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Movies / On DVD / The Polar Express
The Polar Express

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The Polar Express (2004)

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Reviews Counted: 185

Fresh: 104

Rotten:81

Average Rating: 6.4/10

Consensus: Though the movie is visually stunning overall, the animation for the human characters isn't lifelike enough, and the story is padded.

Rated: G

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Childrens

Theatrical Release:Nov 10, 2004 Wide

Box Office: $1,702,505

Synopsis: Director Robert Zemeckis revolutionized the art of animated film in 1998's WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT by dropping cartoon characters into the same frame with flesh-and-blood actors. In THE POLAR... Director Robert Zemeckis revolutionized the art of animated film in 1998's WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT by dropping cartoon characters into the same frame with flesh-and-blood actors. In THE POLAR EXPRESS, live action and animation have merged seamlessly, resulting in sparkling super-realism. A landmark technique Zemeckis and his Sony Pictures Imageworks team call "Performance Capture" perfectly suits the tenor of this wondrous children's Christmas story by Chris Van Allsburg. A disillusioned little boy, just old enough to doubt the existence of Santa Claus, has the adventure of a lifetime one fateful Christmas Eve. Clad in his pajamas, he climbs aboard a magic train to the North Pole, driven by a kindly train conductor (voiced by Tom Hanks who starred in both of Zemeckis's Academy-Award winning films FORREST GUMP and CASTAWAY). Among myriad jaw-dropping moments, the train plummets brakeless through crystalline mountains in a simulated roller coaster ride. Going off the rails, skidding sideways, and snaking violently across a frozen lake, the train arrives at the North Pole (a vast, glowing city of brick buildings). At that moment, the car carrying the kids detaches and they're sent tumbling down never-ending chutes and slides until they land in the middle of Santa's Workshop. With its fascinating tale and impressive technical frolics, THE POLAR EXPRESS is destined to become both a holiday classic and a new turning point in the art of animated cinema. [More]

Starring: Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Peter Scolari, Nona Gaye

Starring: Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Peter Scolari, Nona Gaye, Eddie Deezen, Charles Fleischer, Daryl Sabara

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Screenwriter: William Broyles, Robert Zemeckis
Producer: Steve Starkey, Gary Goetzman, William Teitler, Robert Zemeckis
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 22, 2005

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Reviews for The Polar Express

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Even when you look past the unnecessary dangers that the dehumanized child characters in "The Polar Express" experience, you're left with a hammered-home theme that says you must believe in a lie to be satisfied on a personal level.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/19/09
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
02/27/09
Devin Faraci
CHUD
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

Nearly as much a movie advocating a belief in Santa Claus as a belief in the real existence of CGI animated characters, the film is at once mystifying and uninvolving.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
03/23/07
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

Cynics will sneeze in shock; children, young and old, will cuddle up and dream along.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine

As a complete package, Zemeckis’ surreal, hallucinogenic adventure is pretty inconsequential.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out

More like Night of the Living Dead.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
12/25/05
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

The animation looks like an oil painting come to life and the overall viewing experience is awe inspiring.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
12/02/05
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

...might better be called The Bipolar Express, with so much that is sweet and light on the one hand and so much that is tiring and humdrum on the other.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
11/08/05
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Unfortunately, Zemeckis has allowed his technical-savvy, circus-like movie to lose touch with its human charcaters, resulting in a cold and distanced animation.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/14/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

How many kids do you know who would find comfort in a homeless ghost who drinks his own sock juice?

Full Review Source: www.kcactive.com | comment Comment
07/25/05
Uri Lessing
www.kcactive.com

...the IMAX Corporation would do well to have this available every year in 3D. They have finally come upon their staple film.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
04/01/05
Rory L. Aronsky
Film Threat

The Polar Express seems overly concerned with aping real life instead of creating its own universe.

Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
03/05/05
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic

People will be polarized by this well-oiled machine of a family holiday vehicle.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/29/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Strap yourself in and try not to vomit, because this is more of a theme-park event than a movie -- Pirates of the Caribbean in reverse, a wild ride stripped of its story, down to a rattling series of obvious, underwhelming effects.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
01/16/05
Logan Hill
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite some technical pizzazz, this flick ends up leaving viewers as cold as the North Pole itself.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/05
Dan Lybarger
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
12/19/04
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

A warm fuzzy for the holidays

Full Review Source: Talking Pictures (U.S.) | comment Comment
12/17/04
Tony Toscano
Talking Pictures (U.S.)

Sure, it's overly saccharine and desperately overblown, and the film loses momentum well before the end, but it's hard not to get into the spirit and enjoy it.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
12/12/04
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for The Polar Express

May 19, 2009: Cannes 2009: Carrey and co. Present A Christmas Carol
Big, fat flakes of white snow suddenly began tumbling down in the roasting afternoon heat of the Cannes Film Festival yesterday. It wasn't global warming. It was just Cannes.... More...

November 15, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Beowulf Set To Conquer Multiplexes
One animated film will bump another from the number one spot at the North American box office. But the new warrior Beowulf is no B movie but an A-list production from an... More...

August 23, 2007: One Justice League of America Rumor Cleared Up, Another Started
Forget The Dark Knight and Iron Man -- the big comic-book adaptation everyone's talking about this week is Justice League of America, the superhero extravaganza that's... More...

July 31, 2007: Sony Planning Three More Motion Capture Flicks
You know that fancy "motion capture animation" technique that's been employed in The Polar Express, Monster House, and the upcoming Beowulf? Looks like Sony Imageworks is... More...

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