Director Robert Zemeckis adds song, dance, the most up-to-date animation and Tom Hanks to Chris Van Allsburg’s classic holiday story, “The Polar Express.”
The result is an enjoyable holiday movie that effectively brings the classic to the big screen.
The children’s favorite, first published in 1985, tells the story of a young boy’s struggle to believe in what he cannot see — the spirit of Christmas.
Prior to the movie’s release, many people wondered if the the big screen would tarnish the book’s beautiful illustrations and universal lessons.
But Zemeckis’ animation, which uses technology called “performance capture,” creates astonishingly realistic and breathtaking backdrops.
On the way to the North Pole, as the train races through sparkling mountain tops and adrenaline raising waterfalls, viewers will easily forget that the landscape is just animation.
The human performance animation also is impressive although not entirely convincing.
The conductor, played by Hanks, looks exactly like the actor but lacks some of the continuity and effortlessness of real-life human motion.
In one scene, the children on the train are served hot chocolate by a team of waiters who can’t help but sing, tumble and dance down the aisle (imagine “Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and the Beast”).
This scene captures the cheer of most children’s movies, but the new animation adds energy as the dancers nearly backflip off the screen.
Considering that the book is only 32 pages, the creators extended the storyline and characters for the movie liberally. The movie includes extensive obstacles on the train and at the North Pole that prevent the children from seeing Santa Claus early in the movie. Along with a wise, but funny wanderer, also played by Hanks, Zemeckis gives the hero three friends — each of whom has an “inner journey.”
Though intended to be a children’s story, “The Polar Express” showcases warm and fuzzy lessons with incredible artwork that can bring holiday cheer to children and adults of all ages.
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