Barnes & Noble

The Polar Express was slow to pull out of the station in its theatrical run, but it gathered steam and continued to draw audiences throughout the 2004 holiday season, defying the typical pattern. It would be inaccurate to call it a “little engine that could,” though, as director Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of the Chris Van Allsburg book is pretty much a roaring locomotive thrill ride. Zemeckis, who pushed the visual effects envelope with such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Forrest Gump, employs a process called "performance capture," digitally translating the movements of human actors into hyper-realistic animation. What the film lacks in personality, it more than makes up for with breathtakingly beautiful snowscapes. However, it threatens to derail in the time-padding action sequences that would be more at home in a video game, as the Express careers up and down mountains and skids across a frozen lake en route to its rendezvous with St. Nick. Keeping the film on track is Tom Hanks, who provides the human host for several characters, including the young boy (voiced by Daryl Sabara), the conductor, and a mysterious hobo who inexplicably camps on top of the train. Further powering The Polar Express are a heart-melting, Oscar-nominated ballad ("Believe"), a rollicking showstopper complete with dancing waiters ("Hot Chocolate"), and the instantly recognizable Jerry Lewis tones of prolific voice-over artist Eddie Deezen as Know-It-All, who has a lot to learn when it comes to Santa Claus. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

Directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on children's author Chris Van Allsburg's modern holiday classic of the same name, The Polar Express revolves around Billy (Hayden McFarland), who longs to believe in Santa Claus but finds it quite difficult to do so, what with his family's dogged insistence that all of it, from the North Pole, to the elves, to the man himself, is all just a myth. This all changes, however, on Christmas Eve, when a mysterious train visits Billy in the middle of the night, promising to take him and a group of other lucky children to the North Pole for a visit with Santa. The train's conductor (Tom Hanks) along with the other passengers help turn Billy's crisis in faith into a journey of self-discovery. A long-time fan of Van Allsburg's book, Hanks also helped produce the film. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Product Details

• UPC: 012569740648
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Time: 1:40:00
• Sales Rank: 40

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Essential Holiday Collection

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