A Storybook Comes Alive

Rating: Null/10 (28 November 2004)

What a wonderful film! Having seen this in all it's IMAX 3-D glory, it is hard to imagine how this film would play out in plain ol'2-D. I assume that most everybody know the story: kid is just at that age where he's pretty sure Santa is an elaborate deception, yet his little sister and presumably some of his friends haven't yet stopped believing. Kid spends Christmas Eve on a magical train and encounters all sorts of characters and experiences which ultimately reaffirm the power of friendship, innocence, and faith.
Now you've seen these themes explored before: Miracle on 34th St, A Christmas Carol, even E.T. However, The Polar Express manages to approach its subject with so much energy, freshness, and wide-eye fascination, that you will find yourself wishing you were eight years old again, climbing aboard that powerful locomotive along with Hero Boy, if only for a couple of hours.
A word or two about the animation. It is truly amazing, creating an almost dream-like quality that, will have you examining every aspect of a scene: the reflections on the windows in the passenger cars, the steamy breath of a young boy waiting in the snow, the brown bubbling of a mug of hot chocolate, etc. This effect is unlike anything that I've seen, and in it's own way rivals the painstaking composition and attention to visual detail you'll find in a Franco Zeffirelli production (or in a more whimsical fashion, Fellini!)
This film is not doing well commercially. Partly it is due to production costs, partly because of poor marketing decisions. Perhaps it is also because the film lacks the ambiguity, relativism, and "edginess" that seem so prevalent in popular entertainment. In the IMAX theatre that this film was playing, the performances have been consistently sold out. The audience consisted of parents and their young (five to eleven-ish) children, teenagers, and aging baby boomers, like yours truly. I was expecting the worst experience: crying toddlers, wisecracking teens, and bored, restless adults. I was shocked at what I experienced. Although the crowd was a bit skeptical at first, within 20minutes the audience became completely captivated by the film and I swear there were tears on not a few cheeks by the time the credits were rolling.
So do yourself and somebody you love a favor and take them to see The Polar Express (IMAX 3-D!!!). You will believe again.