DreamWorks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians
On the opening day of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: DWA) “Rise of the Guardians”, William Joyce, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, today shared why he chose DreamWorks Animation to bring his characters to life, what inspired him to write the epic adventure and his role with the film overall.
“Rise of the Guardians,” which features the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law Isla Fisher and Hugh Jackman, tells the story of a group of heroes – Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and Jack Frost – each with extraordinary abilities.
When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.
Joyce began his relationship with DreamWorks Animation several years ago after receiving a tremendous amount of interest from Hollywood studios to adapt his books into a feature film.
His choice was easy. The author and the studio shared the same vision: neither wanted a traditional adaptation of the book into a movie form. Rather, they wanted to create a unique story featuring the same characters, but set 200 years after the version of events laid out in Joyce’s Simon & Schuster Guardians of Childhood book series.
“I wanted to set up the world in the books and then show how they deal with their lives in the movie when their ancient enemy returns in Rise of the Guardians,” said William Joyce, creator of The Guardians series and an executive producer of the film.
Joyce plans to write 13 books in his series, including picture books and novels that tell the story of these classic childhood heroes. The movie is really just one moment in a much larger narrative that Joyce is shaping.
William Joyce’s daughter Mary Katherine inspired him to do the series when she asked if Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny knew each other. This question sparked his creativity which became the common thread of the book series and central theme behind the animated film.
He hopes these stories will speak to children of all ages who are trying to make sense of the characters.
In the picture above: William Joyce stands among the Guardians from the newly released “Rise of the Guardians” film.
