First Thoughts on The Polar Express (2004)

*All reviews contain spoilers*
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Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all! I hope you’re having a great day, however you’re choosing to spend it. For today’s festive First Thoughts, I’m taking a look back to a modern Christmas classic, 2004’s The Polar Express, which I’ve somehow not seen until this year. The film was based on a 1985 book with the same name written by Chris Van Allsburg, and was co-written, co-produced and directed by Robert Zemeckis of Who Framed Roger Rabbit fame. It was Castle Rock Entertainment’s first animated feature and was created using motion-capture technology shot at Sony Pictures Imageworks, a technique which was becoming increasingly popular in many films around that time. With a budget of $165 million, it was the most expensive animated film ever made up till then (although it has since been overtaken by many others, with Tangled claiming the top spot) and was later listed in the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records as the first all-digital capture film.

Tom Hanks is the standout of the film’s cast, because he plays no less than six different roles – five voices and one motion-capture (mocap) performance. All of the kid’s roles were acted out first by adults, who used oversized props to get their movements right; for “Hero Boy,” our unnamed protagonist, that actor was Hanks, with a young Josh Hutcherson also providing some additional acting. In addition to that, Hanks also voiced the boy’s father, the Train Conductor, the Hobo, Santa Claus and the Narrator (who is apparently the adult version of Hero Boy). Hero Boy’s voice was provided by Daryl Sabara of the Spy Kids films, while the director’s wife, Leslie, did the mocap acting for his mother and Sarah, his sister (the latter of whom was voiced by Isabella Peregrina). For some strange reason, the protagonist is never named here, but according to official sources his real name is Chris, after the author.

The other mocap actors included a nine-year-old Tinashe as Hero Girl, Peter Scolari as Billy the Lonely Boy, Nona Gaye as Hero Girl and Michael Jeter as Smokey and Steamer, with this being Jeter’s final performance before his death in 2003. Among the other voices were Eddie Deezen (hey, it’s Mandark!) as the Know-It-All, Nona Gaye again (pushing thirty at the time) as Hero Girl, Jimmy Bennett as Billy, Matthew Hall as Billy’s singing voice and Andre Sogliuzzo as Smokey and Steamer.

To create the distinctive aesthetic of the North Pole in the film, the artists drew elements from Chicago’s Pullman neighbourhood to tie the film in with American railroading history; the Polar Express itself is almost treated as a distinct character in its own right. The Express is supposed to be an American 2-8-4 Berkshire type steam locomotive with a cowcatcher on the front, modelled specifically on the Pere Marquette 1225, which had been displayed near Spartan Stadium in Michigan on the campus of Michigan State University. Author Chris Van Allsburg had fond memories of playing on the train when attending football games there as a child, so the film’s creators kept faithfully to the original design of the train, with Warner Bros. approaching the owners (the Steam Railroading Institute) in 2002 for permission to study it more closely. Most of the sounds are authentic to the 1225, with the exception of the whistle, which was taken from Sierra Railway #3.

The Polar Express also boasts a wonderfully Christmassy score courtesy of Alan Silvestri, whose animated work up to then had included Who Framed Roger Rabbit (another Zemeckis piece), FernGully: The Last Rainforest and Lilo & Stitch. In addition to some original songs like When Christmas Comes to Town, The Polar Express and Hot Chocolate which are performed by the cast members, the soundtrack also includes classics by the likes of Josh Groban, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters, among others.

To be honest, I don’t know how I managed to go this long without seeing this one – I’m only glad I finally have, before I get any older. It came out around my twelfth birthday, but back then the only animated film on my mind was The Incredibles so I wound up missing out on it. It’s such a shame, because I know I would have loved it at that age; while it does certainly have its problems, I can see why it’s so popular with families around the holidays. It has a lovely warm, “magical” feeling to it (as cheesy as that sounds), a sort of cosiness which draws you into this world and gets you invested in the “Hero Boy’s” journey. Like many other popular children’s films – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, or My Neighbour Totoro, for instance – nothing much really happens in this one, but it doesn’t need to, because the aesthetic of this world is enjoyable enough on its own to keep us captivated.

There’s some interesting (if slightly strange) camerawork in the film, with many long, deliberate tracking shots focusing on important objects like the ticket, the bell and the pin; the cinematography was the work of Don Burgess and Robert Presley and I think they did an amazing job of making the film stand out visually. The scenery is also just as gorgeous as you’d expect of any decent Christmas film, lending The Polar Express a lot of its charm by creating such a festive atmosphere.

