It bears repetition, repetition, repetition

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2005)

My six year old son saw this movie last year and has wanted it on DVD ever since. Today, being Christmas, he got it and stayed up until midnight to watch the whole thing. I've never seen him last past 10:30 PM before.
The sheer joy he got from this movie was an unqualified pleasure to behold. But what's more, I was surprised to find myself drawn in - craning my neck to see the TV screen as it played at the other side of the room. Usually I sit at my computer rather than actually watching the TV. This way I'm with the family, can hear the dialog, participate in any conversations, but still do what I need to do.
Anyway, The Polar Express is an engaging movie and a very welcome alternative to the usual fare around here of Bionicle, Barney, spider man, rubberdubbers, rollie pollie ollie, and many others. I single out Polar Express because as most parents know very well, children will latch onto a book, song, or movie and play it incessantly - until they know the dialog by rote memory. Repetition is important to learning - especially with young minds, so it isn't to be discouraged, however this doesn't change the fact that you, as a parent, can find yourself clinging desperately to the last threads of sanity you possess.
Occasionally a movie comes along that bears repetition. They are few and far between. I believe The Polar Express is one such movie. Your kids can play it over and over again and it won't drive you nuts. Such movies can get boring and even irritating, but not to the extent that you start thinking about how to bury the body of a purple dinosaur and get away with it.. A few other great kids'/teens' movies that come to mind (for me anyway) are Chicken Run, the Toy Stories, the Shreks, the Lion Kings, Nemo, and anything with Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, or Harrison Ford. Ones that definitely don't make my list are Madagascar, movies with guys disguised as women (this is so over done, and yes, Robin did Doubtfire but the same rules don't apply to him), movies with gang members in conflict over petty issues, superheroes (heroism is born of strong character yet humble means -invisibility and endless strength are hardly humble), and older cartoons - the likes of Woody Woodpecker that often championed unprovoked violence against an innocent bystander.
Enough said. See Polar Express and decide for yourself.