Born a classic

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2010)

When this film came out 6 years ago, I went to the cinema for it. I was invited by a family member who wanted to watch it. It took me a while to make up my mind, as I was less than convinced about it. For me it didn't seem to be especially promising. I eventually agreed to give it a try.
Well, both me and this family member of mine adored 'The Polar Express'. I still remember as if it was yesterday how it blew up my mind and my impression hasn't changed with time. Even at the very first time I saw it, I already had the perception that it was gonna be a classic. Or, more appropriately, it was already born a classic.
There are a lot of things to enjoy. It brings fond memories of childhood's Christmases, when we were innocent, ignorant and happy and when Christmas was really Christmas. The graphics are really cool and admirably realistic. Everything looks surprisingly real (the characters, the amazing sceneries and settings). There are lovely Christmas carols, good characters, a nice story that is also a quest to the real meaning of Christmas, magic, colorful special effects, charm...
I am somehow thirsty for adventure films, so the fact that this one has exciting scenes with loud and jaw-dropping roller-coaster effects is fine for me and I welcome that.
Tom Hanks often portrays irritating characters, which harms my impression on him, making me avoid movies with *that* actor. That's the price to pay for this strong reputation of his. But in "The Polar Express" that's another ball game. The fact that his participation is vocal helps, but it also helps that he doesn't portray any annoying characters.
Most Christmas movies are silly and annoying for me, even though I like Christmas (well, I used to). But still there are exceptions and 'The Polar Express' is one of them. It is one of the very few Christmas movies that really deserve to be called a holiday classic and one of the only with dignity.
One of the things which this movie disappoints is the Big Man. He doesn't look too bad, but he looks a little phony. Also, there is a line that bothers me a bit: when the Conductor says «One thing about trains, you know. It doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is to decide to get on». I'm sure that his intentions are good, but filmmakers should be careful with the way these "messages" are transmitted. They can be badly misunderstood by kids and lead them to very serious trouble and disastrous consequences. Aside these two things, only a few minor cheesy scenes but nothing enough to harm my positive impression on it.
Title in Portugal: 'Polar Express'.