The Polar Express - Movie Review

The Children’s book; The Polar Express is centered round Christmas eve and the main character is a little boy who has some doubts regarding the existence of Santa Claus. His disbelief is turned upside down when there is a train appearing at the outskirts of his house with an invitation to get into it and travel to the North Pole. Due to the trip, he finally gets a clue of the values of friendship, courage and the unshakable Christmas spirit, transforming him into a child again, who believes in miracles.

In general, the main idea can be considered to be faith, belief, and the essence of Christmas. It is rather cheerful and bright, which sounds like one of the most magical Christmas songs. Rather humorously, the movie makes people want to believe that every man can find a heaven where angels hear him; it speaks to people who have lost their childhood.

Playing the role of the conductor, Tom Hanks does a good job of narrating the story through speaking and acting through motion capture technology. He adds more layers of depth to his characters while giving warmth to the story that has a fairytale like aura, and the adventure is fun and heartwarming. The characters especially the young hero, are well developed, and their growth is very realistic, as also the emotions that a character goes through during the film.

The direction given by Robert Zemeckis for The Polar Express is commendable, the blend of technology with the story telling is nowhere near a mistake. His direction pulls the audiences into an enormous world as personal as one’s dream, and provides the tender, yet serious emotions appropriate for the script.

The musical score by Alan Silvestri builds mystery and wonder in the film and suits its magical motifs to the core. The music also has a unique function of putting a festive mood and raising the emotional turmoil of a tale.fds

The movie is full of beautiful scenes and amazing graphics, which makes The Polar Express a fantastic show piece. It depicts the vastness of the North Pole and at the same time portrays the small rail car. One could say that technology used in the film is unforgettable and contributes greatly to the movie’s plot by offering attractive animation.

The representation in the film reflects the magical world of The Polar Express to make the audience enjoy beautiful animation. Even the train itself right up to the North Pole is seen with great effort to get the viewers to immerse into the magical world they were sold.

However, photographed in terms of innovative technologies, The Polar Express could be seen as an absolute leader during the shooting process as it was one of the first works that used the technology of motion capture. The movements, interactions, dialogues as well as the benchmarks of the animated characters and great big space are created remarkably vivid by means of special effects. This innovation is important for the portrayal of magical realism in the movie.

The aspect of editing in the movie The Polar Express is well done and does not interrupt the storyline and it keeps people interested. There is great use of the scene change as this aspect does not disrupt the magical feel of the film and the feeling that the adventure is continuous.

There is great fluidity in the film so that the spectator can have action and reflection period which complement each other. This continues with the viewers attention so that the film could bring the emotions of fantasy and magical realism with a proper contemplation.

The dialog in The Polar Express as equally, pragmatic and dreamy and empirical to depict both the feasibility of fantasies and the realism of emotions. By the help of the words alone, the audience is aware of the conflicts, transformations, and even faith the characters have gained again.

Although The Polar Express is an inspiration for Christmas and the childhood sensation, the animation may not meet the preference of some people. A number of viewers may feel that the expressions of the characters produced by the moi ton capture technology are somewhat eerie, making the visualization a bit off. Still, the great ideas in terms of stories and effective impressing a warm-spirited vision of belief defeat these mere shortcomings in visuals. It is a heart warming affair that brings back the essence of Christmas to the public and allows the watchers to dream again. Suitable for children and adults, it has become one of the most popular movies for watch during Christmas time.