The Polar Express: Review By Diaigma

Released nationally on November 10, 2004, The Polar Express ushered not only a splendorous adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's book, but the first massively budgeted attempt ($165 million) at motion capture technology. Unfortunately, for this Christmas fable, creative license and an early expense of 3D and IMAX turned this film into a jumbled hodgepodge that, despite its flaws, managed to deliver its message with a satisfying end - but boy, it sure is hard getting there. Part musical, rollercoaster, ghost story, and a touch of everything else, The Polar Express is more like a thrill-ride to the frozen north rather than the journey of discovering the true spirit of Christmas.

A young boy lies resting in his bed on Christmas Eve, but instead of struggling to fall asleep so Santa can come, he has a new dilemma: is Santa even real? Having written no letter this year, this disillusioned lad has one chance to restore the magic that he once felt by boarding The Polar Express, a magical train, or a Baldwin 2-8-4 S3-class steam locomotive built in 1931, if you want to get technical. Once on board, our young hero spends the snowy night escapading through, above, in front and behind the train until they reach the North Pole, which lies a city of elves and workshops-and just around the corner is Santa himself! Is this enough evidence to restore what little belief our young hero has, or is seeing not enough?

What I Dug:

Visuals - what this film achieves above all else is the artistic approach, literally taking the illustrations of Chris Van Allsburg and applying them to this film with rich environment and depth. While the physics of motion capture makes living characters stiff (and this experimental approach is no exception), the captured likeness of its actors is its crowning achievement.

Tom (Versatile) Hanks - not one, not two, but six roles is the tally for the talents of Tom Hanks, showing more versatility in his acting than any one of his other films. From Dad to Conductor to Hobo and Saint Nick, Hanks did a great job ranging his voice throughout most of the production.

The North Pole - the lore of Santa Claus goes far back, way back, but in most depictions of him and his base of operations, it's almost always a little shack, castle, or a series of small houses. Not here. This film quaintly captures the grand scope of what a global gift-giving enterprise ought to look like.

What I Buried:

Filler - the problem when adapting a short story into a full-length feature film is what to fill that time with? With a running time of 100 minutes, and the book itself is only 32 pages with mostly pictures, where do you come up with the story to vehicle this film-why, the train, of course (or so the team behind the film thought)! The train was therefore used as a 3D ride down the "steepest downhill grade in the world," or sliding out of control over a frozen lake, with plenty of close-call experiences to traumatize any child. Add a Hobo and a random song sung by the only kid character on the train with a name, and you have yourself a well-filled but characterless movie.

Nameless Characters - even though we ride on the shoulders of "Hero Boy" throughout the entire journey, we never fully connect with him or genuinely care about his problem. Why? Basic rule of storytelling - if you don't want your audience to care about someone, don't name them. The same applies to others like Hero Girl and Know-It-All. Billy, the shy boy who gets picked up last, is the only likable character on the whole train, aside from the conductor.

Score - aside from a well-orchestrated main theme (which is played repeatedly throughout), Alan Silvestri provides exhausted tracks that prevent this feature from being a smooth one.

The Polar Express has its problems, but it does make for a mostly enjoyable holiday feature and children will certainly enjoy it. Granted, this is a Christmas movie, which has the potential to alienate some viewers, but as Santa said, "the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart." A lesson well put for not just Christians and those who follow this December holiday, but for everyone who thinks themselves human and is willing to put forth their hand and share what they have with their fellow man. When it comes to this movie, it doesn't matter where you watch it. What matters is deciding to watch.

(By Movieweb's Diaigma: resemblance to other reviews is purely coincidental)