High Art Aimed at a Young Audience

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2006)

Christmas time is here. It's a time of Joy and maybe even a little pain. It's that special time every year I give the cynic in me a little time off. It's also the time I let myself get pulled into the movies of the season. I'm not talking about the fodder for Oscar that permeate this time, or the stupid little comedies created to play off these high class art. I'm talking about those movies about Christmas, the really engage and audience. Films like IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, A Christmas STORY, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, or MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS. Films that on the surface are a little schmaltzy and silly, but have so much heart I can't stand to be pulled in.
THE POLAR EXPRESS follows the adventure of a young boy whom has lost his faith in Santa. He muses the question any growing boy would ask "Does Santa exist?" When a mysterious train appears on his front lawn on Christmas Eve it whisks him away on an adventure that could take him to meet the big man himself. Was it a dream? Does Santa really exist? All these question will be answered in 90 minutes
Christmas has a new movie: THE POLAR EXPRESS. A film so sweet, and breathtaking it's hard as a critic to shower it with negatives. Of course I could I could tell you there are moments when the films momentum screeches to a halt, the ending goes on forever, and the tone of the movie is a little to sweet for its own good. I also thought the needless cameo by Steven Tyler completely dragged me out of the film. "Oh look it's the guy from Areosmith," I mused. It took me out of the film for a moment because I thought I was in a much cheaper film. But I will not acknowledge those small trifles anymore.
This film is breathtaking. It's one fueled entirely by imagination. The new computer imaging effects do a great job of conveying a magical aura, without drawing us into reality. I don't believe we'll ever get to the point where a computer generated person will look human, (and that's just fine with me.) Had the creator's of the Polar Express tried to do that it would have destroyed the look of the film. But the characters odd movements, and almost human emotions strike the right chords.
I loved the dancing chef's And waiter's sequence on THE POLAR EXPRESS. It was silly and so full of life. I wondered if they had tried to shoot this film in live action (without green screens and body suits) what would this sequence look like. My thought: Bad Broadway. But the CGI characters could fly through the air, do difficult physical stunts and all without the scene feeling choppy. This is the first big sequence and it sets you up for the even more amazing wonders to come.
The Polar Express also takes us on an adventure in speed over and icy lake, down the steepest hill imaginable, and introduces us to characters that are both vibrant and fun. Tom Hanks fills at least 5 roles, and gives each one their own aura. I especially loved the vagrant Hurdy Gurdy man whom appears and disappears to help out the young hero. The scene on ski's I really don't want to ruin it for you.
THE POLAR EXPRESS is high art aimed at a young audience. If you have a heart of stone, I wouldn't recommend you waste your money here. But if you like to be whisked away to far off lands, if you have a place in your heart for Christmas, give THE POLAR EXPRESS a try. It's so much fun.