History Fridge / RiseOfTheGuardians

** [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc In the closet]] is also a popular version, and most kids have closets in their room.

* Bunny and Jack are constantly antagonistic, a bit much for just causing him some trouble one time. But then you notice they represent opposite seasons and it begins making more sense.

* Reading the other Wiki's article on the Tooth Fairy. Particularly depictions of, the most common being a winged female, but also a man, a rabbit, a and mouse. All of those depictions were shown in the film.

** Alternatively, the Guardians' world has a particularly intense WeirdnessCensor for non-believers. We were already shown that people cannot see or interact with an AnthropomorphicPersonification they don't believe in. In addition, the WeirdnessCensor may ensure that non-believers come up with a non-magical explanation for their actions. Parents “remember” purchasing the gifts from North, or hiding the eggs, or replacing their children's lost teeth with quarters, but “forget” to actually purchase the gifts, eggs, etc., the following year. This actually makes a lot of sense considering that the Guardians exist to combat Pitch and his fear. If you woke up to find that someone broke into your home to leave presents, or worse, [[AdultFear broke into your child's bedroom]] to exchange lost teeth for coins, and you didn't have a complete, childlike belief in this entity's benevolence, that would be pretty darn terrifying. There has to be some type of failsafe to prevent belief in the Guardians from transforming into fear of them, or they'd just be handing Pitch an additional weapon.

** No. Otherwise, he would have just stomped on Jamie's light, and the [[TheBadGuyWins the movie would have been over]]. Rather, his [[IKnowWhatYouFear knowledge of what the children fear]] means he knows when they're about to give up hope, and he was just [[LargeHam being theatrical about it]].

* In Pitch's flashback, once the Guardians have gained power and people no longer believe in him, his reaction to people not seeing him and walking through him is pretty much the same as Jack's experience with the village at the beginning of the film - another example of how the two are NotSoDifferent...

* Having Jack be the one to beat Pitch Black makes perfect sense when you examine how different the characters are and their roles. The prequel comic reveals that Pitch Black served as a proto-Guardian figure. He used fear to keep humanity safe from the unknown dangers that would've otherwise spelt their extinction and demise. However, he was a very "old-school" sort of figure; he was authorative and controlling in his actions and in his influence. Even how he speaks to Toothy and Sandy had some hints of condescending to them. Then comes in North, who represents Wonder. Unlike the Memories of Toothy or the Dreams of Sandy, North's Wonder stands in direct opposition to Pitch Black, which is why it with ''his'' introduced that served as a the catalyst. Initially, when North proposed bringing Pitch in and explaining what he did, Pitch interpreted in such a way that maintained the status quo. As he saw it, North's positive approach would reinforce Pitch's negative approach with the endgoal being having the kids fall into line. However, he DramaticallyMissedThePoint; he framed the entire thing as just an additional way of controlling. Hence why he initially looked confused at what North was saying until he proposed his idea on how ''he'' viewed it would work. This was why Sandy and Toothy looked uncomfortable when he said it and why North tried to dissuade him. When Pitch finally realized it was about going from "enforcer" to "protector", he lashed out, calling children "stupid" and "ignorant" before noting that ''they'' were the ones who decided their fate. To him, the idea of "backing down" from his old approach is inconcievable. He could not see himself as anyone but the dominant force in humanity's life that has been around since forever. Ultimately, he became an EvilReactionary, doomed to obscurity while the Guardians thrived and he stewed in contentment before lashing out, trying to undo all the work the Guardians did.
** Enter Jack Frost. Jack is the new kid on the block. Jack was a former human turned spirit and the youngest out of everyone. This makes him the most relatable to the children and audience, especially since he is unbound to more formal responsibilites. This is contrasting with Pitch, who devotes himself entirely to his responsabilities and being the oldest entity barring the Man of the Moon and the one with the least humanity in him. His attempts at connecting with Jack ultimately fail because they fall under fundamentally different paradigms. While the bond between forms because of Pitch's old loneliness and how he frames their struggle against the order of the Guardians as being similar, they are rooted in opposite directions. Ultimately, he remained the same self-centered figure of control. Note how when Pitch reveals his ambition and Jack finishes his sentence, Pitch hastily adds Jack's name, showing he still frames himself in the center. Jack meanwhile connects with kids better than everyone else, including his fellow Guardians. He provides a casual and more down-to-earth link the Guardians were beginning to lose due to their work (which was probably why Manny thought it was time to bring him in.) Additionally, his experience with his death (once he remembers his past) and his acceptance of it shows him as the most human and thus why the Man in the Moon chose him, to remind the Guardians of the connection to humanity, especially children.
** Additionally, while both of them are connected to nature, they possessed entirely different approaches to how ''they'' were. Once Jack had his answers, he realized who he could become. He was the shepherd boy, he is Jack Frost and he will become the Guardian of Fun. He maintains his humility while rising to become a Guardian. Pitch Black meanwhile dogmatically defined himself as being Fear itself and a primal force in manipulating humanity. He could not accept being anything "less." However, when he becomes being forgotten once more and Jack points out his fear, Pitch is defeated. It never occurred to Pitch that someone like him could actually be afraid. He was the Boogeyman after all. He gets his massive dose of HumblePie when he finally feels fear and thus, the darkness and shadows he commanded turns on him. After millennia of using fear to push humanity around, he finally felt what it was like to be on the opposing end. Ultimately, it shows the importance of remaining down-to-earth to who you are while being willing to change to who you should be. Jack showed this through his cycle of life, death and rebirth. Pitch was doomed by the way he did, unwilling to adapt to a changing world.

