Step on board for a Christmassy Masterpiece (Polar Express (2 DVDs))

Name: mummy2harry

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Product:	Polar Express (2 DVDs)
Date:	15.11.07 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: So magical, wonderful story, great animation

Disadvantages: None really

I absolutely adore watching Christmas movies, especially from November onwards. So when my Amazon DVD rentals sent me this after I forgot to add anything to my rentals list, I was actually really pleased! I am not quite sure how this film has passed me by for 3 years but I am now very glad I have seen it, and I will be buying my own copy soon! So, to the review.

The Polar Express is a wonderful animated film, set on Christmas Eve, and follows the tale of one boy. Strangely enough, we never learn his realy name, but in the credits he is called "Hero Boy" so that is what I shall call him throughout the review. Hero Boy has begun to doubt the existence of Father Christmas, or Santa as he is called in the film. He tries to listen out for Santa on Christmas Eve but doesn't hear anything so retreats back to bed. He hunts through various newspaper clippings and encyclopaedias to find out if the jolly man does exist but things aren't looking too good for Santa. Just as Hero Boy is falling asleep, an enormous locomotive thunders past his bedroom window, before he is invited to board the train by an old conductor, who tells him they are going to the North Pole and that the train is called The Polar Express. Hero Boy does so, and is greeted by many other children.

The rest of the film follows the childrens journey on the magic locomotive train through the night to the North Pole to meet the main man himself in order to rid the children of their doubts of Santa's existence. On the way, the children, in particular Hero Boy and Hero Girl, a young girl that Hero Boy befriends during their journey, face many shocking twists and turns which are both exciting and scary, and almost unbelievable in their magic. Some of the things the children face include skiing across the roofs of the train-cars, and the train having to negotiate a rollercoaster-type track at great speed!

All of the cahracters in the film are incredibly likeable and cover a broad spectrum of children. For example, Hero Boy is quite cynical outwardly about his beliefs in Santa, yet you can see inside there is a quite desperate part of him which does still want to believe. Hero Girl is very much a leader, very calm and controlled and mature beyond her years. Know-it-all boy is one of those kids at school who just know everything and love to tell you just how much they do know, yet are clearly insecure on the inside despite their outward arrogance. And there is also a painfully shy child, who doesn't sit with the other children and is so down he doesn't believe there is anything special about Christmas, as clearly he has come to expect nothing. I found him so sad, as I would hate to think there are children who have no belief in Santa at all, and that Christmastime will bring them nothing.

The adult characters were also interesting in themselves. The majority of the adult male characters were all voiced by the wonderful Tom Hanks who does a superb job in all 4 characters he voices for, each one easily identifiable from the other, so there is no confusion. The first we meet is the Conductor of the train, an exurberant man who loves Christmas and is determined to make the children believe in Santa once more. The second character is a homeless man who lives on top of the train. He was the strangest character to me, not the nicest man but you could tell there was something there beneath his rough exterior. Hanks also voices the big man himself, Santa. This Santa wasn't as sweet and friendly as he is in most other children's films but it seemed to work well within this movie. Hero Boy's parents also appear briefly at the start and end of the film, and aren't particularly nice people in my opinion, especially the father who doesn't seem bothered that his son is losing his belief in Santa.

The film was just magical for me. The animation is superb right through the film. I did find that the character's faces didn't have all that much animation in terms of expressions but younger viewers of this film won't notice this. I did find however that the scenery parts, in the North Pole, and whilst the train was travelling at high speed through a snow-storm were just so brilliant I had to remind myself that it was animation and not real! The train itself looks big and magical, although not particuarly bright or christmassy, again which adds to the magic and mystery of the whole thing.

The message is something which has been covered several times in film, young children coming of age and begininng to doubt the existence of Santa. But I found this film had something different to give. The children, especially Hero Boy, were instantly convinced about the whole thing, choosing instead to believe the whole thing is a dream. But the ending of the film is just superb and wraps up all of the threads which were running through the film nicely. It really is a nicely woven story which is easy enough for young children to follow, but that older ones will be able to relate to, and adults can just be mesmerised by a world we wish we could once again believe in!

The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who has famously directed the Back to the Future trilogy, and also co-wrote the movie together with Chris Van Allsburg. The film runs for 99 minutes, which I think is just within the realms of a young child's attention span, but I think the magic of the film will keep them interested! It has a certificate of U, meaning it is suitable for all. A brief mention should go to the soundtrack. This really adds to the christmassy feel of the film, especially because there aren't many visual scenes which are overly christmassy so the soundtrack plays an important part. The directors have chosen old, classic Christmas songs such as Santa Claus is Coming To Town by Frank Sinatra and It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas by Perry Como. Superb choice of songs!

Cast:
Tom Hanks ... Hero Boy / Father / Conductor / Hobo / Scrooge / Santa Claus
Leslie Harter Zemeckis ... Sister Sarah / MotherEddie Deezen ... Know-It-All
Nona Gaye ... Hero Girl
Peter Scolari ... Lonely Boy

The DVD can be bought from Play.com for £5.99 for a single disk edition, and £10.99 for a 2 disk edition. Well woth the investment if you ask me, and I can't wait until Harry is old enough to watch this with me! And those who have seen it will know what I mean when I say that I hope Harry is hearing the tinkling of the bell for many years to come!

Thank you for reading!

Summary: Superb movie, I love it