Rise Of The Guardians wasn’t quite the hit it should have been.
So: what happened?
What could have been done differently?
So I was hoping you could capture some of that for us.
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Thats a small question!
[Laughs] Where do I start?
Well, lets pick up from when we last spoke.
Yeah, and then everything suddenly changed.
Was it that dramatic?
Did it feel like a sudden about-turn in fortunes?
But there were little indicators in the few weeks before we opened.
Not all the reviews were stellar, but thats to be expected with any movie really.
And I think everyone was surprised at how bigSkyfallwas.
Plus,Twilighthad just opened at the same time, and both films were proving to be truly monstrous.
Animated movies, particularly mainstream ones, have reached out to a much broader audience in recent years.
Maybe both sets of goalposts have moved?
I think definitely it knocked everyone for a loop.
Especially whenSkyfallended up being the most popular Bond in history.
WithTwilighton top of that, it was really a perfect storm.
We sort of got lost in the scuffle.
And then you got the schadenfreude that kicked in really quickly.
It seemed to come particularly from the Hollywoodtrade press?
So we were, to an extent, a target.
I mean the politics are the last thing youre thinking of.
It really is all about the work.
Upon release, it really becomes a different animal, and its very business-driven.
And presumably you dont get that far unless youre resonating somewhere, or hitting a chord somewhere.
And I understand marketing fires these things out to a degree, andRisesdidnt quite hit.
But this still had legs, just not on a big scale.
Do you sense the fact that people spent $300m going to see your film?
Oh yeah, and right now, the Blu-ray in the States is number one.
You know, for me, its definitely resonating.
People loved it, they were engaged.
So when do you know?
Presumably you get phone calls right the way through the weekend?
And then they start forecasting what the domestic run was going to do.
Getting the responses that Ive gotten, honestly, for me its enough.
Why couldnt we have done that, I should have fought harder for this.
Im very proud of the movie, and the work we all did on it.
Ive worked something out for you.
I looked at the numbers, particularly what happened outside of the US.
I figure you should just move to Europe.
In both Britain and France, in particular, the film has been a big hit.
French cinema isnt always so accepting of Hollywood films too.
AndRise Of The Guardiansdoesnt feel like a Disney movie, which is sort of the norm.
It draws on a lot of other sources: anime, comics, fantasy films, etcetera.
It was part of what we were going for, to do something with a slightly different tone.
Which is a nice thing to be criticised for!
I agree, I agree.
That people dont quite know what to make of it.
It hits a very deep chord amongst people who do embrace it, and theyre not always sure why.
There are people who go to films with an open mind and want to go with it.
It works for those people.
That it dealt with something sacred.
People imposed a lot of cynical motivations on it, and they didnt see the film that was there.
Do you find it interesting that people criticise films for things books have been doing for centuries?
Oh yeah, and particularly with these characters!
The image of Santa Claus that most Americans know came from a Coca-Cola advert!
I remember the experience of first showing the film to the international press.
And a lot of people were just confused.
They just didnt understand.
They heard it was going to be this film about childhood icons, and a DreamWorks film at that.
I dont know if they expected Shrek or what.
Ive read a few reviewswhere people would actually invent dialogue from the film and quote it in the review!
It was this strange phenomenon.
You resist the temptation to fire off a correction.
That cant be easy.
But then, if you complain about it, it looks like bad eggs.
But its just what it is.
Whats also forgotten about this film is that, to a degree, part of it was handed over.
The purely professional impact on you is that the film is then passed on to you, midway through.
You know, I never felt like it was all my own endeavour.
That he had something very, very special.
It really is done in the best possible spirit.
And thematically, of course, if opens with a death and a birth.
You know, they always say these things reflect our life.
Its true of this one in particular.
And there are signs that might be happening here?
There are so many elements, its such a complex thing.
But I do think that people are finding the film now, and reacting to it.
And that, in the final analysis, was what we were shooting for all along.
Where does this leave you then, as a filmmaker?
Yet it doesnt seem to be the quality of the film itself that people are blaming?
Which is kind of bizarre.
Its been very strange.
As a result, were still kind of scratching our heads.
But its one of those things.
The movie business is a fickle one.
Is that where you feel you are?
I did get a lot of kind mentions, even in some of the more lukewarm reviews.
People didnt take it out on me too badly.
But the other stuff clouding it?
All the corporate stuff, all that hanging around.
Theres very little recognition of how beautiful the animation is, the wonderful score.
Its criminal that Alexandre Desplat wasnt recognised for it more.
It seemed to get lost in the shouting.
To me, thats about the most painful part.
Our crew really put a lot of work into the film, but again, thats the business.
Did the Oscars, and the fact that the film didnt get a nomination, matter much to you?
You know, that was another bizarre thing.
It was my first feature, and suddenly youre in an Oscar race, which is bizarre in itself.
Im not a big awards show person anyway, but you get caught up in it.
You start to think could this actually happen?
I think you were too.
Id have still have edged the Oscar toFrankenweenie, if Im being honest [Bravewon].
But you also look atParaNorman.
Themes such as death, loss, loneliness.
Working out where you fit in.
These themes werent always at the beating heart of so many family-focused animated features.
And last year, we had three.
Its interesting you bring up the point about dealing with childhood.
I really wanted to speak to kids.
And it really was interesting, the criticism that the movie didnt have more for adults.
Thats not a criticism, though.
I wrote that in my own review of the movie.
That it knew its audiences, and went for its audience.
For some people, ironically, thats a criticism though.
It was a double-edged sword.
Thats my cross to bear though.
Is that a big cross to bear though?
You talked about sleepless nights before.
Is it that big for you?
I think a bit of both.
I am really gratified and proud with how much of the movie came out the way I wanted.
There were things that for whatever reason didnt quite make it.
We didnt have the money, we didnt have the minutes.
Its a mix of the two.
But then after watching it with a few audiences, I wondered what I was fretting about!
Are you close to settled with it now then?
Because the last six months sound like an extreme rollercoaster.
Extreme rollercoaster is the perfect way to put it.
And when it finally happens, reality always has a way of turning out nothing like you would expect.
And thats definitely true here.
So what are you doing now?
Where has this left you?
Ive been talking to people about several different projects.
Ive got some of my own stuff that Im writing and talking to people about.
Im hanging out at DreamWorks, doing a little bit of helping out.
Theres a custom here that in downtime, you give others your expertise.
Really, I still havent had a really good vacation.
I have to wait until my kids are out of school.
So nothing firm yet, but a lot of bubbling pots on the stove!
Peter Ramsey, thank you very much.
Rise Of The Guardiansis out on DVD and Blu-ray now.