** This can also be a bit disconcerting in several shots, especially when you find out more about him.
** Not just that, he also wears torn pants, an old hoodie, and no shoes- He looks like a homeless kid.

** [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready Then the Guardians will be there to stop him again.]]

People typically react like that after they have been attacked before...

** '''The reason he speaks with an Australian accent is because, according to the books and the author, Australia is his favorite continent. Which he also created. Because he can.'''

* Having Jack be the one to beat Pitch Black makes perfect sense when you examine how different the characters are and their roles. The prequel comic reveals that Pitch Black served as a proto-Guardian figure. He used fear to keep humanity safe from the unknown dangers that would've otherwise spelt their extinction and demise. However, he was a very "old-school" sort of figure; he was authorative and controlling in his actions and in his influence. Even how he speaks to Toothy and Sandy had some hints of condescending to them. Then comes in North, who represents Wonder. Unlike the Memories of Toothy or the Dreams of Sandy, North's Wonder stands in direct opposition to Pitch Black, which is why it with ''his'' founding that things began changing. Initially, when North proposed bringing Pitch in, Pitch framed the idea in his sense of control. As he saw it, North's positive approach would reinforce Pitch's negative approach with the endgoal being having the kids fall into line. However, this DramaticallyMissesThePoint. This was why Sandy and Toothy looked uncomfortable when he said it and why North tried to dissuade him. When Pitch finally got it, he lashed out, calling children "stupid" and "ignorant" before noting that ''they'' were the ones who decided their fate. To him, the idea of "backing down" from his old approach is inconcievable. He could not see himself as anyone but the dominant force in humanity's life that has been around since forever. Ultimately, he became an EvilReactionary, doomed to obscurity while the Guardians thrived and he stewed in contentment before lashing out, trying to undo all the work the Guardians did.
** Enter Jack Frost. Jack is the new kid on the block. Jack was a former human turned spirit and the youngest out of everyone. This makes him the most relatable to the children and audience, especially since he is unbound to more formal responsibilites. This is contrasting with Pitch, who devotes himself entirely to his responsabilities and being the oldest entity barring the Man of the Moon and the one with the least humanness with him. His attempts at connecting with Jack ultimately fail because they fall under fundamentally different paradigms. While the bond between forms because of Pitch's old loneliness and how he frames their struggle against the order of the Guardians as being similar, they are rooted in opposite directions. Ultimately, he remained the same self-centered figure of control. Note how when Pitch reveals his ambition and Jack finishes his sentence, Pitch hastily adds Jack's name, showing he still frames himself in the center. Jack meanwhile connects with kids better than everyone else, including his fellow Guardians. He provides a casual and more down-to-earth link the Guardians were beginning to lose. Additionally, his experience with his death (once he remembers his past) and his acceptance of it shows him as the most human and thus why the Man in the Moon chose him, to remind the Guardians of the connection to humanity, especially children.
** Additionally, while both of them are connected to nature, they possessed entirely different approaches to how ''they'' were. Once Jack had his answers, he realized who he could become. He was the shepherd boy, he is Jack Frost and he will become the Guardian of Fun. He maintains his humility while rising to become a Guardian. Pitch Black meanwhile dogmatically defined himself as being Fear itself and the prime mover and shaker of people. He could not accept being anything less. However, when he becomes being forgotten once more and Jack points out his fear, Pitch is defeated. It never occurred to Pitch that he could be afriad, much less be affected by fear. He gets his massive dose of HumblePie when he finally feels fear and it all turns on him. After centuries of using fear to push humanity around, he finally felt what they did. Ultimately, it shows the importance of remaining down-to-earth to who you are while being willing to change to who you should be. Jack showed this through his cycle of life, death and rebirth while the static Pitch refused to change.

