(2004) The first time I watched this magical animated (motion-capture) movie of believing in Christmas - directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the screenplay with William Boyle Jr, a faithful adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's book - was on the big screen in regular 2-D soon after its theatrical release; this time I viewed it on a 33-inch TV screen in 3-D with the spectacles accompanying the DVD.

For the most part I didn't notice much in the way of spectacular effects leaping out at me, other than an occasional flash of something projecting slightly outward from the film's frame (e.g. when pages of a book were turned, the cowcatcher coming front on from the locomotive), a distinctness of the characters (though more often I perceived a slight, shadowy double image), and a few snowflakes drifting through the room near the end of the picture. The colors seemed dimmer than usual; watching strained my eyes, and my wife noticed similar discomfort without a huge payoff.

The original score from Alan Silvestri with songs by Silvestri and Glen Ballard have become seasonal favorites. Tom Hanks provides voices for the Polar Express conductor (who closely resembles Hanks, with a mustache and bald pate), the older Hero Boy as narrator ("I was listening for a sound I was afraid I'd never hear: the sound of Santa's sleigh bells"), his father (thinking his son's asleep, "An express train couldn't wake him now," just before the Polar Express arrives), the ghostly hobo ("That skirt you're chasing must've moved on ahead. We got to high tail it to the hog, pronto!"), the puppet Scrooge ("Doubter!"), and Santa Claus ("Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart"). Hero Boy's sister Sarah and mother are voiced by Leslie Zemeckis; the African-American Hero Girl by Nona Gaye; Billy the lonely boy by Peter Scolari; and Eddie Deezen as the know-it-all kid in glasses.

A young skeptic from his having seen throughout the year evidence of the fraud of Santa Claus, Hero Boy has told his sister Sarah that Santa couldn't possibly deliver all the gifts to everyone in one night, and the sheer number and weight of all the presents couldn't fit into a sack on his sleigh. Hero Boy's father assures Sarah that Santa Claus is as real as Christmas (which begs the question: How real is Christmas?).

Pretending to be asleep when his folks look in on him, Hero Boy gets up when his room's violently shaken by the arrival of the train outside his house in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hesitating at first when the conductor calls for him to board, he climbs on as the train begins to move away.

In the carriage he finds other children, including Hero Girl and the Know-it-all boy. The last stop is for Billy the lonely boy from an impoverished family, who's never experienced gifts from Santa on Christmas; his hesitation leaves him behind as the train pulls away, but Hero Boy pulls on the emergency brake to allow the child, belatedly running to catch up, to get on.

Hero Girl's lost ticket leads Hero Boy to the roof of the carriages where he meets the hobo. "I'm looking for a girl," says Hero Boy. "Well aren't we all?" replies the hobo.

In the snow on the roof, as the pair become acquainted with a can of joe around the hobo's campfire, the man asks the boy: "What exactly is ... is your persuasion on the Big Man, since you brought him up?" Hero Boy answers: "Well, I ... I want to believe ... but ..." To which the hobo interjects: "But you don't want to be bamboozled. You don't want to be led down the primrose path! You don't want to be conned or duped. Have the wool pulled over your eyes. Hoodwinked! You don't want to be taken for a ride. Railroaded!" Hero Boy then inquirers: "Seeing is believing. Am I right?"

The conductor, worried about being late for Christmas eve, has to deal with a stuck throttle down Glacier Gulch, the steepest grade in the world; a herd of caribou on the tracks ("Boy, we are in some serious jelly!"); and crossing a lake where the tracks have been frozen over before reaching the North Pole with its city of elves where at midnight Santa will present the first gift of Christmas to one of the children on the train.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2011 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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