*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
It's not hard to understand why Robert Zemekis is one of the most creative directors in Hollywood. He has directed the iconic time-travel adventure comedy, Back To The Future, the Oscar-winning drama, Forrest Gump and the science-fiction drama, Contact. In 2004, Zemekis directed his first Christmas-themed feature film, The Polar Express. This was the first film to use digital capture to create the animation and the result is stunning. The characters look almost life like. This technique would be used again in Zemekis' second Christmas themed animated motion picture, A Christmas Carol.
The story begins on Christmas Eve and focuses on a young child, known as 'Hero Boy', who is unable to sleep. Unlike his younger sister, he doesn't believe in Santa Clause but, after a giant train appears outside his house, he is taken on an adventure that will restore his (and many viewers') belief in Santa.
This is Zemekis' third collaboration with Tom Hanks after they worked together on Forrest Gump and Cast Away. Hanks performs as six of the characters featured in the film but his performance as the Conductor is the most memorable. He provides entertainment on the train ride including singing whilst dancing waiters serve the children hot chocolate. However, the film's main focus is on the Hero Boy, also performed by Hanks, and his adventure with his new friends, Hero Girl (Nona Gaye), and Billy, the Lonely Boy (Peter Scolari). The majority of the film takes place on the titled train which is where the film is at its most engaging. Most train rides are boring, however, this is a train that never fails to excite. One of the best scenes is when Hero Boy loses Sarah's ticket and the camera follows the ticket on its own mini adventure as it flies outside of the train and through the snow and has encounters with a wolfpack and an eagle before returning back to the train. This recalls the opening scene of Forrest Gump where the camera follows a feather before landing on Forrest's lap.
When this was released in 2004, computer generated animation was still relatively new
so the special effects used in this motion picture were amazing at the time, however, now, 12 years later, they don't impress as much as they used to. However, this doesn't make it a bad film. Fortunately, this technology was improved with A Christmas Carol.
The Polar Express was nominated for three Oscars including an award for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song for the song the Lonely Boy sings, 'Believe'. This is one of the more emotional parts of the film and will most likely cause a few people to shed a tear or two.
The Polar Express is one of my favourite films to watch during Christmas as it's adventurous, exciting, full of humour and heartwarming scenes and is worth watching just for Hanks' performance as the Conductor.
8/10
The story begins on Christmas Eve and focuses on a young child, known as 'Hero Boy', who is unable to sleep. Unlike his younger sister, he doesn't believe in Santa Clause but, after a giant train appears outside his house, he is taken on an adventure that will restore his (and many viewers') belief in Santa.
This is Zemekis' third collaboration with Tom Hanks after they worked together on Forrest Gump and Cast Away. Hanks performs as six of the characters featured in the film but his performance as the Conductor is the most memorable. He provides entertainment on the train ride including singing whilst dancing waiters serve the children hot chocolate. However, the film's main focus is on the Hero Boy, also performed by Hanks, and his adventure with his new friends, Hero Girl (Nona Gaye), and Billy, the Lonely Boy (Peter Scolari). The majority of the film takes place on the titled train which is where the film is at its most engaging. Most train rides are boring, however, this is a train that never fails to excite. One of the best scenes is when Hero Boy loses Sarah's ticket and the camera follows the ticket on its own mini adventure as it flies outside of the train and through the snow and has encounters with a wolfpack and an eagle before returning back to the train. This recalls the opening scene of Forrest Gump where the camera follows a feather before landing on Forrest's lap.
When this was released in 2004, computer generated animation was still relatively new
so the special effects used in this motion picture were amazing at the time, however, now, 12 years later, they don't impress as much as they used to. However, this doesn't make it a bad film. Fortunately, this technology was improved with A Christmas Carol.
The Polar Express was nominated for three Oscars including an award for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song for the song the Lonely Boy sings, 'Believe'. This is one of the more emotional parts of the film and will most likely cause a few people to shed a tear or two.
The Polar Express is one of my favourite films to watch during Christmas as it's adventurous, exciting, full of humour and heartwarming scenes and is worth watching just for Hanks' performance as the Conductor.
8/10
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