Why Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians is Awesome
I saw ads on the side of my facebook advertising Rise of the Guardians. By looking at the pictures, the concept art, and the way that they had presented the movie, I thought it was going to be some sort of fantasy movie that took place in an icy forest, with a rather handsome main character, a talking magical bunny, a tree fairy, a wise old wizard, and some golden cloud guy who floats around. They deal with the perils of the forest at nighttime, when this dark evil force comes forth, and they protect the innocent creatures of their home as best they can.
Boy I was wrong.
I go and see the movie with my little brother, and my idea of it was WAAAAAAAAAAAY off. Nevertheless, I left the theater feeling pleasantly surprised at how good it was. At first I wasn’t sure why. When it came out on home video, I saw it again and finally realized what it was that I liked about it. It was Jack.
This is NOT a fan-girl post. It isn’t even really a “fan” post. Thought I’d say that.
Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians is a stunning character. It doesn’t take much character creation analysis to see that this character was purposefully created to appeal to a very wide spectrum of people, to be marketable. Although 80% of what makes the character likeable is completely shallow, there are some “subliminals” to him that I have come to notice the more I observed him.
So here are the four reasons why Jack Frost was created:
First, and the most obvious, is because of his dashingly good looks. Perfect smile, narrowing eyes, boy-band hair, skinny pants, hoodie... Doesn’t help that Chris Pine voices him, either. *sighs*
OK, you get the idea. This is to grab the female’s attention, and young and old, are automatically captivated by his icy design. While I, regrettably, admit that I have a cartoon-crush on him, this is clearly a powerful marketing ploy, because statistically females spend more money than males do. The more females at the theater, the more money made in the box office. This is the number one reason why Jack Frost is on the silver screen. Typical mega corp behavior...
Dreamworks poop.
Ok fellow dudes, you can stop rolling your eyes now.
Secondly, and on a relatable level, Jack is on a quest to find out who he is, what his purpose is on earth, and just why he was chosen to do something he didn’t think he could do. We all wanna know who we are, what we are, when we are to be us, and most importantly why... Why are we here? Why does God wanna use us? Why, and will I ever know, am I... me??? And how am I supposed to be me in this world? What is the point of it all? Teens are always struggling with this, as they (ahem, we) are budding adults. Everyone can relate to this.
Thirdly, on an even deeper note, Mr. Frost has a longing for a family, a love for children, and a desire to just make children happy. Jack is a very fatherly figure. Ladies, stop imagining what you and his kids would look like, and pay attention.
He has a very real and natural longing to serve children (the new generation) and bring them into a life of fun, or “spiritual” joy, if you will.
He is self-sacrificial, risks his life to save others, and is a hero that children can look up to, both in real life and in Guardian land. Everyone admires a superhero character, and one with a familiarity (a somewhat nostalgic feeling) of wanting to be with children.
Fourthly, he gets tempted. This is where the half-unintended-by-the-designer-but-not-by-God part comes in.
Pitch hates children. He doesn’t target the adults, he targets the kids. Why? Because they represent the faithful ones. Pitch is all about fear. In reality, Satan isn’t necessarily about brutally tearing you to pieces as painfully as possible, despite what all the horror movies want you to think (that’s what Hell is for). He’s more interested in the littler, more subtler things that “sneak into” your weakest moments (when the kids are asleep, for example) which can eventually lead you into a greater catastrophe. But where does all the real-life violence, money-pooling, conspiracies, and lustful mindsets come from?
“Why tempt a man into adultery when gluttony is enough to send him to hell?” -The Screwtape Letters
Every sin we commit is fueled by fear. Think about it. The fear of what the others might think if you don’t do it. The fear of getting caught. The fear of remaining never being loved. The fear of never experiencing a romance. The fear of being defeated. The fear of messing up big time. The fear of pain. Even the fear of our own selves. It’s a very personal and very real darkness contained within our own souls.
Back to you, Jack.
 |
| Yay! |
Jack doesn’t even realize that being a guardian (which is, his destiny, his calling), trusting this mysterious powerful force that has chosen him, even though he has been “silent” to Jack all these years, will lead him to his center. Pitch wants Jack’s center to be of fear. This is when the power of the encouragement of fellowship comes in.
I am now going to put the basic plot of the movie into a strictly Christian perspective.
In the intro to the movie, Jack is risen from the dead, is given a second chance, and new life. He is new to being “born again”, and he doesn’t understand what his new life is all about. Then, without warning, this unknown force intrudes on his life and turns it all around. Through this, North, Tooth, Bunnymund, and Sandman all teach Jack very different but essential lessons about true identity through faith.
North responds to the call to evangelize to Jack, which is what invites him into the discipleship and challenges him to seek out truth over all things in a completely different way.
Bunnymund is all about new beginnings, which is where new life in Christ starts, and also points to the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
Tooth tries to comfort and listen to Jack when he is at his lowest. She also reminds him that even though he was never guaranteed an easy journey in the faith, it was undoubtedly the most joyful one, and it truly made a difference in the world.
And finally, the most loving sacrifice, Sandman lays down his life for his friends.
The power of “four” (or more), and using our own spiritual gifts to built a culture of love is oddly very evident in this movie!
And what does all this come down to?
Faith like a child. It’s like when the little boy says right to the face of darkness:
“I believe in you, I’m just not afraid of you.”
In our culture of fear, we are learning not to believe in the existence of Hell and devils. We must must MUST believe in fear, but by all means, we must mist MUST not be afraid of it! The little boy is also an amazing example of how the true Christian faith really looks. I am thus encouraged in my faith journey, and I really hope you are too, or at least have an idea of how to look through new eyes to see Jesus’ perspective, or messages in everyday objects.
Now I guess I can say that seeing ROTG was well worth my $7.50.
Bye bye babies!!!!
Muah
