a little like the Wizard of Oz

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 2004)

Going to see The Polar Express might be a nice way to escape any holiday blues you could be suffering from. If you don't go to movies much, you will be amazed at how far computer animation has progressed. During a good portion of the movie, I sat mesmerized by all the life like snow, animals, machinery and, of course, characters, all of whom, except Santa himself, appeared as one would expect for a movie of this genre. Otherwise, expect a rather weak story with predictable dialogue and a pretty heavy dose of morality thrown in just in case you were contemplating being a bad boy or girl this season.
A trip to the north pole, heh? Substitute "Oz" for "the North Pole" , and "The Wizard" for "Santa" and what have you got? No, on second thoughts, don't even try to compare this movie to the Wizard of Oz, which was far more entertaining in every respect - story line, character development, music and last but not least -drama/suspense. (Yes, anyone who has reservations about taking their 4 year old to see "The Polar Express" should remember how scary the Wizard of Oz was.). Anyway, I was amused when the train got to the North Pole to hear music that sounded suspiciously like the music that plays when Dorothy first arrives in Oz. Look closely and you will find many other parallels, especially towards the end of the movie. But despite the breakneck animation and train misadventures through snow and ice, Dorothy's journey down the yellow brick road was far more harrowing. All of this was made possibly by Dorothy's misdeed - killing the Wicked Witch of the East, which hung a death sentence around her neck.
No death sentence hung around the neck of our hero in "The Polar Express", though, who's only crime was not believing. And he was just one of many - who knows why the other kids were on board. I guess to me thats were the story line kind of faltered, in that it gave insufficient cause for these kids to be getting bused to the North Pole in the first place. Without that, all of the misadventures and morality lessons they encountered along the way seemed a bit contrived.
Which is not to say I didn't enjoy the movie. I did, but my expectations have been lowered substantially over the years. What I regret most of all in movies these days is the way that gimmicks and high tech action have replaced real suspense and drama that develops naturally from the story line itself. I was happy not to see sea monsters snapping at the train in "The Polar Express", so I should give the director some credit for showing restraint there. Still, the movie in my opinion needed a convincing story outside of the dream - one to lend urgency to the train ride and likewise make the return home more meaningful. With that, I would have given it two thumbs up.