A Bit Underwhelming (Dang it!)

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2004)

Well, the website hooked me...I could hardly wait to take my kids (13,11,8) to see what I was sure would be a definitive Christmas classic. But it didn't live up to my high expectations.
Phenomenal Visuals....and how...
But the movie was too dark in a few places, notably when the old toy's seemed to envelope the boy in the passenger car. My youngest covered his eyes at this point, and did so again during at least one of the 'roller coaster' segments to follow.
The North Pole 'payoff' wasn't enough either...Santa's 'workshops' looked like industrial scenes from a Batman movie, the elves seemed like they were given a personality by someone not that familiar with Christmas, and Santa himself was a bit benign, and certainly didn't have ANY twinkle in his eye...(The fluorescent whip was a little over the top as well).
Aerosmith playing at the end, and the whole sock-hop atmosphere of celebration just wasn't that fulfilling...and seemed really out of place..
I dunno....I'm hoping some talented director someday takes a peek at the George Hinke artwork in the old "IDEALS" magazines of the '50s....and see what Jolly Old Santa Claus was 'really' like without any camp values force-fed...
That being said, the theater did break into applause twice, and my youngest two indicated they really enjoyed the movie. There has been no request to see it again, like the Grinch...rather, as the Holiday season starts, they want to go see the 'Incredibles'...
...pity...I think this was, to a certain extent, a missed opportunity.