The character design of the film is wonderful. Everyone in the audience has seen a million portrayals of Santa Claus, but this movie managed to serve up something different -- a gruff, Russian lunatic with "Naughty" and "Nice" tattoos on his forearms. Equally interesting treatments are served up for all the main characters, and those characters are then realized with wonderfully detailed computer models. Detailed musculatures, particularly in the faces, yield very expressive animations.
The voice acting behind all these characters is equally wonderful. Alec Baldwin is sometimes recognizable (but often not) as Santa Claus. Chris Pine is the endearing protagonist Jack Frost. (If I'd been forced to guess, I would have thought it was John Cusack, but I would say that's a compliment, in that Pine projects a very empathetic and relatable persona.) Hugh Jackman lets his native accent fly as a feisty Easter Bunny, while Jude Law relishes in erudite villainy as the Boogeyman.
What's less successful is the plot itself. It gets to where it needs to (and should) go, but it doesn't mind bowling over logic to do it. Characters often do things for no discernible reason other than "it's time to do them now" (no sooner, no later), which would make everyone seem a bit fickle were the hands of the manipulative writer not so clearly visible.
Still, of movies a young child might demand you see, you could do a whole lot worse than this quite fun little adventure. I give it a B.
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