"The Polar Express" offers life lessons to children and adults alike, wrapped in a Christmas story, but the Christmas clich?s ultimately make the movie falter.
Director Robert Zemeckis takes filmmaking to the next level with "The Polar Express." Based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, it is the first feature to use a process called performance capture for the entire film. This process requires an actor's performance to be shot by computerized cameras to create virtual characters. As a result, body movements and facial expressions are more realistic.
The story begins with a boy (voiced by Daryl Sabara) lying in bed eagerly waiting for Santa Claus. He is at a point where he's in between believing and not believing in St. Nick, and it looks like he's leaning toward the latter.
Suddenly, the boy, known as "Hero Boy," hears a loud whistle blowing. He peers through the window to see a huge train in front of his house. Once he gets outside, the conductor invites him to come aboard their journey to the North Pole. Onboard, the boy meets other kids and he encounters strange things as the train moves forward to their destination.
Three others join the boy along the way. There's Hero Girl (Nora Gaye), who is very talented but lacks the confidence to be a leader, Know-it-All Boy (Eddie Deezen), who is smart but thinks he knows more than he actually does, and Lonely Boy (Peter Scolari), who is very shy and keeps to himself.
Tom Hanks, who worked with Zemeckis in films such as "Forrest Gump" and "Cast Away," lends his voice not only as the Conductor, but five other characters. He gives great performances in all these roles.
The real power of "The Polar Express" comes from two things. One is a child's belief in things he can't see. The movie makes a point to show that children must have faith. The second is that the journey to the North Pole provides much of the adventure and mystery.
The storyline climaxes when they get to their destination. From that point on, it becomes a regular Christmas story, filled with a montage of songs and a heavy emphasis on toys. While Christmas is an important part, it is more of a way to fill up screen time. This sequence should have been cut.
Also, what was Steven Tyler of Aerosmith doing in this movie? He played an elf lieutenant and sang. Celebrity cameos in a Christmas movie definitely lessens the quality of the movie, and his appearance did just that. However, all of this can be overlooked by how visually sharp and real "The Polar Express" is. It represents a new wave of motion pictures that utilizes computer-generated imagery technology to create more realistic characters.
"The Polar Express" is, at first glance, a holiday film, but to appreciate it more, you need to get passed its bright lights and look at it as a universal story - one that tells the audience it is never too late to believe.
