History WesternAnimation / RiseOfTheGuardians

** North and Jack, both winter spirits, have IcyBlueEyes with frost patterns in the iris.

** When [[spoiler:little Bunny]] runs under the car and [[spoiler:turns back into his Guardian form]], the background music plays a few notes of ''Film/{{Superman}}'''s theme.

''Rise of the Guardians'' is a 2012 animated action-fantasy film from Creator/DreamWorksAnimation. The film acts as a sequel (albeit in BroadStrokes) to Creator/WilliamJoyce's ''Literature/TheGuardiansOfChildhood'' series, and features many of its characters (albeit with altered designs). As in the books, popular mythological characters such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, The Sandman, and Jack Frost co-exist with the real world, having sworn under the Man in the Moon to protect childhood around the globe. However, as [[DarkIsEvil Pitch Black]], also known as the {{Bogeyman}}, threatens to spread the power of his evil nightmares, the Guardians must unite and fight against their greatest threat.

* TheHerosJourney: The story follows this for Jack pretty closely, including but not limited to a textbook [[CantRefuseTheCallAnymore spiritual rebirth]] moment in the ice chasm.

* GreenLanternRing:
** Sandy's control over his dream sand works this way, and he can make any physical construct he can imagine with it, as well as use it to put people to sleep.
** Pitch's nightmare sand also works this way, as he copied the power from Sandy. However, he only uses it to make weapons and his nightmare horses.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: [[spoiler: When Sandy comes back to life, he creates several enormous dinosaurs out of Dreamsand. They don't do anything; they're just there for extra awesomeness.]]

* AdultFear:
** Your children go out ice-skating. [[spoiler: One of them falls through thin ice and drowns]].
** The Boogeyman is real, and he wants nothing more than to destroy the best parts of your kids' childhood, on top of making sure they have nightmares every time they go to bed. And there is ''nothing'' an adult can do to protect children from him.

--> '''Tooth''': And that's for my fairies.

---> '''Jack''': Awww; you do care.\\
'''Bunny''': Oh rack off, you bloody show pony!

''(Jack steps back, clearly hurt)''\\

---> '''Pitch''': You can not kill fear, Jack.\\
'''Jack''': I'm not afraid of you.

-->'''Jack''': Remind me never to get on your bad side...

---> '''Jack''': Now let her go.\\
'''Pitch''': No. You said you wanted to be alone. So [[SuddenlyShouting BE ALONE!!]]

-->'''North''': Tooth! [[ItMakesSenseInContext Fingers out of mouth.]]

--->'''North''': We are always working on bringing joy to children. We have no time... for children!

--> '''Jack''': And the Easter kangaroo.
--> '''Bunny''': I'm a bunny.

-->'''Pitch''': What goes together better than cold and dark?

-->'''Pitch''': It was stupid of me to mess with your dreams, so I'll tell you what. You can have them back.

-->'''North''': ''[after a ride through a tunnel]'' Buckle up... [[ActuallyPrettyFunny Is very funny]].

--> '''North:''' I hope the Yetis treated you well.
--> '''Jack:''' ''(laughs sarcastically)'' Oh, yeah, I ''love'' being shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal.
--> '''North:''' Oh, good! That was my idea!

--> '''Jack''': There is no way that I'm riding in some rickety, old... ''(sees sleigh)''...sleigh. ''({{Beat}})'' Okay, one ride, but that's it.

---> '''Jamie''': ''(to Pitch)'' I do believe in you. [[NotAfraidOfYouAnymore I'm just not afraid of you.]]

--->'''Jack''': [[spoiler: Looks like it's ''your'' fear [the Nightmares] smell.]]

---> '''Bunny''': G'day, mate.

----> '''North''': I don't like it; paint it red!
----> '''Yeti''': WHAT THE- ''(looks at pile of blue robot toys)'' GAH! ''*{{headdesk}}*''

----> '''Bunny''': Too Christmas-y, mate. Better paint it blue.
----> '''Yeti''': ''(looks at pile of red Easter eggs and screams in frustration)''

----> '''Yeti''': ''(has finally finished painting the robots red when they all start to clatter)'' WHAAGH!
----> '''Pitch''': ''(laughs)'' You're all free to go! We won't be needing any Christmas toys this year, thank you! Nor ever again!
----> '''Yeti''': Awwgh...

-->'''Pitch''': So what do you think, Jamie? Do you believe... in the Boogey- (Gets pelted with a snowball in the face.)

