Rise of the Guardians is a fun family movie, but interesting enough to pull apart in detail. In the beginning, Jack Frost is wrestling with existential angst: What’s the purpose? Why am I here?

We learn that Evil and Good are locked in an eternal battle, and the big fight is soon to come:

“Don’t look at me like that old friend, you knew this day would come. My nightmares are finally ready. Are your guardians?” says the Boogeyman. The Guardians protect children who believe. “Good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them.”

Jack plays the typical Joseph Campbell Hero – called to adventure but at first reluctant:

You were CHOSEN.
The man in the moon… he talks to you?
You cannot say no. It is DESTINY.

He criticizes Spending eternity in some hideout thinking of new ways to BRIBE KIDS!? (brilliant).
Full of WONDER. That is my center. I see the Wonder in everything. Magic in the air. This wonder is what I PUT into the world, and what I protect in children, it is what makes me a guardian, it is my center.

The Boogeyman:

Why are you doing this?
Maybe, I want what you have… to be believed in. Maybe I’m tired of hiding until beds. Big Four=big four religions?
What fear… of you? No one’s been afraid of you since the Dark Ages.

Dark Ages, what power I wielded, but then the man in the moon chose you to replace my Mare with Wonder and Light. lifting their hearts and given their hope. While I became just  a ‘bad dream’.

Children all over the world, realizing the tooth fairy never came. They don’t believe in me anymore.

If enough kids stop believing, everything you protect, wonder hopes and dreams, it all goes away.  No Christmas, Easter and little fairies that come in the night, there will be nothing but fear and darkness.

Tall, dark, handsome, pale/white, and ENGLISH. classic villain.

The lights are going out. It’s FEAR. He’s TIPPED THE BALANCE.

Why you, why were you chosen, to be like this.

They never really believed in you. But I understand.
You don’t understand anything.
I know what it’s like to be caste out. To not be believed in. To long for a family. (temptation in the wilderness).

You don’t have to be alone, jack. I believe in you. And I know children will too. what goes better together than cold and dark?

They’ll believe in both of  us.
no, they’ll FEAR both of us, and that’s not what I want.

One kid still believes. If you’re real, then you have to PROVE it, like RIGHT NOW. I believed in you for a long time, OK, like my whole life in fact. so you kind of owe me now. So you have to do something.

Still think there’s no such thing as the bogeyman? I DO believe in you, I’m just not AFRAID of you.

Sandman=Jesus. When kids keep faith, they can defeat Satan.

HAVE to believe, to have hope and joy and wonder, but ALSO have to believe in Satan (because, if God is real and is responsible for Good things, he can’t be responsible for the evil things, so Satan must exist – you HAVE To believe in Satan because evil exists in the world and bad things are going to happen. Plus, evidence and experience will make you doubt your faith – but you have to know that’s just Satan, ‘bad dreams’ trying to trick you. You have to believe in Satan but not be afraid of him, because you know Jesus and God will overcome anyway and he can’t hurt you.)

Jack frost has a shepherd’s crook (he’s Jesus?)

Bogeyman has a scythe (Saturn/Satan, ruler of darkness/winter/death) Ruled by Capricorn. (beard and horns from CAPRICORN, not Pan.

There will always be fear. SO WHAT. As long as ONE CHILD believes, we will be here to FIGHT fear. Demons drag him back to Hell.

You’re leaving? But what if Pitch comes back. What if we stop believing. If we can’t see you…

Don’t tell me you stop believing in the moon when the sun comes up. Well, do you stop believing in the sun when the clouds block it out? We’ll always be there. And we’ll always be here (in your heart). Which kind of makes you a Guardian too.

When the MOON tells you something, BELIEVE IT. (um… why? why believe what the moon says? because he’s old and powerful and sees everything?)

So the moral: magical things exist, even if you can’t see them and there is no evidence, and if you feel it in your heart, that’s enough proof to keep believing.

If you believe in magical things, you will have sweet dreams and joy and a meaningful life. If you don’t believe, you will be overcome by your fears. Good argument.

But it’s NOT TRUE.

BESIDES…. in the movie, all the kids stopped believing when empirical evidence contradicted their beliefs – and they didn’t start believing until the magical beings interceded and showed themselves. Does the Easter bunny love us more than Jesus, that he’s willing to show himself for the last believing child in the world, whereas Jesus and God won’t?

Sure they don’t want to “Force” our belief, so they don’t leave real evidence to make us have to CHOOSE… but wait a minute, what was with that whole “Jesus Ministry, Death and Resurrection,” how was that OK, but it’s not OK to do it again?