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Polar Express The battle to be this Christmas season's must-see-movie is on! While The Incredibles or SpongeBob Squarepants might make more money at the box office, Polar Express is the movie that tries hardest to make you shed a tear and get the Christmas feeling burning in your heart. They ought to sell tissues at the concession stand for this one. Daryl Sabara is the voice of our hero - a young boy in Michigan who has reached that age where he isn't so sure Santa Claus exists. On Christmas Eve, a magical train appears in front of his snow covered home, and a mysterious conductor (Tom Hanks!) asks the boy if he wants to jump aboard. He does, and joins several other children (who also have stopped believing in Santa Claus) on a trip to the North Pole. Are they on their way to meet Santa himself? Will they find the Christmas spirit again? While the story could be better, the characters more developed and the plot full of more twists and turns, Polar Express works because it stunningly invokes our memories and love of Christmas, especially that desire to be young again and taken by the wonder and mystery of Santa. Writer/director Robert Zemeckis and co-writer William Broyles Jr. (based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg) have crafted a movie unabashedly sentimental, magical, sweet and old fashioned. No one goes snowboarding to show how cool and hip the movie is, no theme song from Christina Aguilera is needed and we don't have to watch the smart aleck, sassy, fast talking pal provide comedy relief. Polar Express wants to warm our hearts like a traditional holiday story from days gone by, and Zemeckis doesn't miss any opportunity to tug at the heartstrings. Thankfully for us, Hanks gets a chance to lead the charge. Providing voices for at least three characters (as far as I could count, don't hold me to it), Hanks won't fool any of us into thinking he is ready to do voices for The Simpsons, but it works. The whole story is told from the hero boy's memory, so it makes some sense that the voices provided by Hanks are recognizable and similar, but you know Hanks is on board for the big, final narration. At that moment, Mr. Oscar Winner himself pours it on with a heart-wrenching, tear-inducing, 4-boxes-of-tissues final narration that made the toughest and most cynical of audience members weep (I'm only human). While some of the dialogue involving a character known as lonely boy (also referred to as Billy) comes close, it's that final scene that will stick in your head for years. Polar Express will look different to most of you. Not looking like an animated film like The Incredibles or SpongeBob, Polar Express employs a technique called Performance Capture, which is used for video games starring Tiger Woods or your favorite baseball player. Little sensors are hooked up to the actors' bodies, their actions captured by the computer, then rendered into the film. This allowed Zemeckis to use Hanks, Peter "Bosom Buddies" Scolari, Steven "Aerosmith" Tyler and other adult actors to do the physical acting, while kids did many of the voices. It has a funky look, and takes a few minutes to get used to, but stick with it and your eyes will adjust. Unfortunately, the animated action could use a jolt. Many times, we are given a first person perspective of the train running out of control, which feels like a rollercoaster, but Zemeckis uses the effect too often. More diversity of action scenes would have been appreciated and made the film even more visually appealing. Although, scenes with the hobo (also Hanks) are pretty cool. While Polar Express needs some extra technical and animated pizzazz, the heart and soul will blow you away. Get in the spirit by seeing Polar Express. 3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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