Review of The Polar Express (2004) by Brady F — 04 Dec 2012

There are dozens of reasons to pan this movie, and many of the more significant things have already been pointed out in excess, so to start with the few reasons of recommendation, the motion capture animation makes good use of camera freedom with swooping, extravagant "crane" shots and exciting subjective shots of wild sections of track and slides. The set design and overall production look is excellent, composed of Van Allsburg and Kinkade-inspired elements, and very deserving of better animated inhabitants. Finally, the musical score by Alan Silvestri is one of the better ones he's written and offers a taste of what the tone should be.

The obvious critique is the uncanny valley and "dead-eyes" setbacks to the performance capture, but more frustrating is the script. MONSTER HOUSE featured even less finessed animation but managed anyway because of it's script. Here, the material really was never suited for a feature film; leaving hardly anything out, it's about a train going to the North Pole, a little time in the North Pole and then the abbreviated ride home. The lack of story results in overextended set pieces and many scenes and elements that seem unnecessary beyond the need for a feature length running time. Many of the characters are inexplicable creepy in ways beyond their animation, especially the elves at the North Pole who crouch over and speak in tones like stereotypical used car salesmen. Lastly, it fails to withstand the greatest threat to family Holiday movies, which is unjustified and treacly sentimentality, but then, I suppose many in its target audience might just as well prefer that.