The Polar Express

Reel Critic Grade: A Running Time: 100 minutes Rated: G

Year after year we watch and listen to the same Christmas “Classics”; It’s a Wonderful Life, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Deck the Halls, White Christmas, etc… The nostalgia and tradition that accompany these once-a-year friends is magical. But, why haven’t any modern classics been created? Is today’s artist less talented than those of old? Hardly. Yet, it’s been longer than I can remember that a new film or song has had the chops to share the stage with those we hold as standards — until now. With The Polar Express, director Robert Zemeckis has gift-wrapped a modern Christmas classic that we’ll enjoy opening again and again and again.

The Polar Express is like no other film created to date. It used newly developed Motion-Capture technology to breathe life into the animated characters. Each actor wore a special suit fitted with sensors, then acted out the movements and mannerisms of the characters in the film. The information was captured by computer and employed to add realism to the animation process. Motion-Capture, combined with highly creative direction and stunning computerized graphics, give this film a look that will tantalize the senses.

The story follows a young boy (known only as Hero Boy) on Christmas Eve, who straddles the tracks in his belief in Santa Claus. His lack of certainty and some suggestive talk by his parents before he drifts off to sleep, give him a ticket to ride The Polar Express. This is a magic train, whose purpose is to ferry border-line Santa fans and discarded toys to the North Pole. It’s an old-style coal train, with a lively Conductor, a Cirque du Soleil-style kitchen staff, a pair of backwoods and backwards Engineers and a mysterious Hobo who disappears like grains of sugar in the wind.

On the train, Hero Boy meets other pajama-clad tikes who, like himself, have doubts about December 25th. There is the friendly Hero Girl, the annoying Know-It-All, and the down-trodden Lonely Boy (why they chose not to give them names, I’ll never know). Like the characters in The Wizard of Oz, each one has a personal issue to work through in addition to their common wavering on Kris Kringle’s existence. These deficiencies add depth to each character and fuel to drive the plot forward. Together, these young hearts embark on a harrowing journey that will challenge who they are and what they believe.

Talking about the actors and their performances is a challenge in this film. The roles are broken up into two categories; body movement performers and voice performers. Tom Hanks was the star of the film, performing body movement for Hero Boy, his Father, the conductor, the Hobo, a marionette version of Scrooge, and Santa.

He also did the voice work for all but Hero Boy, who was voiced by Daryl Sabara. Hero Girl’s body movement and voice was done by Nona Gaye. Know-It-All was performed entirely by Eddie Deezen. And Lonely Boy was voiced by Jimmy Bennett, with body movement by Peter Scolari. All the performances were well done. Hank’s multiple roles were a little distracting at times, since his voice and mannerisms are so unique, but, I suppose, it fit the story in that Hero Boy would likely place his father in many of the lead male roles. Performance props must also be given to the animation team, who combined the amazing technology into the masterpiece we see on screen.

The film was adapted by William Boyles Jr. (Cast Away, Apollo 13, Unfaithful) and Zemeckis (Cast Away, Forrest Gump, Back to The Future II & III) from a children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg (his book Jumanji was also adapted into a film starring Robin Williams). The writers can blow their own train whistles on this one. They crafted an hour and 40 minute film from a 32-page children’s book and there wasn’t a dull moment.

The characters were fun and interesting, the hurdles they encountered were unique and filled with tension, the symbols used to show a character’s journey were thoughtful and the themes interwoven throughout the story were meaningful. Really a great script!

In the end, The Polar Express is about Christmas, and Christmas is magical. Whether you celebrate the birth of Christ or the myth of St. Nick and whether you’re eight or 80, Christmas has a way of putting a smile on your face, joy in your heart, and a spring in your step. This film does the same. So, buy a ticket and enjoy the ride. I know I’ll be looking forward to hearing, “All aboard!” for many years to come.