For those of you who aren’t aware, one of the story board artists for ATLA made a sort of ‘what if?’ comic series called water tribe. ( @rufftoon her name’s johane matte seriously look her up!) Where-in Zhao lives, has his memory wiped by the moon and ocean spirits and lives in the northern water tribe. This particular episode of brain rot came to be when I was re-reading the series and came to when they were discussing when Zhao was first discovered to be alive, and how he’d been an empty shell and had to relearn everything. It got me thinking, Nauja and her family basically had to re-raise him he had to relearn how to do everything. What if that experience made him weirdly good deciphering non-verbal cues? Imagine it… toddler Payu trying to tell Nauja he wants something, grunting and crying because she doesn’t understand what he’s asking for and Zhao just walks up like “Hm? Oh yeah? Sure ok, got u.” And grabs whatever handing it to Payu. Who’s suddenly not crying? After being handed a thing he’s never asked for or shown any interest in whatsoever?! It would get so bad, Payu just straight up stops trying to talk and just goes to this ex-fire nation caveman for whatever he wants instead and Nauja’s PISSED.
“He needs to learn to talk dammit!!” - Nauja
“Y tho?” - Zhao probably
They never stopped wanting to keep a close eye on Zhao, Nauja just made her dad find him a house so Payu would actually try to learn to talk. I.E. - The really reason Zhao got his own place.
I found as much media in this franchise that I could (I know there’s some more that aren’t available anymore, like the apps) and I’m here to give my opinion on all of them. Even if I gave something a low rating, I still love and cherish it as a part of my collection!
There’s four sections: movie tie-in books, online comics, Guardians Of Childhood, and miscellaneous pieces of media I can’t sort easily
Movie tie-in books
The Art Of Rise Of The Guardians
Setting - 4 stars
Plot - 3 stars
Engagement - 5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 5 stars
Recommendation - 5 stars
I love the concept art book so much. I find it very interesting to see how movies are made, especially animated ones. All of the different details and story elements and decisions are so cool. I had to do a double take on them calling Jack a 'hunk' that's so funny. And the art is just so gorgeous!
Guide To The Guardians
Setting - 3 stars
Plot - 2.5 stars
Engagement - 4.5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 3.5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 3.5 stars
Recommendation - 4 stars
I love fun facts so much! Each guardian gets a section w/ information, and an activity to do. I really like it! It's my second favorite of the movie-tie in books! Has trading cards with even more fun facts! (I found high quality pictures of the cards from GoldenDragon on DeviantArt, if you wanna take a peek at them.)
Hidden Truths and Other Stories
Setting - 3.5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 4.5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 5 stars
Recommendation - 5 stars
It has two original stories:
Monty and Jamie discussing their experiences with the Guardians before the events of the movie
How the elves came to work for North!
Getting something from this world that I haven't seen before was so fun and exciting! My favorite of the movie tie-in books!
Hidden Truths:
The story of Jamie and Monty is really cute. Jamie keeps a book to keep track of the magical things that he sees. Monty shares a time when he was at a boys scout camp and got attacked by a stray dog, only to see ice appear out of nowhere.
With Friends Like These:
The elves are funny, and North and the yetis reaction to them is hilarious. They help North, and he decides to let them stay.
Worlds Of Wonder
Setting - 2.5 stars
Plot - 1.5 stars
Engagement - 4 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 3.5 stars
Enjoyment - 4 stars
Overall rating - 3.5 stars
Recommendation - 3 stars
I actually really like this. The play-set is cute and the little booklet gives some information about all the characters. It's something that I would've adored as a kid. It’s got a mixed rating bc it’s a pop-up play-set with mini paper cutouts of the characters, not a story. It’s a bit hard to rate with all the others.
Rise Of The Guardians: Movie Novelization
Setting - 3.5 stars
Plot - 3 stars
Engagement - 3.5 stars
Characters - 4 stars
Style - 3 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 3.5 stars
Recommendation - 3.5 stars
It's not as well written as I hoped it would've been, but it isn't a terrible read. Overall, I like it, but it does change, add, and exclude lines that were in the movie. Some changes I like, some I don't. It's not bad, not good.
Just meh. If you're a fan of rotg, you'll enjoy it well enough.
Jamie To The Rescue!
Setting - 3 stars
Plot - 3.5 stars
Engagement - 3 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 3.5 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 3 stars
Recommendation - 3 stars
It's a cute illustrated version of Jamie's view of the events of the movie. It’s a picture book for children, I can’t really enjoy this in the way it was intended to be read, because I’m not a kid. I like it, but it's not my favorite by a long shot.
The Story Of Jack Frost
Setting - 3 stars
Plot - 3.5 stars
Engagement - 3 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 3.5 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 3 stars
Recommendation - 3 stars
It's another cute illustrated version of Jack's view of the events of the movie. I like it, but it's in the same category as Jamie To The Rescue! in terms of kid books that an adult is reading.
