The Polar Express
Published December 06, 2004
Meeting Santa (voiced, like a majority of characters in the film, by Tom Hanks) is a sad, sad climax. First off, Tom Hanks IS a phenomenal actor, and as several of the other characters in The Polar Express he does fairly well, but his portrayal of old Saint Nick is quite frankly pathetic. He merely lowers his normal voice as if reading half-asleep from a storybook and brings no dimension whatsoever to the surprisingly svelte Santa. Not only is Santa depicted as nontraditionally slim, but he's also far from "a right jolly old elf" being stoic and hardly ever cracking a smile. Of course, part of the disappointment I felt with regard to Hanks' performance could stem largely from the fact that this was the nth time I was hearing his voice emanating from yet another character. WHY was he cast in so many roles? Oh, and WHY is there a Steven Tyler elf?
Eddie Deezen is a good character voice-over actor, but is painfully miscast in this film as a child simply known as "Know-It-All." If the sterile CGI animation of his character's mouth wasn't distancing enough, the moment his voice pours out of it creates an immediate barrier to accepting the character as a child. The writing doesn't help any, either; kids in The Polar Express talk like adults writing for kids.
When the main character receives the aforementioned bell at the end of the film, it's wrapped in the same manner as the "last" present seen earlier at the North Pole. So are we supposed to believe that Santa found the bell on the seat of his sleigh and then went back to the North Pole to get it wrapped? The film asks us to believe in a lot of things, but it doesn't make it easy with slip-ups like this.
While the thrilling elements help to create a real "adventure" in traveling to the North Pole, the trip hardly seems worthwhile. While The Polar Express is not a complete waste of time, I choose not to spend any of my remaining time on this Earth sitting through it again. The success of any good Christmas story lies in how much "heart" the film has. The "heart" in The Polar Express ends up being much like the film's CGI humans: you get rare glimpses of an honest "realness" from time to time but mostly you're in for long stretches of meticulously crafted yet obviously fake simulation. For a better Christmas movie with honest heart, why not check out Elf or, once the kids are away, Bad Santa.
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- The Polar Express
- Published: December 06, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Adventure, Video: Animation, Video: Family, Video: Fantasy
- Writer: Sombrero Grande
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The only truly bad thing about this movie was the voice of the know-it-all kid, who my son identified as Mandark from the Dexter's Lab cartoon. Mandark is supposed to be annoying, in no small part due to that voice. The kid in Polar Express is also annoying, and didn't really need to be there. Other than that, good grief, Sombrero. This is a kid movie, as susie reminds you (#1). It was such a nice break from the usual kid's fare. In fact, before the movie started, four or five previews of upcoming attractions were shown, and every one of them --- EVERY ONE OF THEM --- involved people getting konked in the head, falling, and various other ridiculously over the top slapstick nonsense. These movies are full of wiseasses and cynicism. It was so refreshing to see a kid's movie where kids actually treat each other nicely. My 9-year-old son loved it, too.
And I thought Santa was just fine. He radiated wisdom, whereas you were expecting a bowl full of jelly, I guess. Well, it all depends on what you want from a Santa.
I am a big fan of the Polar Express. The book shows the true meaning of Christmas and reminds you of how you used to believe in fantastic icons. Tom Hanks perfomance is acceptable despite his earlier work (Forrest Gump, etc) and the animation is interesting, but probably the most interesting thing about the whole movie is the art concepts. I would suggest this movie to anyone who likes art and trains. If you are looking for a place to look, not necessarily buy, the best images inspired by the Polar Express, I suggest you go to my web site www.graffitiusa.com I got some pictures of trains that are spectacular there.
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within " is the best 3D graphic film ever. Sublime scene! The cartoon effect is lifelike. The story line is superb, the heroine is very beautiful.
In this film, I love the people's sensation and scene.
With the great imagination.
this movie sucked balls
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well why i agree with alot of your points, bad animation and an emotionly unavailable santa, i liked the movie for the most part. a wonderful life is in black and white but i still watch that. its all about a christmas movie the family can share. doesnt have to be a classic doesnt have to win an oscar, as long as brings you together one night. the main thing i didnt like and it may because i had to get up several times are the loose ends. why were the tickets stamped differently? why was that guy on top the train? oh and by the way... its a KIDS movie. if you dont like children rent it on dvd because theres not a child in the world who can be quiet for an hour and a half straight.thats why theyre children, theyre still learning. i know for a fact im not keeping my kids away from a movie geared for them because some grumpy guy gets annoyed when they get excited.