Herb Kane
Screenwriter
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The Polar Express
Two-Disc Widescreen Edition
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 2004
Rated: G
Film Length: 100 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Enhanced Widescreen
Audio: DD 5.1
Color/B&W: Color
Languages: English, French & Spanish
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
MSRP: $29.95
Package: 2 discs in a regular/hinged double Amaray.
The Feature:
The Polar Express is cinematic magic - a delightful and charming tale guaranteed to captivate viewers of all ages. For children, this is a glorious adventure, full of excitement, splendor, and plenty of holiday good cheer. For adults, there are deeper meanings to be found, not to mention the bittersweet nostalgia of gazing back through the years to the point where innocence gave way to the curse of maturity. This, is the very essence of the film.
The story begins on Christmas Eve, with a boy who is unable to sleep. He's listening for sleigh bells and he wants to believe in Santa Claus, but his growing sense of logic tells him the annual ride is impossible. But, instead of hearing the prancing and pawing of each little hoof, he is jarred to full wakefulness by the noise of a train coming to a halt just outside of his house.
"All aboard!" calls the conductor. "Where are you going?" asks the boy. "Why, the North Pole, of course! This is The Polar Express."
Thus begins the boy's journey. On board the train, he meets three of the other passengers: a know-it-all, a shy boy, and an outgoing girl who sometimes doubts herself. Later, the boy will meet a mysterious hobo and the engineers running the train. The conductor is always around, occasionally seeming more officious than helpful. And the journey sometimes turns into more of a roller coaster than a simple train ride - literally.
The film is based on the illustrated childrens’ book by Chris Van Allsburg. Because the source material is so short, screenwriters Robert Zemeckis (who also directed) and William Broyles Jr. opened things up a little, developing personalities for three of the background characters, and adding some action/adventure sequences. Despite the changes, however, the movie successfully captures the spirit of the book, and it is likely that fans of one will appreciate the other.
It should come as no surprise that The Polar Express is a visual treat. The details are astonishing and the lifelike movement of the human beings helps us to forget that they don't look quite real. There are some amazingly rich and varied scenes, such as one in which a ticket makes a round-trip journey that includes an encounter with an eagle and a few other obstacles – a scene that no doubt fans will find reminiscent of the feather sequence at the opening of Forrest Gump - another Zemeckis film. When hot chocolate is served, we get a spectacular song-and-dance number which seems a rather odd fit and is oddly placed – but it certainly does grow on you. There are also moments of high adventure, such as a sequence where the brakes fail as the train is racing along tracks that mimic a roller coaster, and an out-of-control dash across a collapsing frozen lake. Then, of course, there's the arrival at the North Pole, where the elves treat Santa Claus like the ultimate rock star.
Most of the character roles are played by Tom Hanks, although only in one performance does he look like himself. Hanks has six parts: the conductor, the boy, the boy's father, the mysterious hobo, a Scrooge puppet, and Santa Claus. Children who notice probably won't care. Other vocal performers include Michael Jeter (in his final screen appearance before his death and to whom the film is dedicated) as the two engineers, Nona Gaye (who, by the way is Marvin Gaye’s daughter) as the girl, Peter Scolari as the lonely boy, and Eddie Deezen as the know-it-all kid – man, that kid is annoying.
The Feature: 4.5/5
:star::star::star::star:
Video:
Presented in its correct aspect ratio of 2.35:1 this is a terrific looking transfer that is indeed, enhanced for widescreen TV’s. From a technical standpoint, The Polar Express is a masterpiece. It is the first movie to use motion capture for its entire length. For motion capture, an actor wears a special suit containing dozens of sensors that relay details of his movement to a computer while he performs in front of a blue screen. This permits a computer to develop a virtual, three-dimensional image of the actor that can then be manipulated by the animators. The result allows the characters to appear much like real human beings while still retaining a slightly, albeit waxy and sometimes creepy "animated" look – really, my only complaint of the end result.
This mixture of live action and computer animation is a powerful tool that has allowed Zemeckis to devise a world unlike anything we have seen on screen before, yet populate it with real looking people. In addition, The Polar Express was designed with 3D IMAX theaters in mind (it is the first feature-length movie to feature the IMAX three-dimensional process). However, since most viewers will see it in a conventional theater, Zemeckis made sure that the use of traditional projectors didn't result in a drop-off in quality.
That said, there is an impressive amount of detail to be seen here. All facets of the image are sharp and well defined. Colors are vibrant and nicely saturated. Skin tones have a rather pasty look to them, but to be fair, this was identical to my theatrical experience. Blacks were rich and deep and whites were always clean and crisp.
There is virtually no grain to speak of and the image, as we would expect for such a newly released film is absolutely immaculate and free of any blemishes or marks. The authoring seems to have been handled to perfection as compression errors were basically non existent as were any signs of edge enhancement.
I’m always a little reluctant to dole out full marks but I just couldn’t find anything to complain about – a perfect job.
Video: 5/5
:star::star::star::star::star:
Audio:
The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and for the most part is almost as impressive as its video counterpart. There’s nothing like a train to show off the dynamics on one’s home theater – well, there’s plenty of it here, folks.
There are some great examples of oomph and heft as the locomotive pulls up and rumbles through the rest of the journey. Your subwoofer will be put to good use and will see lots of action. Surrounds were also employed effectively and to great extent – always tactfully however, and never sounding gimmicky.