* The subplot about teeth and memories and Jack finding out who he was with his teeth is genius when you consider the following: How do the authorities [[spoiler: identify dead bodies]]? With dental records! Forensic scientists can [[SherlockScan tell you all lot about a person based on the state of their teeth]] - including [[spoiler: a probable cause of death.]]

** Actually the books mention that Toothiana and Bunnymund are both from a now extinct race of immortals (Pookas and Sisters of Flight respectively). And Nicholas (North), among others, was granted immortality by the Man In the Moon. Children's belief only amplifies their powers and losing it removes those advanced powers. Toothiana's comment "We were all someone before we were chosen" refers to the fact that North was a Bandit King, Bunnymund was a mythological Pooka who traveled the galaxy, and specialised in making delicious chocolates—and battling evil. Toothiana collected teeth ''before'' she was the Tooth Fairy because of her parents, from them she learnt that teeth held ''all'' the memories of one's life and she decided to keep children teeth in order to be able to protect their kindness and innocence and to be able to remind them of it when needed, in exchange she left children gifts for helping her (Putting teeth under pillows).

*** Not sleep, ''dreams''. ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', anyone?

*** And the man in the moon could always find more guardians, as dark as it sounds.
* Anyone who has read the books knows that Pitch's main Mooks in the series are the fearlings, which are notably absent from the movie, using the Nightmares instead. This is all well and good, at least until Pitch [[spoiler:tries to attack Jamie, the last Believer. When he cannot stop Jamie from believing, he tells the Guardians that "There are other ways to snuff out the light". At the end as well, Pitch attacks Jamie, but fails due to being intangible; in both instances it seems that Pitch intends to turn Jamie into a fearling, just as he has turned other children in the past, and intended to do to Tsar Lunar (Man in the Moon) and Katherine (Mother Goose).]]

* It seems almost kind that Jack lost his memories - it would have been horrible for him to see [[spoiler: his friends and family - everyone he ever knew - age and die, while he watched but was unable to communicate]].

** That [[FridgeHorror rather disturbingly]] implies that, now that he's a Guardian, if children stop believing in Jack again he will turn into a drowned-and-frozen corpse.
*** No, it just implies that Jack will turn back into a normal boy. If they're going to turn into what they were in their past life, then it doesn't involve their death. So, to me, North would turn back into a crippled old man, Tooth was a very eccentric dentist (or just a really eccentric person), and Pitch was an extremely creepy person. I'm not sure about the Sandman, though...
*** Before becoming Guardians North was a Cossack bandit; Tooth was the last of a WingedHumanoid race called the Sisters of Flight; Bunnymund was the last of the pookas, an alien brotherhood of warriors (think sort of JustForFun/TimeLord rabbit); Sandy was the pilot of a crash-landed Wishing Star; and Pitch was General Kozmotis Pitchiner, greatest hero of the Golden Age. It's all in the books.
*** Even if they just turn back to what they were before they were chosen, judging from what we see in the flashback, several hours at least pass between Jack falling into the pond and being chosen by Manny. In other words, ''by the time he was chosen he was already dead.''

* Jack's main place of dwelling seems to be [[spoiler: his old hometown]]. This would imply that Jack was around ''[[spoiler: as his family was alive]]'' and simply couldn't remember them, losing his chance to give them any kind of closure.

* In some Mythology The Boogieman is called "The Bagman", who would kidnap misbehaving children...What did Pitch keep in those cages before the tooth faires?

** Alternate theory: Jack lost some teeth when he fell underwater. The tooth fairies are ''exceptionally'' dedicated.
** Maybe Jack still had a baby tooth when he died, one that just hadn't fallen out yet.
** This is pretty plausible. Not everyone loses all their baby teeth in early childhood; some people (including this troper) even keep some into adulthood.

** The reason he speaks with an Australian accent is because, according to the books and the author, Australia is his favorite continent. Which he also created. Because he can.

*** Before becoming Guardians North was a Cossack bandit; Tooth was the last of a WingedHumanoid race called the Sisters of Flight; Bunnymund was the last of the pookas, an alien brotherhood of warriors (think sort of TimeLord rabbit); Sandy was the pilot of a crash-landed Wishing Star; and Pitch was General Kozmotis Pitchiner, greatest hero of the Golden Age. It's all in the books.