Rise of the Guardians: A Deluxe Pop-Up Book
Setting - 4.5 stars
Plot - 3 stars
Engagement - 3.5 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 2.5 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 3 stars
Recommendation - 3 stars
It's fun to see the events of the movie in an interactive book! But some of the art is... just not very good? It's fine for the most part, but then Jack's eyes are suddenly in two different places and the characters look uncanny. Overall, I like it but the art leaves much to be desired.
Made In The North Pole
Setting - 2.5 stars
Plot - 2 stars
Engagement - 3 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 2.5 stars
Enjoyment - 2.5 stars
Overall rating - 2.5 stars
Recommendation - 2 stars
It's fun, but it's just screenshots from the movie and pngs with related text
Not a lot of effort was put into this as other books and it shows. It's cute tho, definitely a kids book meant for children.
Rise Of The Guardians: Mix & Match
Setting - 2 stars
Plot - 2 stars
Engagement - 3 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 4 stars
Enjoyment - 2 stars
Overall rating - 2.5 stars
Recommendation - 2.5 stars
Not my favorite but I can recognize that I am not the target audience for this kids book. Probably my least favorite personality. It would be fun for a kid though, the interactive element is good but overall it's not the best. It's just not for me.
Online comics
Learning To Fly
Setting - 4.5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 5 stars
Recommendation - 5 stars
I like how he sees how the world works and learns from it. It shows how smart he actually is, and how much he had to learn in those 300 years. I also really like the panel where he is looking up at the birds. Very cool. Just Jack flying with a flock of birds is really cool.
Spring 1968
Setting - 4 stars
Plot - 4.5 stars
Engagement - 5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 5 stars
Recommendation - 5 stars
This art is just GORGEOUS. Short and sweet, although I do wish we got to see more about the blizzard of '68. You just know Jack is laughing in the background somewhere. I seriously cannot get over how pretty this comic is. I want this art tattooed on my SOUL
Cat Nap
Setting - 4 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 5 stars
Recommendation - 5 stars
This is so adorable I can't even. Sandy's attempts to entertain the cat and the cat just not having it. Short and sweet and it's Sandy and a cat. What's not there to love?
The art is gorgeous. So cute!
Winter Spirit
Setting - 3.5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 5 stars
Recommendation - 5 stars
Jack making snowmen for a group of kids. Adorable. Also, new Jack outfit besides his colonial one and modern one. I love how the snowmen glow with Jack's magic it's such a cool detail. Jack making things fun for a group of bored kids is so on brand. Very cute and fun!
Pitch Black
Setting - 5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 5 stars
Recommendation - 5 stars
Pitch gets offered to be a Guardian, but he refuses and takes offense to it. It's so interesting to see Pitch being more friendly to the Guardians, especially because this is the moment that started their fight. I love the different lore here. The books by William Joyce would've never had this happen. (Also ties in super well with Johane Matte's unofficial comics. I recommend reading those as well. This is her tumblr and this her deviantart)
Guardians of Childhood
The Man In The Moon
Setting - 4 stars
Plot - 4 stars
Engagement - 4 stars
Characters - 4 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 4 stars
Overall rating - 4 stars
Recommendation - 4 stars
Very cute. The drawings are amazing. The story is obviously simple, but it's a bit awkward trying to fit Pitch and the lore in there when the story is mostly about MiM making a smile on the moon’s surface and balloons.
The Sandman
Setting - 4 stars
Plot - 4 stars
Engagement - 4 stars
Characters - 4.5 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 4 stars
Overall rating - 4 stars
Recommendation - 4 stars
Different from the novels, but still good. Very cute, and the art is gorgeous. Golden Age/Pitch stuff was less sudden and awkward.
Jack Frost
Setting - 4 stars
Plot - 4 stars
Engagement - 4 stars
Characters - 4 stars
Style - 5 stars
Enjoyment - 4 stars
Overall rating - 4 stars
Recommendation - 4 stars
Very cute! Pretty art. Less confusion about the Pitch/Golden Age stuff, mostly because it was at the beginning as set up rather than just shoved in the middle as a long paragraph on one page.
Nicholas St. North And The Battle Of The Nightmare King
Setting - 4.5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 3 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 3.5 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 4 stars
Recommendation - 4 stars
Cute, whimsical. We see the very beginning of the Guardians- hints at Santa and Mother Goose. Start of the relics, the macguffins of the series (more on that later.)
