New Animation Technology Overshadows Story

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2004)

How do you adapt a 15 page children's book into a two-hour movie? You are going to have to stretch some parts and take liberties at others. The problem with adapting such a beloved book is that some people may have problems with liberties such as adding characters and dance sequences. With The Polar Express, Robert Zemecks and Tom Hanks, a dream team of sorts, do just this. Maybe their intention had nothing to do with bringing this magical book to life but was more about breaking boundaries with new animation. Because of this, they found it easier to add what they liked here and there because, after all, it's not hard to add anything from a shadow to a person with the new technology they employed for the film.
The book tells the tale of a boy who has lost his Christmas spirit. On Christmas Eve, he boards the Polar Express when it pulls in front of his house. The train takes its passengers (all children) to the North Pole for the first gift of Christmas to be given by Santa to a lucky one of them. The film stays true to each of these aspects, but if it were to have only this, the film would be over in thirty minutes. So, a couple of side characters are invented. There is young black girl, a know-it-all boy, a boy who won't sit with the others, and hobo who is as mysterious as the Christmas spirit. Some of their adventures are cute and add to the story. There is a wonderful scene where the main character climbs on top of the train and meets the hobo. Of course, there are other parts that could have been revised. When the train skids across ice, the two main characters have to stop the train and even though the girl has been told which is the brake, they second guess things for a while culminating in a cringe-worthy gesture by the little girl; she quickly gives up and buries her face in her hands.
The animation has been what's driven the buzz for The Polar Express. It's the latest form of motion capture, first used for Gullom in The Lord Of The Rings. The performance by Tom Hanks as the conductor (or one of his other six roles) is done by Hanks himself and then, using CGI, is animated and blended with the completely computer generated background. It is because of this that Hanks is capable of playing more than one character. There are many moments where he is the only actor in the scene although there are many characters. Some of his performances are recognizably him, such as the conductor or the hobo to a lesser extent. Others show the magic behind Hanks and the technology. He plays the main character without a trace of himself.
There are down sides to the animation too. The people have an unnatural air about them. Perhaps it's the eyes, which are the only part of a performance that cannot be captured by the motion capture system. The eye is often the entirety of a performance in some scenes and is also often said to be a window to the soul. Without "souls" the characters are lifeless. Although the images from the movie are able to sometimes almost able to mirror those from the book, the effect it has on the people is still problematic. ***/*****