'The Polar Express' - A Movie Review

I have an idea. Let’s catch a ride to the north pole on the Polar Express!

The Polar Express rode into theaters in 2004. Based on the children’s story of the same name, a young boy boards a magical train on the night of Christmas Eve. A night of adventures and Christmas miracles happen on this journey.

I will never forget the day I saw The Polar Express for the first time. The Polar Express is a wonderful film that captures a beautiful story for all ages. However, while the film breathes an important message about Christmas spirit, does it lack in the story due to moments of filler based on a famous children’s story?

Friendship is an important theme. You never know how long you may know someone whether it is just one evening. One of my favorite aspects of The Polar Express is the interactions between the three children. It’s also a good lesson for child audiences that boys and girls can just be friends.

Subtly is mastered in The Polar Express. The three main characters have distinct goals they’re trying to understand throughout the film, only they never admit them. I like the growth of the characters and even how they develop a new sense of understanding about themselves.

Voice talents include Daryl Sabera, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, Eddie Deezan, Tom Hanks, Andre Sogliuzzo, and the final film of Micheal Jeter, an amazing character actor. Tom Hanks excels in his performance as the conductor and a few other characters! He is one of my favorite parts of this movie. His hot chocolate song is a fun dance number.

When I first saw The Polar Express in theaters I was marveled by the outstanding 3D cinematography. The Polar Express is the first all digital-capture film as mentioned in the 2006 edition of Guinness Book of World Records. Not only did actors provide voices but a different set of actors performed the motions that we see on the screen.

Now that I watch The Polar Express I feel that it is a movie more about experimenting on cinematography than the story. At times, scenes are drawn out. And the lack of emotional expressions of the kids faces is distracting. The film could have been shorter, save moments of pure cinematography such as the train riding through the night, the dazzling north pole, and the gorgeous snowy mountains.

The cinematography took away from the story delivering scenes of filler that didn’t have much to do with the film. For example, the scene where we follow an abandoned ticket for a long amount of time doesn’t take the story anywhere other than marveling at audiences.

And then when the train finally shows up the north pole, the story is expanded yet again with the kids going off on an adventure around Santa’s workshop and even a suspenseful scene balancing over slippery train tracks trying to locate the sound of a ringing bell. These scenes are entertaining and expand more of the message from the book.

Robert Zemeckis did an excellent job recreating a popular children’s Christmas story. He made changes without cutting any of the important moments. Making a children’s story into a full-length movie is tough because at the same time you don’t have much to work on. The movie is still a great adventure learning about lessons of hope and learning about the true meaning of Christmas.

The Polar Express is a magical and endearing tale capturing the essence of childhood. The soundtrack is one of the most beautiful themes that I always hum along to. Sit down with your family and watch this heartwarming tale.