Dialogue was always crystal clear and intelligible. Even during the musical sequences, everything remained clear and the track never became thin or fatiguing. Although a slightly wider soundstage would have made this almost perfect track, perfect. The track remains natural throughout and is perfectly clean and free of any other noisy distractions.
The soundtrack is also very adept at showing off the finer details of the film i.e. bells, the snapping of cloth, the clanging of toys, the cracking of ice etc. Fine detail is well represented here.
Overall, a very nice job.
Audio: 4.5/5
:star::star::star::star:
Special Features:
The second disc contains the majority of special features as the set looks like this:
Disc One:
[*] The Theatrical Trailer is the lone feature on disc one and runs a mere 1:02 minutes. Surprisingly, no commentary appears within the set.
Disc Two:
[*] The First feature on this disc is You Look Familiar which contains a number of movie clips and behind the scenes footage. Director-writer-producer Robert Zemeckis, actor and executive producer Tom Hanks and producer Steve Starkey offer their comments throughout this featurette. An interesting piece but it ends before we have any time sink our teeth into it. Duration: 4:11 minutes.
[*] A Genuine Ticket To Ride starts with an introduction that lasts 1:48 minutes. The feature is broken into five individual segments starting with:
- Performance Capture
- Virtual Camera
- Hair and Wardrobe
- Creating the North Pole
- Music
This is a feature that focuses mostly on the technical aspects of the film with each specializing in the named segment. Eventually we hear from Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks, visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, music composer Alan Silvestri, songwriter Glen Ballard, Josh Groban, and author-executive producer Chris Van Allsburg. Considering the technical orientation of the film and 5 rather complex aspects you’ll be surprised to learn that the entire duration of this feature is only 11:27 minutes. This is hardly enough time to spend on such issues. This could have – and should have been the crown jewel of the features. Clearly, this is formatted for the little ones – and shouldn’t have been.
[*] Next up is, True Inspirations: An Author’s Adventure which focuses on the original author, Van Allsburg. The author discusses his childhood as well as interest in writing. The feature is formatted in a storybook manner showing many family photographs. He also talks about the book including his inspiration for writing it and his interest in art. Interesting and brief. Duration: 5:29 minutes.
[*] A performance by Josh Groban At The Greek is included where the young performer sings the song from the film, “Believe”. Talk about a guy who doesn’t look like he sounds – what a voice! An outstanding performance of the popular song, which sounds terrific in the HT. Duration: 4:43 minutes.
[*] In Behind The Scenes of Believe we hear from Groban once again as well as Glen Ballard as they discuss the song’s creation and its recording including the actual session. Interesting and again, brief. Duration: 4:24 minutes.
[*] Next up is a kid’s game entitled, Polar Express Challenge. The game seems rather geared for the youngest of fans and I didn’t spend much time with it.
[*] Meet The Snow Angels includes tidbits from Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis, Nona Gaye as well as other cast & crew members as they discuss their favorite holiday moments. Duration: 2:44 minutes.
[*] The next feature is entitled THQ Game Demo which is another game for the kids although, admittedly, I didn’t spend much time with it.
[*] The final feature is an Additional Song that was cut which Michael Jeter is clearly the focus of here playing both characters. The name is rather misleading as the song is only a fraction of the actual cut scene. The Executive Producer, Jack Rapke makes an appearance here as he introduces the clip and offers it as a sort of dedication to the late actor who died during the film’s production. Great to see, but I can surely see why it was cut. The clip appears in its raw form as it was never finished. Duration: 7:02 minutes.
And finally, on the first Features menu, it states, “if you truly believe, find all 5 stocking stuffers”…. So one would assume you have a few Easter Eggs to hunt for during the Christmas Season – I’ll leave those to you.
I’ve come to not expect much from the special features, particularly from newer releases and really, this is no exception. However, at least in this case, there’s a little something for everyone.
Special Features: 3/5
:star::star::star:
**Special Features rated for the quality of supplements, not the quantity**
Final Thoughts:
I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that after I saw the film last year theatrically, I was a bit creeped out. I don’t know if it was the waxy-corpse-like looking characters, the bizarre and oddly placed “hot chocolate refreshment routine” or the even weirder Hitler-youth-like gathering rally at the end of the film. But I can tell you this; my initial impressions have changed drastically over this past week with multiple viewings and the film has become a fan-favorite among the little ones in the house as they patiently await the big day.
In fact, my feelings have warmed up to a point that I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to call The Polar Express one of the best family Christmas films to come out of Hollywood for some time and, there's no question that Express is destined to become a Christmas cinematic classic. It has been a long time since there has been a family holiday movie that is this strong. The film exudes an endearing charm and drives home the magical message especially for those young ones on the cusp.
The disc represents my theatrical experience to a tee, so no complaints from these quarters. The A/V presentation is every bit and then some, of what we’ve come to expect from a big budget modern release. The special features are a mixed bag, if not just slightly underwhelming, but there’s something here for everyone. If you’re in search of a charming new holiday film for the entire family, look no further than The Polar Express – it’ll be arriving shortly.
All abooooaaaarrrrrd…!
Overall Rating: 4.5/5 (not an average)
:star::star::star::star:
Highly Recommended…!!
Release Date: November 22nd, 2005
