Rise of the Guardians is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Ramsey (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on the book series The Guardians of Childhood and the short film The Man in the Moon by William Joyce. It stars the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, and Hugh Jackman. The film tells a story about Guardians Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman, who enlist Jack Frost to stop the evil Pitch Black from engulfing the world in darkness in a fight of dreams.
It was released in the United States on November 21, 2012. It grossed $306.9 million worldwide against a budget of $145 million, but lost an estimated $87 million due to marketing and distribution costs. It was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
It was the last DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Starting with The Croods (2013), 20th Century Fox would distribute DreamWorks' films until Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017).
However, despite the film's failure, it expanded on sequels, Rise of the Guardians 2, 3 and 4.