The bell that jingles

Rating: 5/10 (13 December 2015)

The Polar Express starts out about a boy who does not believe in Santa Clause now he has become older. The magic of Christmas is receding. However a train The Polar Express arrives at night and the train conductor (Tom Hanks) invites the boy to hop in where he sees other kids on the way to the North Pole. The final stop sees a reluctant boy boarding the train who sits alone in a carriage. The kids on the train are a diverse bunch such as a know it all, a loner etc.
Every now and then the conductor arrives asking to see the tickets and fretting about getting to the destination on time. On the way there are a series of adventures and sequences such as a ticket getting lost, waiters arriving to serve hot drinks and a hobo on top of the train.
When the train arrives at the North Pole we see elves getting the presents ready for Christmas and then Santa makes an entrance where the boy receives a bell from Santa.
The film directed by Robert Zemeckis is the first full length performance capture movie however the technology did not look as advanced in places. The characters look a little unreal especially with the dead eyes.
However there are some breathtaking CGI scenes on the train along the journey such as the dancing waiters and when the ticket floats away. However subsequent scenes filed to hold sway as I felt it was there to show off the CGI than serve the story.
That is the trouble, it looks very padded as if a short story was being adapted for a full length film. I watched this with my son who was disinterested mainly because he had seen the film before. It had no re-watch value for him.