As far as the characters go, there’s not a whole lot to be said about them because they’re not really the focus – “Hero Boy” is about as nondescript as his title implies, because he’s meant to be a stand-in for all the kids watching who dream of making such a journey themselves. His most distinctive characteristic is his keen, questioning desire for truth – he’s presented as a boy on the verge of “outgrowing” the childhood innocence of Christmas, who gradually reaffirms his belief in it all over the course of the story. The film thus serves as a parable about growing up but could also be taken as a more general metaphor for faith, which would tie it in with the religious side of Christmas that is so often overlooked in the modern world.

Elsewhere, Tom Hanks steals the show with his many performances; his brusque, fastidious Train Conductor with a kind heart is one of the highlights thanks to the marvellous energy Hanks gives him, although I’m not always sure how to take the character because of the contrast between his voice and his facial expressions. Hero Girl is sweet and optimistic but manages not to become grating, mainly because of the sincere performance Nona Gaye provides. Billy, the only named kid in the cast, reminded me physically of Dewey from Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006), so much so that I was surprised to find he wasn’t played by Erik Per Sullivan (who was in another festive film, Christmas With the Kranks, that same year).

Musically, the film is strong, with a sweeping choral theme that instantly captures the mood of the season and a collection of excellent songs, both old and new. I particularly enjoyed When Christmas Comes to Town; it was so cute and made me wish I’d seen the film when it first came out, so that I could fully immerse myself in its wonderful atmosphere. You’d never guess that Nona Gaye was an adult when she played Hero Girl, and Billy’s singer, Matthew Hall, has all the unpolished charm of a genuine kid. Mind you, the random Hot Chocolate song was a true “Big-Lipped Alligator Moment”, albeit a very entertaining one, and the elf dance party near the end made me feel like I’d suddenly walked into a DreamWorks film.

It has to be said, though, that while I did enjoy the cast, the film does have one rather glaring problem – the animation. It’s not that it’s bad – on the contrary, most of it is extremely impressive for the time – it’s just that it’s really, really creepy. Unfortunately, these early mocap films have not aged well and many of the facial expressions made by the characters are unnerving, to say the least, with their slightly glazed eyes and ever-so jerky movements. This is the uncanny valley at its worst, with the characters looking almost real but just “off” enough to be disquieting; having recently seen the cutting-edge motion-capture work in Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018), the difference is obvious. The elves in particular are absolutely terrifying in close-up, probably because of their more “adult” faces. (“It’s in good hands… trussst me!” Ugh, don’t think so mate, get the heck away from me). At times, the poor translation of the actor’s expressions into the animation actually affected the performance; for instance, I don’t think Hanks’s conductor is supposed to come off as quite so intimidating!

When the film came out in 2004, critics and audiences did pick up on this issue, with the sometimes-nightmarish human characters the chief criticism levelled at it. Despite this, many others such as Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper and James Berardinelli praised it for tapping in to the true “Christmas spirit” of the season, and the sometimes-awkward animation hasn’t stopped The Polar Express from becoming a holiday favourite with families all over the world. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, all for sound and music, and a temporary attraction themed around the film also opened at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida (kind of an odd venue for a Christmas ride), where it continues to run during the holidays.

As for me, I have to admit that I loved it, despite my age. There’s something about a well-made family film that just gets to me and I’m a sucker for Spielberg-style cheese, so I quickly got drawn into this nostalgic adventure. If you haven’t seen it yet yourself, I’d recommend watching it with a child for the first time, if you have any in the family – The Polar Express would make a wonderful experience for you to share together and could easily become a new family tradition. It’s all over the film channels at this time of year, too, so what better time to finally catch it?

 

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you’re enjoying the holidays! I may try to put up a book review if I get time before the end of the month, but otherwise, I shall join you again in the new year. We’ll be kicking off with a few more First Thoughts reviews of a collection of mid-2000s classics that I’ve somehow not seen yet; Corpse Bride, Happy Feet and The Simpsons Movie. I’ll also be doing a couple more on The Adventures of Tintin from 2011 and Studio Ponoc’s Mary and the Witch’s Flower, with full film reviews of classics like Spirited Away, The Land Before Time and Finding Nemo later on. Short reviews and book reviews will be continuing, and I’m hoping to get around to my first series review sometime in 2019, too, so I do hope you’ll stick around for all that. Until next time, take care, don’t overdo it on the eggnog and stay animated!

Short Review: The Snowman (1982) – My last Christmas review

Episode Review: Arnold’s Christmas (1996) – My favourite Christmas special

 

References
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16206998 – credit for the poster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Polar_Express_(film) – Wiki page
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338348/ – IMDB profile