DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Polar Express - Two Disc Widescreen Edition (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). (1 Viewer)

[RobBenton]

I agree that the movie itself is overall fairly good but some of the locals they go to even at santa's home are more just scary then endeering and the characters do have a slightly scary look to them that just turned me off. I can see where some people found the movie to creepy for a christmas film.

 

[Howard S]

I was expecting this DVD to have been mastered from the digital files, rather than a transfer from film. Was this intentional do you think, as the former option would presumably have been the cheaper? Film adds it's own qualities to an image, so perhaps a totally digital transfer was considered too sterile?

 

[LarryH]

Best Buy has a small bonus DVD included with the single-disk versions of Polar Express. Does anybody know what is on this disk? The BB clerk I asked had no idea and there doesn't seem to be any description on the package or in the ad. I would hope that whatever is on this disk is included on the second disk of the two-disk set.

Also, my BB had no lithographs.

 

[Chris Atkins]

Wonderful film...the whole family really enjoyed this one. One of the best Christmas movies for sure.

 

[Travis Brashear]

Supposedly, the Best Buy bonus disc is a 20-minute featurette on the performance capture animation process; now whether this featurette is composed only of material found on the 2-disc set, or if it is wholly exclusive footage, no one seems to have any idea. I'd give my eye-teeth to understand this trend of retailers giving bonus discs with the cheap-o single-disc releases, but not with the more expensive double-disc releases. "What? You want to spend more money with us? Well, okay, if you insist, but we're not gonna give you any freebies!"

 

[Mike Frezon]

Well...the wife, 15-year old son, 19-year old daughter and I all watched the Polar Express last night...for the first time.

Polarizing, indeed! I enjoyed it. While not overly thrilled with the animation and the casting of Tom Hanks in so many roles, I felt the story held up amid the various plot devices used to extend it into feature film-length. Everyone else gave it unequivocal thumbs down.

Maybe they just don't hear the bell.

 

[Malcolm R]

I knew the Frezons were probably a family with good taste...well, most of them anyway.

 

[Jordan_E]

I thought it was great.

 

[Jeff_A]

My 13-year-old daughter and I watched it together last night. We are both in agreement on this one - an annual CLASSIC!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Chalk me up as one in favour of a 3-D version when this gets released in HD. The setpieces in this film cry out for 3-D, like the scene where the train is sliding out of control across the ice.

 

[Paul D G]

I thought this was panned when it came out in theatres so was going to pass, but my wife suggested we pick it up since the 3yo is a train freak and is interested in Santa this year. We watched it on Turkey Day.

He loved it and we were entertained (in fact the whole next day he kept picking up the DVD box and telling us about it). But I couldnt help but thinking to myself over and over how amazing the film would look in HD. If we dont buy it when it comes out in HD we'll certainly watch it on HBO-HD (or whatever)

-paul

 

[Darren Haycock]

I might check this out. It does look a little bit creepy. This one shot gave me the shivers when watching the trailer. Brains...BRAINS!!!

[url=http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/4325/polar3nc.jpg] [/url]

 

[Sean*O]

HD 3D please!

 

[Ric Easton]

The wife and I saw it last night. We both enjoyed it! I thought the the whole look of the film was fantastic... From the arrival of the PE to the wonderful imagery at the North Pole.

However, I was greatly disappointed by the extras. Obviously made for kids with short attention spans. And why that creepy "Know it all" kid had to do half the narration, I'll never know!

One thing that I was hoping would be explained was Hero-Boy's voice. It must have been done by a real kid, right? Or were they somehow able to tinker with Hank's voice to make him sound like a kid?

 

[Mike Frezon]

I dunno Ric...but I went back and checked and didn't think "Lonely Boy" sounded anything like Peter Scolari either.

Boy, Tom Hanks sure is keeping Scolari in some semblence of a career since their Bosom buddies days, huh?! I think he's been in most Hanks productions.

I really cannot figure out why you'd have Hanks do all those voices. They were way too similar as it was AND everytime the conductor got a little excited I thought he was going to start calling out orders to Buzz and the Green Army men!

 

[Oswald Pascual]

Maybe having all the voices done by Mr. Hanks is to keep the feel of reading the original story book to a child?

Ozzie

 

[Mike Frezon]

Ozzie: If that was the idea...it didn't work for me. Is that what you thought while you were watching it?

Hanks' voice is WAY too recognizable. For gosh sake, he is probably the most famous/well-known male actor working these days with some of the most-publicized, well-loved recent movies to his credit. To have him voice a number of different characters in the same animated film (after he already has established an animated character like Cowboy Woody in the much-loved Toy Story films) just doesn't make sense. It continually took me out of the story as I was watching.

But he and Zemeckis must have had a good reason for wanting to do this. They are successful at what they do. I just wonder what it is.

 

[Oswald Pascual]

Mike, That is purely my guess, maybe the extras in the collection might say why. i have not viewed the extras yet.

Ozzie

 

[Ric Easton]

The extras are not gonna tell you much!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Okay. I took a few minutes to do an internet search on this and found the following interview from Science Fiction News of the Week

I sorta see what they're saying now about doing it this way because its supposed to be seen through the boy's imagination. But, I still believe it's distracting and ineffective.

It's a technique that's uncommon. In any other dream sequence or fantasy sequence, I've never seen a character hear all the participants in that dream to have the same sounding voice.