It Just Keeps Getting Better

Rating: 9/10 (29 November 2005)

"Wow!"
I found myself saying this over and over as I watched this movie on DVD went it came out just before Thanksgiving of 2005. It continually amazes me how far computer animation has come in the last decade. Each time I think I've seen the most beautiful or amazing artwork, something better - like this - comes along. I couldn't believe how good this looked on my flat-screen TV. I can't imagine how good it must appear on an expensive plasma television.
The visuals are just stunning, scene after scene. The sound ain't bad, either! Those not playing this on a surround system are missing an integral part of this movie and a lot of fun. The roar of train as it comes and goes, for one example, is awesome.
The story is very simple but yet entertains all the way with some very adventurous scenes. There are a couple of roller coaster-type scenes which were especially fun, and actually thrilling. Normally, 100 minutes is a bit long for me to sit through an animated film but this was filled with so many amazing sights and fun action scenes that time was no problem.
The only drawback I found were the kids in the story. Most of them were not anyone you could really warm up to, except for the girl and she was so overtly politically correct it was sickening and an insult to anyone's intelligence. A black girl was NOT in the book but the typically-Liberal filmmakers not only change that character but make her the only one in the film with absolutely nothing wrong with her. She's so sweet she makes Mother Teresa sound like The Grinch. None of the kids in the film, however, were brats or annoying. The only funny kid was the nerd, of course.
PC baloney aside, this was fabulous entertainment. Tom Hanks did a great job voicing over five characters and I've just simply never a better-looking film than this.