E. Aster Bunnymund And The Warrior Eggs At The Earth's Core!
Setting - 4.5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 3.5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 3.5 stars
Enjoyment - 3.5 stars
Overall rating - 4 stars
Recommendation - 4 stars
I liked this book more than the first one. We set up Emily Jane, we get more characters, and the world is expanded on. I liked how Bunny is a dork, how Pitch's weapons absorb light, how Pitch touching Nightlight turned his hand human. I do wish there was more on Bunny's negative feelings towards Pitch, seeing as he did kill Bunny's people, rather than Bunny not really caring at all.
Toothiana Queen Of The Tooth Fairy Armies
Setting - 4.5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 3.5 stars
Characters - 4.5 stars
Style - 3 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 4 stars
Recommendation - 4 stars
I wish we had more on Tooth's character. I love her so much. This book frustrates me because all of the other Guardians’ homes get exact locations, but Tooth's is just "Asia." Like where? Tooth's home is only implied, and it sucks. Plus, she's the only POC in this cast, and she's a bird. The book itself was okay (ignoring the orientalism). I liked some of Tooth's backstory and the build up to meeting Emily Jane.
The Sandman And The War Of Dreams
Setting - 4.5 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Engagement - 4.5 stars
Characters - 5 stars
Style - 4.5 stars
Enjoyment - 5 stars
Overall rating - 4.5 stars
Recommendation - 4.5 stars
I liked the full backstories and the pay off for Emily Jane, Nightlight, and the relics. It feels tied with the previous books. I don't like how rushed Sandy's parts are. Also the kiss thing is just weird. I love Emily Jane's character, wish we got more of her as Mother Nature. I liked how Sandy got blisters from the nightmare shield, it's reminiscent of his death in the movie. I liked it. Favorite book in the GOC series.
Jack Frost The End Becomes The Beginning
Setting - 4 stars
Plot - 3 stars
Engagement - 3.5 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 3 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 3.5 stars
Recommendation - 3.5 stars
This book is a WILD ride. But definitely a better read if you aren't expecting it to be like the movie at all. The ending was good. I liked Shadowbent. It's inconsistent with the other books, it retcons a bunch of things. Like the relics. They aren’t important anymore just because. This book has unnecessary details and tangents that could be cut out (or even just shown, rather than told) because they do not add anything to the story. Joyce should stop using real historical figures in this book. Jack's staff is alive, btw. I'm still not over that. Or that Tumblr sexyman Jack Frost, Elsa's boyfriend or whatever, is besties with Winston Churchill (????????????????)
Miscellaneous pieces of media I can’t sort easily
Rise Of The Guardians: The Video Game (3DS version)
Setting - 3.5 stars
Plot - 3.5 stars
Engagement - 3 stars
Characters - 2.5 stars
Style - 3 stars
Enjoyment - 3.5 stars
Overall rating - 3.5 stars
Recommendation - 3.5 stars
I'm gonna be completely honest here: this game is a low effort cash grab. It’s a movie video game, my expectations are low and it met them. It's enjoyable if you like beating things up, but the gameplay gets repetitive quickly. I liked it well enough played it twice even but I wouldn't say it's the best. The game looks much better (better graphics, gameplay, voice acting, and multiplayer) on Wii/PS3/Xbox 360, I just don't have those consoles.
The Man in The Moon (2005 short film)
Setting - 3.5 stars
Plot - 4 stars
Engagement - 3 stars
Characters - 3 stars
Style - 3.5 stars
Enjoyment - 3 stars
Overall rating - 3.5 stars
Recommendation - 3.5 stars
The art style is a 3D version of William Joyce's art style (which is fine but gives me Coraline book cover vibes.) The bowler hat is apparently the boogeyman's, which is hilarious (because Joyce wrote the book that became Meet The Robinsons.) VERY early concept of this universe, used to pitch the idea to Dreamworks. It's funny how the core concept is there, but how different it is to both the movie and the books. It's alright, I do find it more interesting than entertaining, because of how much the concept changed. Can't have William Joyce without the robots.
Johane Matte is such a brilliant artist. When she drew her ‘Fourth Movement’ Rise of the Guardians cartoon while storyboarding the movie she gave Tooth a rather different sword from William Joyce’s books. Joyce’s swords are pretty heavy and the fairy would struggle to wield one in each hand. But Matte’s sword is perfect for her. Like Tooth herself, the sword is naturally beautiful and not embellished with adornments. It is fairly light so she would be able to wield it with great effect if needed. After quite a lot of digging around I was thrilled to discover that Johane hadn’t just made up any kind of sword- she’d done the research and drawn an actual sword that actually exists. It's a Persian scimitar called a shamshir. And here it is- the sword she drew, in real life! We are certainly looking forward to having some fun with this! You really won’t want to be getting on Tooth’s bad side now.
So I'm having a lot of feelings right now, for Reasons of Awesomesauce. I mean, there are weak spot, which I recognize, but then the big emotional Things happened and now I'm a blubbering mess, so it must be pretty good, right?
