Is Jesus Among the Guardians?

And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”  And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And he marveled because of their unbelief. – Mark 6:4-6

Friday night my older granddaughter wanted us all to go to the movies, which seemed like a nice way to continue hanging out together.  The two granddaughters, 17 and 12, wanted to see the Shiny Vampire and, as the 12-year-old put it, the Hot Werewolf.  I drew the line at this for a couple of reasons:  estrogen and testosterone.  I don’t have much of the former, and I like having the latter, plus I have two grandsons, 9 and 2-point-something.  I would rather they did not develop boobs.  Fortunately, theaters now have multiple screens, and The Rise of the Guardians was playing.

Though I was a little wary about a movie that included the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny, in the end I concluded that, like voting Republican, it was the least of possible evils.  Armed with a soda and a popcorn (note the singular) for the modest sum of $12, we ventured into the vestibule of dreams with its sloping floor that always reminds me vaguely of a slaughterhouse, especially when it is stick-slick with spilled beverages and squashed food products. 

Two-Point-Something covered his eyes during the Coming Attractions, and I began to fear that he would freak out on me.  Fortunately as the feature began, he became fixated and quiet, moving only to get better access to that gold-dusted popcorn, and even then  he continued to watch the action with great interest. 

The Guardians, initially the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, represent aspects of human existence, especially those prominent in childhood – or in childlikeness.  At one point Santa talks about his center being wonder.  The Tooth Fairy, we come to see, represents individual memories, our roots, so to speak.  The Sandman is the maker of dreams.  The Easter Bunny, not surprisingly, brings new beginnings and hope.  Both Santa and the Easter Bunny have, through their respective holidays, a Christian connection.  But it is Sandy the Sandman – in many ways the most appealing character – who seems to have the most power.  I don’t want to go into the plot in detail, but viewers will see the Sandman become Christ-like as he battles darkness and evil. 

Faith is key to the plot of Guardians.  I was a little bothered by the way it is handled – disneyfied, veering in the direction of a Tinkerbelle-resurrection kind of clap-your-hands believism.  Still, it is a children’s movie; I can’t be too critical.  Lack of belief makes the Guardians themselves less real and limits their power.  Faith in them literally gives them substance.  On the surface, this is not altogether unlike what happened to Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth.  God, however, does not lose any of His reality or power because we lose faith.  Instead, it is the unbeliever who becomes less substantial, who loses access to the Source of life and truth.  But the Guardians, of course, are not gods, not even lesser gods.  They are archetypes and messengers only.  I seriously doubt that any of this even crossed the minds of the Dreamworks crew that put this film together.  They were just trying to tell a good story – and I think they succeeded.  A good story always taps into truth. 

I haven’t even mentioned the main protagonist, Jack Frost, whom we watch develop as a character when the Guardians’ conflict with darkness requires him to be added to their number.  Viewers will like Jack.  Raccoons, especially, will recognize that Jack is Slack, the bringer of Snow Days, the Angel, one might say, of Recreation.  As such, there is some territorial abrasion between Jack and the Easter Bunny, that agent of Rebirth -- something, we learn, that Jack has experienced. 

Obviously, a lot of the plot is predictable but it is all fun.  There are a number of laugh-out-loud slapstick and visual gag scenes.  The animation is so good that it goes unnoticed except for the occasional “wow” that it elicits.  Most of the adult viewers will laugh hardest at the yetis and elves and the magnificent sled scene.  Everybody will wonder at the Easter Bunny’s Warren and will be delighted when the Guardians join in to help out the Tooth Fairy.  It’s an entertaining movie with an old-time Disney touch or two, and all of it springing up from our collective “true mythology”, as Lewis might call it.