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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.Read full review
With the previous releases of The Polar Express, they only came with lossy audio, which roughly translates to slightly worse sound quality. But this specific 3D relelease gives the film a fantastic sounding loseless audio mix, with dynamic sound and much better balancing overall. On top of that, the film is great and I'd highly recommend it if you're in the market for a neat take on Christmas films, also if you're a steam train fanatic like me.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I already had The Polar Express on DVD, but this 3D version really engages you. The sound of the train rattled the house. (I do have good speakers in my home theater.) The screen, at 120 inches, helps too. My favorite scene was when the train comes to a complete stop after the emergency brake is pulled. The Polar Express comes right at you and pops right out of the screen! Great 3D effect!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I love the movie and first saw it on the IMax theater in 3d. It is a Christmas tradition and being able to watch it in 3d again is very exciting.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Movie needs a little 3-D manual video adjustments to avoid auto 3-D video abnormalities but otherwise looks great.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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