Over Analyzation of Rise of the Guardians

Chapter 6

In case you have ever been curious, because I was, here is the inscription on the statue in Burgess. This is the statue that appears at 14 minutes and Jamie is standing in front of it when he gets hit by the sofa after sledding with Jack.

"Thaddeus Burgess"

This river town was established in 1798, named after Thaddeus Burgess. Who built the first log cabin here with his family before the bitter winter of 1795.

Pioneers and freight wagons following post roads to the southern mines crossed the river nearby at Nancy's Ferry. And as a terminal for riverboats the town played an important part in development of west side grain farming and cattle raising.

Okay, now this makes me ask a few questions about the year that Jack died. At the beginning of the movie, time is flashed forward 300 years after he is awoken. Now, this movie came out in 2012. The simple answer to this question would be 2012 minus 300 which is 1712. So, Jack died in the year 1712. But that doesn't make any sense.

The plaque says that the town was established in 1798, and the first log cabin was built before a harsh winter in 1795. When we see flashbacks of Jack when he was alive, there are log cabins. That means Thaddeus Burgess has already been there.

At first, I thought this was strange. If there were cabins when Jack was alive, that made me think the year was closer to 1795. However, upon further thought, I think I might have figured it out (although it's a bit of a stretch) here is the timeline I came up with.

Several years before 1712, Thaddeus Burgess arrives and makes the first log cabin. Slowly but surely, more people build cabins around his, but everyone knew he was the first. There was no real name for the town yet because it was so small. In 1712, Jack dies. Years go by, and in 1795 there is a very harsh winter. This was most likely caused by jack who was frustrated because he was still invisible. By 1798, the town has grown, and they decide it is time to give it a name. by this point, Thaddeus Burgess is most likely dead, but he hasn't been gone long enough to be forgotten. People remember that his cabin was the first, so they name the town after him.

There are some problems with this theory I know. When the sign says that he built a cabin for his family before the winter of 1795, it most likely means he finished it in 1795 before winter came. However, if this is the case, that means that Jack would have died sometime after 1795. And 1795 plus 300 is 2095. Last time I checked, there were no flying cars in Rise of the Guardians. So, I doubt that this is the year that it takes place.

So, when did Jack really die? I would guess somewhere around 1712 (although the Rise of the Guardians wiki says the early 1600s, which makes things even more complicated.) Most likely when they wrote the inscription for the sign, they weren't really thinking that much about it, so it is probably a mistake. But who knows? It's just something to think about.