Graphical movie. That's it.

Rating: 6/10 (11 August 2005)

I didn't like the movie. It doesn't really make me feel Christmasy, nor does it have fantastic animation. The 3D characters have faces emulated after the main actors, probably the movements are also made by a face mesh that translates real actor facial expressions. So, the only things that remain to be appreciated are the story and the non-character graphics.
The plot is one of those "Seems dangerous, but it's marvelous, so it's OK" stories. The things that happen don't really make any sense and everything seems not to have any purpose at all. In the end the children do get to the North Pole, but it is nothing compared with what happened in the train. So the movie is about the journey, not the end.
Maybe it's me, but I was bored throughout the movie, and so was my wife. I watched the last half by myself. The musical bits with the dances couldn't have been more out of place. So, no, it's not a good movie. Even for the children.