Afterward, Ramsey discussed his impression with me. He's a story artist who not only helmed DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space TV special but has also worked with David Fincher, Francis Ford Coppola and Spike Jonze. "I provided some notes early on and was so glad to be invited to come aboard," he said. He loved the primal premise and enjoyed working particularly with the charismatic duo of Baldwin and Law. "Alex is so explosive and makes you think that Santa is the most brazenly optimistic guy in the world, and who better than Jude to seductively convince you of your worst fears deep inside you?"

Meanwhile, Bill Damaschke, the new chief creative officer, admitted that the new technology has allowed these stories to be told at this particular time. The glistening snow and golden sand are a marvel to behold in Guardians, as is the character animation. It's much more believable if still sufficiently stylized. As for the influence of Guillermo Del Toro, it's all over the character design of Guardians: "These are characters everybody knows and you must make them fresh and be bold, and he was also critical in telling us to concentrate on the story told today: the audience will catch up and don’t feel like you have to tell that back story."

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Bill Desowitz is former senior editor of AWN and editor of VFXWorld. His blog is Immersed in Movies (www.billdesowitz.com), he's a regular contributor to Thompson on Hollywood at Indiewire and he's the author of the upcoming James Bond Unmasked (Spies), which chronicles the 50-year evolution of the iconic superspy from Connery to Craig.