Based on a short (32 pages), illustrated children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, directed by Robert Zemeckis, the guy behind such creative hits as Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, and Contact, all of them filled with fascinating characters and jnique sights for the eye, had a bit of a misfire with 2004’s Polar Express.
Perhaps emboldened by the creative success of his previous projects, Zemeckis took what had been a sweet, uncomplicated story and turned it into an overdone confection. The director seems so concerned with creating visual effects, that the characters get lost somewhere along the way. The Polar Express is the first film Robert Zemeckis attempted using motion capture. The results are a mixed bag. The scenery and surroundings are beautiful, imaginatively rendered in every detail, and from what I can tell, the animation does a good job capturing the look and feel of the paintings in Van Allsburg’s book. Unfortunately, the people who inhabit this lovely world look artificial in a very creepy way.
Motion capture requires that live actors perform their roles, and then computer animation is used to duplicate their actions. I’m always left wondering, if live actors perform the parts, why not make it a live-action movie? Is the mere act of watching drawings instead of real people make us believe all the more in a film’s make-believe? I’m not necessarily sold on the idea, but if it works for some viewers, than it’s worth something.
The meager plot of The Polar Express concerns a young boy at an age where he is beginning to lose his faith in Santa Clause and the magic of Christmas. It is at this crucial time in his life that the Polar Express shows up at his doorstep one Christmas Eve to convince him there really is a Santa. Other children of a similar age and with similar feelings of disbelief fill the train. From here, the movie presents a heartwarming and moving fable of regaining (or retaining) one’s faith in the Christmas spirit, as the boy learns to be kind to other people and to never lose his power of imagination. Just the kind of story most of us like to watch during the Christmas season.
Tom Hanks is the main attraction of The Polar Express. An accomplished actor, Hanks aptly voices most of the main characters. Among others, Hanks provides the voices for the hero’s father, the train conductor, a mysterious hobo, and Santa himself. Because Hanks has such a likable persona, having him voice so many characters gives the film a feeling of a bedtime story; Hanks is the storyteller, bringing us all back to the simpler times of our childhoods.
The other characters are well voiced too. A little girl that the boy befriends is played by Nona Gaye; the boy’s sister and mother are played by Leslie Zemeckis; a shy, lonely boy is played by Peter Scolari; and b a know-it-all kid is played by Eddie Deezen. You’ll recognize Deezen’s distinctive voice instantly from things like 1941 and WarGames. He is the most unique and entertaining voice of all the characters in the movie.
The action of the story takes places almost entirely on the train and at the North Pole in a series of short episodes. These brief segments involve the boy in various encounters and adventures, none of which are particularly involving because of their brevity. After a slow start, the episodes begin to come along quickly, and it’s shortly afterwards that we realize there’s not going to be much more to it than that; nothing lasts long enough to develop much tension, and there aren’t many clear transitions between events to sustain an engrossing story line. But again, when your turning a 32-page book into a 100 minute film, events are bound to be a bit short and fast.
The only thing that doesn’t work, despite being a moderately entertaining segment, is the film’s one musical number, “Hot Chocolate.” It’s catchy enough, and a well-animated bit of choreography, but it stands out dramatically, in an otherwise singing-free affair. That’s part of the appeal of the movie, as it blends the heart-felt sentimentality you want from a Christmas film, with the high-energy adrenaline of an action movie to keep everyone entertained.
While The Polar Express isn’t perfect and some events happen at a manic phase, the film is still a highly enjoyable story for the whole family to enjoy during the Christmas season.
The video presentation is nearly flawless. The engineers have retained the movie’s 2.40:1 screen dimensions in an anamorphic transfer. A high bit rate ensures a clean, clear picture quality with nary a digital artifact in sight. Colors are quite natural, rich and lush, with black levels intense enough to showcase the other hues and enhance overall definition. No grain, no haloes, almost no moiré effects; beautiful to look at.
It’s hard to judge the quality of a 3-D film, mainly because it seems to rely so much on who’s watching and what conditions you’re watching in. The 3-D effects in this film, on a whole, are decently delivered, but not of the “hey look at this” variety, while the consistency of the image leaves something to be desired. Part of the problem seems to be the color scheme, as colder scenes, those displayed mainly in blue, look amazing (the roller-coaster train portion of the film is outstanding, for example.) Other scenes, like the North Pole scenes, are rather bland, with the layers of color sitting far too separate, resulting in a fuzzy image. Either way, it was hard to sit through the entire film this way, as the eye strain was just too great. There are no issues with dirt, damage or compression artifacts.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio delivers the same presentation as the original release, and is fantastic, utilizing the full sound-field in the room to really sell the story. When the Polar Express first arrives, it’s like standing at the station, thanks to a bold, enveloping mix that’s strong and clear. The same kudos can be applied to the less obvious dialogue and sound effects, as well as the touching score, which really just epitomizes what a sweet, traditional Christmas should sound like.
There are really no special features. There are only a few trailers, and a copy of the film in 2D as well as 3D.
