THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Belief is a challenge because we don’t know if the decision to believe in something is worth it until afterwards.
PLOT
Based on the children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express takes place on the night of Christmas Eve and follows a young boy who is skeptical of believing in Santa Claus. The change of heart begins when a magical train the movie is named after and a conductor invites him to the North Pole where he and other kids can meet Saint Nick himself. Hesitantly, he joins the trip and helps another boy named Billy join by using an emergency brake, when he shared similar hesitance. The only other kids that the boy talks to are a know-it-all boy and a spirited girl who are highly excited to visit the North Pole. Onboard, they find tickets in their pockets to validate When they are served hot chocolate, the girl saves a cup for Billy since he was missing out in the observation car. As the conductor assists her, the 'Hero Boy' notices her ticket was not yet validated. He tries to return it to her, but the wind blows it out of his hand. When he explains what happened to the conductor what happened, he decides to take the girl to the front. Presuming from the know it all that she'll be thrown off the train, he pursues them and does find the ticket again that ironically made its way back to the train. As he follows them on the rooftop, he meets a ghostly hobo and tells him his situation. As the latter encourages him to believe in Kris Kringle, he takes him to the front of the train via skiing before they reach a closing point at Flat Top Tunnel. At the front, Hero Boy finds the 'Hero Girl' who was left in charge by the engineer and steamer (Michael Jeter & Andre Sogliuzzo). They stop the train again when they see the tracks blocked by a big herd of caribou. Once they move out of the way, the train continues moving but the throttle gets jammed and loses the cotter pin to slow down the thing. After an exhilarating sequence past Glacier Glush, they end up stopping at a frozen lake where the train tracks are blocked off by the ice. Once the pin gets replaced by the steamer's hair clip, the train slows down and the throttle is used to narrow back to the tracks on the other side. Once regrouping with the other kids, they look at Northern lights on the sky realizing they've made it to the North Pole. As they reach the destination, the conductor announces that Santa will pick one child from the trip to receive the first gift of Christmas. When Hero Boy & Hero Girl encourage Billy to join them, they accidentally get the observation car uncoupled and roll downhill into a tunnel that takes them to railway turntable in Santa's workshop. As they try to find a way back, they pass through an elf command center and gift sorting office facility which takes them to Santa's giant sack of presents. Before they return to the group with the assist of the elves, they find the know-it-all who followed them to snoop what he was getting for Christmas. Back with the group, they're able to see Santa make his entrance with his reindeer. However, Hero Boy notices a bell fly loose from the reindeers' rein. He picks it up and declares himself a believer which in turn has him hear its sound for the first time. He returns to Mister Claus, who was so flattered of his decision that he picks him to have the first gift. The boy ends up wanting the bell to remember what happened, which he agrees to. As he officially gives him his gift, he reminds him that Christmas' true spirit will always lie in his heart. Just when boarding the train though, the boy realizes the bell fell out of his torn pocket and he can't go back once the train departs. As Billy goes home, he shows his new friends that Santa has already made it to his house by spotting a gift for him he saw at the North Pole. Once Hero Boy makes it back to his home, he says goodbye to Hero Girl and is wished a Merry Christmas by the conductor. As the Polar Express departs to take the other kids home, the hobo ghost waves goodbye as well. By morning, the boy's sister wakes him up so he can open his new presents that Santa (and their parents) got for them. His last gift would be the bell with a note from Claus encouraging him to fix his pocket hole. The film ends with the adult version of Hero Boy narrating that although there was a point in time in which his belief faded, the bell still rings for him as it does for all true believers.
