Alec Baldwin Takes on Santa

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Alec Baldwin's trademark raspy voice has landed him many narration and voiceover roles in his career, but you might not recognize his voice in his new animation role of Santa Claus.

'Tis almost the season and every year in addition to the influx of holiday cheer that sweeps across the nation, there are new holiday films that hit theaters. This year's upcoming Rise of the Guardians takes a different spin on holiday cheer, which is evident in Baldwin's Eastern European accent in portraying Santa.


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The 30 Rock actor, whose most recent animated voice role was in the second Madagascar film, noted that this film deviates from the typical cheery holiday film and carries more thematic substance to it.

"I think like most people who grew up like I did in the United States the holidays were very...materialistic," Baldwin said. "It was about Christmas trees and ornaments and that kind of ritual. I wonder with this film--I'm half-joking when I say this--if this will wind up being like those Keanu Reeves that are studied in universities now."


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The film, which features mythical characters (e.g., Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy) as guardians of various ideals (e.g., Hope, Wonder), focuses on the theme of "getting to one's center," which Baldwin proposed--admittedly tongue-in-cheek--as the "mantra of a new generation."

While the film may or may not inspire a generation of children, Chris Pine, who voices the film's protagonist, "Jack Frost," highlighted the awe-inspiring magic that is created in fantasy films.


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"The great thing about these magical characters is that you can create these worlds in front of children's eyes," the This Means War star noted. "[In] movies like this...and [in] all movies to some extent...you always play with that magic. There's always that magic there and I think that's really a beautiful thing."


Rise of the Guardians
, which also stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, and Jude Law, is in theaters November 21.