Rise of the Guardians

This beautifully rendered and energetic revisionist fairy tale based on William Joyce's acclaimed book series is destined to become definitive holiday entertainment for all the family. A sort of child-friendly Avengers Assemble that focuses on iconic figures from childhood, it sees "snowballs and fun times" Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine) get serious when chosen by the Man in the Moon to join a tattooed Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), a confrontational Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), a flirty Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and the Sandman to overthrow bogeyman Pitch (Jude Law), who's trying to get the children of the world to stop believing in them. It's a classic good versus evil saga, revived through a vivid old-fashioned storybook aesthetic with an impressive and often breathtaking sense of scope and scale. There's plenty of exhilarating chase action and the flights of fantasy incorporating visual puns such as Pitch's "night-mares" and Bunny's "egg-plants" are a marvellous and magical delight.