THOUGHTS
It's crazy that this, Elf, and Disney's A Christmas Carol are the only Christmas movies I've seen in theaters (at least until Violent Night) because I love the holiday like everyone else. Knowing this, it makes the memory sweeter to me. Director Robert Zemeckis made the big game changer at the time in making an animated experience different from what we were getting used to from Pixar Animation. With ImageMovers, the same company that would go on to do Monster House and Beowulf, make a bold experimentation here by having the entirety of the film be performed via motion capture. Every actor that got the chance to bring life to these characters with just movement before getting dubbed by voiceovers is an impressive feat. The animation that is beheld is quite spectacular deep down because it felt like each page from the book was coming to life in our very eyes. From each character interaction to the complexity of the mini travel that a ticket had was surreal to me and it still is because like 1995's Toy Story, it's barely aging. Like many generations of children have gotten the chance to read the book a bunch of times for the holidays, this movie has remained re-watchable to me 20 years later because the message is to not be judged on what you believe in since it doesn't harm anyone. In this case, believing in Christmas and Santa is a good thing because it makes you feel good about yourself knowing that the holiday is about spreading joy to one another. Deep down, this is also a tale of taking a chance that you won't know will be worth it until it's taken. With all the pieces put together, it was neat to have a character who didn't know how to feel and what to believe until his own journey helps him figure out the answers he was looking for. Voiced by Daryl Sabara, Hero Boy was quite relatable because he wasn't sure what he wanted until it happens. So when he saw the bell and just wanted to hear it only once by declaring himself a believer, it made everything he did worth it even when he wasn't planning to get the first gift. The more he ends up helping others, the more comfortable he feels in being a believer because it all felt right to him. And the faith he starts to have around those he meets is what sets him up to be the believer he'd grow up to be. Even when he claimed that there was a period where his belief had faded, the fact it was still there proved how much it made him feel better was another piece of proof to say the journey was worth taking. The encouragement would not have been possible had it not been for the other characters he met who were far more open minded going into it. Voiced by Nona Gaye who took part in the motion capture, Hero Girl was cool to have around because her confidence was there from the start and she used it to the fullest in moments like her bonding with Billy when singing 'When Christmas Comes to Town' or looking for another way out of the tunnel. She trusted her instincts and that inspired the boy to trust her. Eddie Deezen was hilarious as the Know-It-All because he's got so much energy in him to share what he knows and desires learning more and he gets what he wants in a way to ensure he'd be surprised by the end of it. As long as you don't snoop what you're getting for Christmas like he did, you're setting yourself up in a humble path. And Jimmy Bennett had us like Billy because we relate to his own reluctance. Compare his house to Hero Boy's, he is so intimidated of everyone else's wealth that he is afraid of being rejected over living in poverty. Thankfully, Hero Girl and the other kids don't seem to care about that. And the fact Santa got him a gift proves no one should be gifted based on the lifestyle, but only for how big their heart is. To bring things full circle though, there were a trio of individuals that pushed the story harder than anyone realizes and realizing these particular roles were all played by one particular actor made their presence all the more special. Tom Hanks, who voices the Hero Boy's adult counterpart via narration as well as his father, arguably defined this movie when it came to playing the conductor, the hobo ghost and Saint Nick himself. Apart from how conductor and Santa relate to being responsible by ensuring things are done on time, what they got in common with the hobo ghost is that they're all helpful in spreading the positive belief of joy that is Christmas. We love Santa because he defines it and the conductor gives kids an exclusive opportunity to feel it. And if you have people in your life that only want that for you, then you're with the right crowd. Seeing really is believing because had the boy not seen Santa that night, his beliefs would not be as strong as it is by the end of it. With that being said, I hope he can pass on such joy to his own kids should he ever have any. I’m always gonna have a good time watching this, but there have been some things I scratch my head about to this day. Like where are the seat belts on those seats? I feel like the kids had to get concussed when it came to the frozen lake because that was hectic. And why doesn’t the conductor ask for tickets the moment kids are boarding? That way he doesn’t have to forget midway through the trip before any kid could misplace one of their own. Also, Hero Boy should be freezing like crazy when going on top of the train while talking to the homeless ghost. He’s lucky to not get a frostbite for being up there as long as he was. That’s way more irritating than the fact it ain’t possible to ski downhill on a train. And aren’t we all confused with the fact only set of caribou eyes glow when there was a gigantic herd the train was approaching? I mean if caribous have a reflective layer, it’s ridiculous we didn’t see more glowing eyes. The continuity errors get worse when noticing the amount of cars attached. For the most part it looks like there’s five, but then there are shots where it looks close to twenty. It’s just too odd of a way to imply the magic the train is all about. Other than that, this one is still a pleasure to watch. In short, The Polar Express is still a fantastic family film to watch during the holidays for all the heart that is embraced. If you’re preparing for a holiday watchlist, see this now.
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