-->'''Pitch:''' What goes together better than cold and dark? We can make them believe. We'll give them a world where everything, everything is...
-->'''Jack:''' Pitch black?
-->'''Pitch:''' And Jack Frost, too. They'll believe in both of us.

* BigNo: Jack yells this [[spoiler:when Sandy is shot by an arrow of Nightmare Sand, and then again after Sandy is [[DisneyDeath killed]].]]

* TheGhost: The Man in the Moon, despite being the leader of the Guardians, is not shown in the film. The only indications of his presence are the various shots of the moon in the night sky.
** Also several other legendary figures, like the Leprechaun and the Groundhog.

* MelancholyMoon: Jack has a number of moments like this when he questions his existence and demands answers from the Man in the Moon.

* NotBad: Jack says this to Bunny after the egg-painting sequence in the warren.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Wanting Jack to join him, Pitch points out that they both are cast out and not believed in, and even mentions how well cold and dark go together.

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: All of the Guardians and Pitch are implied to be immortal. Tooth even admits that it's been 440 years since she was out in the field, despite having the appearance of a young woman in her early twenties at most.

** Partly because he's a lonely [[TheTrickster trickster]] more interested in mischief and fun than obeying rules, but also due to feeling ignored by the Man in the Moon without being given a reason for his existence, Jack responds to the offer to become a Guardian this way. Jack's character arc in the story is him learning what the role of a Guardian is and why he was chosen to be one.

* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: The movie's climax has [[PlayedForDrama a dramatic example]]. The Guardians, once again, promise to protect the kids, and Pitch mockingly asks who's going to protect the Guardians themselves (as they are nearly powerless at that point.) [[spoiler:Cue [[SaveYourDeity the kids telling him they will and stepping up to defend the Guardians]].]]

* SantaClausmas: The main characters include [[SantaClaus North]], the spirit of Christmas, and [[EasterBunny Bunny]], who's in charge of Easter, and there is no religious content in the movie. Bunny states that Easter is about new beginnings, but there is no mention of Jesus' resurrection.
* SaveYourDeity: Save Your Guardian, in this case. When the Guardians [[spoiler:get depowered because of the whole GodsNeedPrayerBadly thing] the kids have to step in and protect ''them'' from the villain and his Night-Mares.]]

-->'''Pitch''': So what do you think, Jamie? Do you believe... in the Boogey- (Gets pelted with a snowball.)

* WatchWhereYoureGoing: After the final battle, [[spoiler:Pitch]] tries to flee, frantically looking back every second, and bumps right into North who [[OffscreenTeleportation somehow got ahead of him,]] probably via one of his snow globes.

* YouAreNotAlone: Funnily enough, the speech comes from the ''villain''. Pitch tries to comfort Jack after the latter [[spoiler: is rejected by the Guardians.]]
-->'''Pitch:''' We don't have to be alone, Jack. I believe in you. And I know children will, too.
** Of course, Pitch [[spoiler: [[ManipulativeBastard caused said rejection]]]], but well, he's the bad guy.

** The BigBad suffers from these whenever he gets hit. He makes funny faces, flails his arms and legs wildly, and never seems to sustain any lasting damage. When he gets knocked out near the end, there is even a variant of CirclingBirdies for him.

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Some elves fit a shoe onto one of Santa's reindeer shortly before the sleigh takes off. Although there ''are'' such things as "reindeer shoes", they generally consist of two pieces of metal, allowing the hoof to splay out naturally, and they ''definitely'' aren't just a normal horseshoe nailed on '''backwards'''.

* {{Awwchoo}}: After [[spoiler:Babytooth is thrown off a cliff by Pitch,]] Jack asks her if she is O.K. She nods and then sneezes. Since she is a tiny fairy, it's very cute.

*** This also makes him an example of BewareTheQuietOnes.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: After Jack hits him hard for [[spoiler:killing Sandly]], Pitch remarks that Jack is "someone who knows how to have a little ''fun''." [[spoiler:"Fun" turns out to be Jack's center.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: After Jack hits him hard for [[killing Sandly]], Pitch remarks that Jack is "someone who knows how to have a little ''fun''." [[spoiler:"Fun" turns out to be Jack's center.]]

* NotSoDifferent: Jack and Pitch. As part of his plan to get Jack to join him, Pitch points out that they are both alone and ignored by the children, and even mentions how well cold and dark go together.