the polar express

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.

A wild ride on the Tom Hanks express

Kids love this movie because, well, it's full of kids, a wild train ride, Santa Claus, presents, elves--what's not to love if you're a kid?

Adults like it because it's fascinating to watch the state-of-the-art animation, which dazzles the senses. In this special edition there are added features, including one on the process using live actors wearing a sophisticated array of electronics on their bodies to enable the computers to generate animated characters that look amazingly real down to the hairs on their heads.

Tom Hanks pulls off another tour de force, playing multiple characters as well as producing the film. He's a pretty amazing guy, Tom Hanks.

The Polar Express - Classic Christmas Movie

Easily one of the best holiday movies ever made, the live animation style works to perfection in this film. I'll get the "bad" out of the way first. The scenes on top of the train could be considered too intense for some younger viewers, but my 5 year old enjoyed the movie with no bad dreams afterward. The acting put this into an upper class, especially when coupled with superb writing. It is a tear-jerker at times, an action movie, a friendship movie, and one you can watch over and over again. In fact, I just bought another DVD as the first is showing its age, and one can stay in the car while the other stays home (in season, of course). So look out "It's a wonderful life", "A Christmas carol", "A Christmas story", "Miracle on 34th street", and all the rest, 'cause there's a new addition to the top Christmas flicks. Enjoy!

A new Christmas Classic!

We all love to watch our classic Christmas shows. You can add this one to the shows you'll make sure your children and grandchildren see every year. A wonderful story about a boy who is starting to 'grow out' of Christmas and no longer believe in the magic of Christmas. He discovers along the Polar Express to the North Pole about Christmas and the thruth about Santa Clause.

A very cute story that every child should experience!

The Polar Express (Blu-ray Disc,3D,2008)

This is a great movie for the whole family,perfect right around the Christmas holidays.The animation is exceptional,Tom Hanks does an excellent job narrating,he also plays a great train conductor in this magical Christmas tale, about a boy who's at the age where he is not sure what to believe when it comes to Christmas and Santa Clause. I wont ruin the story for you,I will just say the boy comes away with a spirit like he never knew before.