ought to be considered an entirely different beast. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyNov 20, 2012
There is a lot to savor in Rise of the Guardians, but sometimes too much of a good thing can be exhausting. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 20, 2012
It has a great voice cast, a kinda-sorta interesting premise and the 3-D is effective, but somehow it just doesn't add up. Read full review
60
The GuardianXan BrooksNov 15, 2012
If Rise of the Guardians is finally never more than the sum of its parts, the parts themselves have real appeal. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyNov 15, 2012
The characters and settings are attractively designed, and the vocal performances have real color and a sense of fun that gently undercuts the treacly sincerity of certain obligatory kid-pandering moments. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerNov 21, 2012
Too much of this movie, directed by Peter Ramsey, is more clamorous than inspired, and little kids might find parts of it too scarily intense. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 23, 2012
The movie lacks a resonant center. The script seems to have been written by committee, with members lobbying for each major character, and the action, set in vast environments all over the map, spreads itself so thin that a surfeit of motion vitiates emotion. Read full review
50
TimeMary PolsNov 21, 2012
Like most children's movies, Rise of the Guardians mimics the patterns of adult entertainment. Where is the magic in that? Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyNov 21, 2012
From time to time, as Alexandre Desplat's insistent score surged yet again while the characters rushed by, I found myself wanting the movie to slow down. Some of these images are too beautiful to disappear so quickly. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubNov 20, 2012
Innocence and joy are threatened by the Boogeyman, and from there the plot comes pretty close to mirroring this summer's "The Avengers" movie. Mostly in a good way. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin ChangNov 15, 2012
Even tots may emerge feeling slightly browbeaten by this colorful, strenuous and hyperactive fantasy, which has moments of charm and beauty but often resembles an exploding toy factory rather than a work of honest enchantment. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNov 21, 2012
Dour animated adventure that aspires to holiday joy, but is as enjoyable as a sock full of coal. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith UhlichNov 20, 2012
The voice work sounds more quick-paycheck than impassioned, and the animation rarely rises above video-game cut-scene quality. As revisionist holiday fables go, you're better off watching Aardman's delightful "Arthur Christmas" than this lump of coal. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleLeah ChurnerNov 21, 2012
Kids who can stomach mixed holiday fare should be able to ride out this stereoscopic superstorm of snowglobes, Easter eggs, magic portals, enchanted crystals, moon worship, fruitcakes, matryoshka dolls, and lost teeth. Others may be confused. Read full review
12
New York PostKyle SmithNov 21, 2012
I can't remember ever seeing such a spectacular implosion of a squad of all-stars as Rise of the Guardians. Well, not since Yankee Stadium in October. Read full review
More From This Movie

58 Critic Reviews

7.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL