Voices of Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, and Jimmy Bennett
Directed by Robert Zemekis
Music by Alan Silvestri; Lyrics by Glen Ballard
We celebrate the holidays this week with musicals and TV specials for the whole family. The book The Polar Express by Chris Van Alsburg originally debuted in 1985. It immediately became a favorite Christmas picture book, due to its soothing story and dreamy winter artwork. It even won the Caldecott Medal for best picture book in 1986.
Hanks had wanted to appear as the conductor and Santa Claus since 1999; Zemekis came on board in 2000. He was the one who insisted on the new motion capture animation technology, claiming that a live-action version would be too expensive. How does the movie look now, after many CGI movies have come and gone? Let's begin in a typical neighborhood in Alsburg's native Grand Rapids, Michigan on a snowy Christmas Eve and find out...
The Story: The Polar Express stops and picks up a boy (Sabara) who is starting to doubt the existence of Santa. The lavish train is taking a group of children to see Santa at the North Pole, including a feisty little girl (Gaye), an obnoxious know-it-all of a boy (Eddie Deezen), and lonely Billy (Bennett). The boy makes sure that the girl has her ticket when she loses it. While following her, he runs across a bum riding on top of the train (Hanks) who helps him get to the engine. She's actually working the engine while the engineers (Michael Jeter) fixes the throttle that slows the train. They almost run into a reindeer and barely avoid plunging into an icy lake.
Even when they arrive at the North Pole, the little boy remains doubtful about Santa's existence. He accidentally uncouples their car, and they end up in Santa's workshop. The kids first have to find their way back to Santa and his elves in the first courtyard. He'll choose the child who will receive the first gift there. It takes a very special gift only he can hear to make the boy understand the importance of believing in the things we can't see.
The Animation: This was the first full movie done in computer motion capture. The train itself, based on a real train housed at Michigan State University, is nearly as much of a character as the kids and conductor. The details on the engine itself and inside the cars, are incredible. You see every bit of chrome and ironwork, every coal in the fire. The North Pole is pretty amazing, too, with its towering brick buildings. It's the humans where this falters. They all look too much alike - even the kids - are way too uncanny, and really lack expression. Even characters who aren't supposed to be creepy, like the children, come off that way.
The Song and Dance: This simple adventure still has a lot going for it. Fans of Hanks will really love this. In addition to the conductor, he's the voice of the bum on top of the train, the Scrooge puppet the boy runs into, the boy as an adult, and Santa. He's believable as every single one, with a totally different voice for each character. Some of the other voices are well-done too. Gaye and Bennett sound wholly believable as kids on their way to an adventure, and Deezen has a few good moments as the obnoxious know-it-all who discovers that there are things even he hasn't learned about yet.
The action sequences are especially well-done. The animation swoops and soars as the train goes out of control and the kid runs along the top of the train with that strange hobo. The scene where they barely make it across that cracking ice really gives you the shivers, it's so realistically cold.
Favorite Number: Our first big number has Hanks and the dining car waiters and chefs bringing the kids "Hot Chocolate." Their ode to that favorite warming beverage turns into a rollicking dance routine with the waiters dancing on makeshift "tables" and soaring around brass hot drinks machines. Hanks also performs the title song as the little boy comes on the train. Billy and the little girl sing about what they think will happen "When Christmas Comes to Town" in their touching number on the observation car before they arrive at the North Pole. "Spirit of the Season" and "Seeing Is Believing" are huge largely instrumental chorus numbers for the elves as they dance, do acrobatics, and prepare for Santa's arrival in the square. Stephen Tyler and a band of hard rock elves party on after Santa leaves with "Rockin' on Top of the World."
The big number here is the credits song, "Believe," performed by Josh Grogan. It was a fair-sized hit in late 2004 and would be nominated for an Oscar in 2005. It still turns up on the radio from time to time during the holiday season, despite it really being rather syrupy, even for Christmas fare.
Trivia: Final film of stage actor Michael Jeter.
The Polar Express is based on a real train, the Pere Marquette 1225, which was on display at Michigan State University.
Many of the buildings seen in the film are based after real ones in Grand Rapids, including homes, the massive station at the North Pole, and a department store that the Express passes.
What I Don't Like: Unlike the book, which was largely dreamy without being too frightening, this one can be plain scary in some places. The train car full of marionettes, including the Scrooge puppet, is downright creepy, as is the entire deal with the hobo. The motion capture animation did great with the train and the backgrounds, but they still had a hard time with accurately depicting human emotions. Most of the humans move stiffly and have little expression. There's also a ton of padding in the middle and end of the film. The book is pretty much the train leaving and arriving at the North Pole. Though the action scenes are well done, they also feel out of place with some of the quieter sequences.
The Big Finale: The uncanny valley animation and some of the noisier action scenes makes this most appropriate for older elementary school and pre-teen fantasy lovers who are just starting to have their own doubts about Santa.
Home Media: As one of the most popular Christmas films of the last 20 years or so, this is easily found in every format.
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