The Conservative Cave
The Bar => The Lounge => Topic started by: movie buff on December 22, 2011, 03:17:10 PM
-
Hi! Welcome back, moviegoers! :popcorn
Alright, for this installment, to continue the theme of modern- day Christmas films/ specials, I will be looking at the CGI film ‘The Polar Express.’ Made in 2004, it was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Tom Hanks in several roles.
It starts with the main character, a young boy who is questioning the existence of Santa Claus, receiving a visit on Christmas Eve from the Polar Express, an enormous train that takes kids to meet the real Santa Claus in the North Pole. The strict yet loving conductor (Voice of Tom Hanks) tells the boy about the train, and after a moment’s hesitation, the boy boards it.
When he boards it, he sees it is filled with other kids whose faith in the existence of Santa is also wavering. He particularly gets to know three of them who each have their own reasons for doubting Santa's existence (None actually say that's why, but you can tell just from their personalities): A black girl who apparently has general uncertainty problems and difficulty really committing to decisions (Several times early in the movie, when she's about to make a decision, one of the other characters will say "Are you sure?", and she'll noticeably hesitate), a very intelligent though rather arrogant boy who likely has trouble reconciling the many things associated with Santa Claus that would be scientifically impossible, and a little boy named Billy- The only one of the kids on the Polar Express whose name is specifically mentioned- who's very poor and thus has not had a lot of good Christmases and thus has a lot of difficulty trusting anyone including someone who tells him Santa is real (I guess to kind of address the issue of how Santa can exist when so many good kids who are poor don't get anything). Along the train journey, the kids (Especially the main boy and the black girl) have several adventures and close calls, and learn a lot about each other. The main boy also meets a new character; A mysterious, slightly spooky hobo (Voice of Hanks again) who rides atop the train, talks to the boy a bit, and helps him through a couple tight spots.
The train finally arrives at the North Pole (Which is freaking enormous in this version; Usually, Santa- themed movies portray the North Pole as being about the size of an amusement park or at most a small town, here it’s the size of a massive city), but before meeting Santa, the four key kids all wander off from the rest of the group to explore some more and find their presents, leading to more adventures through Santa's workshop/ factory and a genuinely touching moment when Billy the poor boy finds a gift addressed to him. They all ultimately reunite with the rest of their group just outside the workshop for a ceremony in which Santa will appear and give one of the children the very first gift of that Christmas before setting off on his flight
Even amidst all of this, the main boy apparently STILL has trouble believing in Santa, as shown by the fact that he is unable to really see Santa when the big guy first comes out (He's a good distance away, and a lot of elves are blocking his view), and is unable to hear the jingling of the beautiful sleigh bells attached to the reindeer. Finally, he closes his eyes and sincerely says "I believe"; Just then, he hears the jingling of one sleigh bell that had fallen off, and sees Santa up close and personal, both signs that his faith is truly restored. Santa (Voice of Hanks yet again) addresses each of the four key children personally, and selects one of them to receive the first gift. The children are then brought home, and the main boy on Christmas morning receives a gift which ensures that his faith in Santa Claus not only is restored, but will remain ironclad for the rest of his days.
‘The Polar Express’ does have some problems. One problem is that it’s a bit too serious for a kids’ film about Santa. It has a few funny moments (Usually concerning the duo of bumbling rednecks who are the Polar Express’s engineers), but could have used a LOT more to help break some of the tension. Also, there’s a scene in which a couple of the kids sing a song called ‘When Christmas Comes Around.’ It’s a nice enough song, but a trifle unnecessary, as it doesn’t really do much. Lastly, the really smart boy has a VERY irritating voice (The actor’s name escapes me at the moment, but for those who are familiar with the old Cartoon Network TV series ‘Dexter’s Laboratory,’ it was the same actor who played Dexter’s obnoxious archrival Mandark on the show, and he uses the exact same voice here), which I guess makes it a good thing that he isn’t used as much as the other three main kid characters.
That being said, there is also a lot to like about ‘The Polar Express.’ The story is quite compelling, and as an aspiring minister, I can definitely get behind the film’s message of keeping faith even when it seems silly to keep believing. The 4 main kids’ problems believing in Santa Claus can all be easily seen as mirroring problems some people in real life have with believing in God. However, their issues are all resolved by the climax, often even before meeting Santa (i.e. while exploring the factory and trying to get back to the group, the black girl learns to be more decisive and more of a leader, and the poor boy Billy learns to have more trust in his new friends).
The songs that are used are mostly very good. My favorite is ‘Hot Chocolate,’ performed early in the film. Let’s just say that a song about kids on a train being served hot chocolate turns out to be a LOT more jazzy and entertaining than it sounds.
The animation is very interesting. Some people say it’s creepy, but I disagree. The only times it’s creepy are the scenes that are meant to be so (i.e. the first scene with the hobo, a scene where they go through a railroad car filled with broken or abandoned toys in need of repair). It puts a lot of detail into everything, from the characters to the sets, and I think it looks great. A couple years ago, the same style was used to make a wonderful CGI version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ featuring the voice talents of Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman among others, but I will not be looking at it this year because I’ve already looked at two different versions of that classic story. Maybe next year.
The characters are all well- portrayed. Tom Hanks does a very good job turning in three very different performances: The fussy yet kind conductor, the strange hobo (Who doesn’t even sound like Hanks a lot of the time), and Santa himself (Strong yet friendly and warm- hearted) are all quite enjoyable to watch. The kids are also well- developed, as you see the changes in each of them as the story progresses. The boy Billy in particular is a kid who’ll tug at every heart- string you have, especially in the aforementioned scenes involving his discovering the present addressed to him. Without him saying it (Out of the 4 kids, he has the fewest lines), you can still tell that this child has already had a really hard life that makes it hard to believe in Santa or even reach out to people, so seeing his faith restored and rewarded is almost more enjoyable than seeing it happen for the main boy.
And, there you have ‘The Polar Express.’ Very good and heart- warming film, which my mom (A second- grade teacher) shows to her class every year around Christmas. Stay tuned later tonight as I wrap up my look at modern Christmas films and specials!