The Polar Express (2004) Warner Bros./Fantasy-Adventure RT: 100 minutes Rated G (some mildly frightening moments) Director: Robert Zemeckis Screenplay: Robert Zemeckis and William Broyles Jr. Music: Alan Silvestri Cinematography: Don Burgess and Robert Presley Release date: November 10, 2004 (US) Cast: Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Peter Scolari, Eddie Deezen, Michael Jeter, Leslie Zemeckis, Chantel Valdivieso, Jimmy Bennet, Charles Fleischer, Steven Tyler, Andre Sogliuzzo. Box Office: $189.5M (US)/$318.3M (World)
Rating: ****
All aboard for The Polar Express! Trust me, you’ll want to take this ride. It’s one of the most delightful childhood fantasies to come along in a long time. This wonderful, innovative animated film pulled into theaters around the same time as two thoroughly abysmal Christmas movies, Surviving Christmas and Christmas with the Kranks. The choice for a family outing at the cinema that holiday season was a total no-brainer. The Polar Express is more than just a family movie; it’s a transcendent experience that plays like a child’s dream on the night before Christmas.
A young boy, simply known as Hero Boy (Hanks, Bachelor Party) has reached the age when he begins to question the existence of Santa Claus. He looks through magazines and encyclopedia entries searching for any sort of proof, but all he learns is that no life exists at the North Pole. He goes to bed, but wakes up about an hour later when he hears a strange rumbling in the distance. His whole bedroom starts to shake. He grabs his robe and runs outside just in time to see a mysterious train pull up in front of his house. The conductor (Hanks) steps down and announces that the train is headed to the North Pole, telling the boy his name is on the passenger list. Hero Boy hesitates then jumps on as it’s pulling away.
On the train, he meets Hero Girl (Gaye, Ali) and Know-It-All (Deezen, Midnight Madness). The train stops in front of a rundown house in a poorer part of the town to pick up Billy aka Lonely Boy (Hanks’ Bosom Buddies co-star Scolari). He also hesitates while deciding to climb aboard the train. The starts pulling away and the little boy runs after it. Hero Boys pulls the emergency brake and gets the train to stop so the boy can get on. Billy sits in another car all by himself; the other kids don’t know what to make of this.
The ride to their destination is adventure-filled. The excitement continues when they finally reach the North Pole. It all leads up to meeting a certain red-suited guy who drives a sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer.
The plot’s simplicity is one of the movie’s finer points. There’s no need for anything more complex than what you see here. It’s supposed to be a movie for ALL ages, especially children, and this movie succeeds completely.
The Polar Express uses motion capture computer animation to tell its story. It’s the perfect format for a movie that’s supposed to be dreamlike. The characters look almost completely human, but at the same time, there’s something just a little bit off. In other words, the people look like something out of the pages of a storybook or a dream. I think that’s the point.
The Polar Express contains some of the most impressive sequences I’ve ever seen. The sight of a big train pulling up in front of the house, even though there are no railroad tracks, is awesome. One of the best is when Hero Girl leaves her ticket on her seat as she takes a cup of hot chocolate to Lonely Boy. Hero Boy picks it up and tries to return it to her, but the wind takes it away from him when he tries to go to the next car. The wind blows the ticket all over the place. It resembles the opening sequence of Forrest Gump (remember the feather?) as it blows around outside and eventually finds its way back inside the train for the boy to find.
This is followed by an excursion to the roof of the train where Hero Boy encounters a mysterious hobo (Hanks) who renders assistance before disappearing. The Boy later watches as the engineer and his fireman navigate an ice field that’s about to break and plunge the train into the freezing water unless he gets it back on the tracks. Another incredible sequence is when the waiters bring hot chocolate to the young passengers. They jump and dance like acrobats as they fill the children’s cups with liquid refreshment. It’s a major “WOW!” moment.
All of this looks amazing on a big screen. I’d even The Polar Express is a work of art. The viewer simply can’t take his/her eyes from the screen. There’s a warm fuzzy glow throughout the movie. It’s a far cry from the style of animation used in the old Rankin-Bass Christmas specials- e.g. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Year Without a Santa Claus.
It’s another winner for Robert Zemeckis whose impressive list of credits includes Romancing the Stone, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Contact and the Back to the Future trilogy. He knows how to tap into the inner child in all of us. Watching it, I felt like a 7YO boy watching a TV special before bed on Christmas Eve. It’s been said that it’s the longest night of the year. I certainly thought as a child. It certainly felt that way. The excitement and anticipation of the next morning prevents a child from going to sleep, time slows to a crawl as the child tries to fall asleep. In this movie, time does appear to slow down as the characters make their way to and from the North Pole.
Hanks plays several roles in The Polar Express. In addition to the conductor, hobo and Hero Boy, he also plays Santa Claus and the boy’s father. The animators use his physical appearance as a model for the characters. Young Daryl Sabara (the Spy Kids movies) provides the voice for Hero Boy. It all comes together beautifully.
Beneath the beautiful surface of The Polar Express lies a wonderful message about just believing in things even when logic dictates otherwise. Hero Boy is unsure about the existence of Santa Claus. That’s why he was chosen to take this journey. It’s like some great force knew about the boy’s impending loss of belief which typically precedes the loss of innocence and wonder that only children possess.
The beauty in The Polar Express extends to the young characters and their capacity for compassion. Lonely Boy comes from an unhappy home life and doesn’t believe in much of anything. He isolates himself in another car until Hero Boy and Hero Girl reach out to him in the spirit of friendship. He says that Christmas never works out for him. We assume that means his parents can’t even afford presents for him and he gets nothing. He has to learn to trust other people and just believe everything will work out fine.
There’s something magical about The Polar Express. It’s based on a children’s book written by Chris Van Allsburg. I could easily see it being read to children on Christmas in the same way that Twas the Night Before Christmas has become a tradition in most families. It’s such a nice story and the imagery is beautiful. What dream adventure could be better than a late night train ride to a faraway place to meet the real Santa Claus?
A lot of kids seem to enjoy watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the live-action version) on a non-stop basis each holiday season. Somebody should introduce them to The Polar Express because it’s a much gentler (and more visually attractive) fantasy that exemplifies the true spirit of Christmas. This is the way that I remember my childhood Christmases and even though I may not believe in the same things anymore, The Polar Express makes me stop and think “But what if?” If a movie can achieve that, then I’d say it’s done its job. This is a Christmas movie for children and inner children of all ages.
