Review of The Polar Express (2004) by Em W — 05 Mar 2014

There's a lot of good things about "The Polar Express" but a few missteps here and there prevent it from being a true Christmas classic. The story follows a boy who is having doubts about the existence of Santa Claus. On Christmas eve, he finds that a train has stopped outside of his bedroom window. It's the "Polar Express", tasked with picking up select children in order to bring them to the North Pole where they will meet Santa Claus. One lucky child will be chosen as the first to receive a Christmas gift that year, but getting there is easier said than done: the train is a vehicle full of mysteries and the track is tricky and once you get to the North Pole, there are just as many surprises.

The biggest problem with the film is that it's uneven in all departments. While at times the animation looks so good it reaches the level of photo realism, at times some of the characters have that uncanny valley feel. The main hero looks consistently great, some of the secondary characters vary a bit from shot to shot and one character, the leader girl (none of the characters are really given names) never really looks better than a character in a video game cinematic. Even the environments vary. Sometimes they are really elaborate, richly detailed and really well put together, sometimes they look just OK. One of the biggest offenders and best examples of the uneven animation is a scene late in the film. Our hero and two of his friends have snuck into Santa's workshop, where hundreds of TV screens show children who are being put either on the nice or naughty list. A close up of the children peeking between carved posts looks really rough, and the shot is made even worse by the TV screens. The televisions show actual live-action footage of children and then cuts back to the CGI creations. It's a big mistake. Later in that scene though, there's a wide shot of the children getting into a high-speed tube that will transport them to their destination and it looks fantastic. It really feels like the technology just wasn't ready when the movie was made. The uneven quality isn't limited to the look though. The songs are sometimes really good and catchy, at other times they feel overly melodramatic and awkwardly inserted in the story. Sometimes the film is full of whimsy and excitement, sometimes it takes an unintentional dark tone.

All of the problems with the film aren't quite enough to bring down what are some really spectacular action sequences and genuinely touching emotional moments. The scenes where our protagonist is on the train and there's trouble look fantastic. I really have to recommend you check out the movie if only to see the scene of the Polar Express crossing a frozen lake and the scene where our hero is forced to ski down the top of the wagons to make it to the front of the locomotive. The ending of the movie also really works and tugs at your heartstrings, bringing to mind childhood memories and bringing up some good points about keeping the spirit of Christmas in one's heart. It's slightly melancholic but happy at the same time, so it wraps up the story very nicely. I watched the film at home on a big TV but I recognized that in 3D, on a big screen (something that's likely to be shown around the holidays at a local theatre I'm sure) this movie would really be a great experience. Yes it has some big problems but that just means it's not the kind of holiday film you can freely pop into your player anytime of the year, it's one of those secondary choices you can watch every odd Christmas and enjoy, without loving completely. It could have been great but it ends up merely good and because of the flaws I can't strongly recommend it, but if you're in the mood for something a bit different, I say it's worth your time.

(Widescreen version on Dvd, December 24, 2013).