Product Description
Polar Express (DVD) (WS)
Late on Christmas Eve, after the town has gone to sleep, a boy boards the mysterious train that waits for him--The Polar Express. When the boy arrives at the North Pole, Santa Claus offers him any gift he desires. The boy asks only for a bell from the harness of Santa's reindeer. But on the way home, the bell is lost. Christmas morning, the boy finds the bell under the Christmas tree, and when he shakes it, the bell makes the most beautiful sound he's ever heard. His mother admires the bell, but she laments that it is broken ... for, you see, only a true believer can hear the sound of the bell.
Amazon.com Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon The World of The Polar Express The book by Chris Van Allsburg The Soundtrack The Magic Journey (Polar Express the Movie) (book) Stills from Polar Express (click for larger image) Review A truly satisfying holiday picture, the kind everyone can enjoy. --Washington Post, Desson Thomson A story that soars with breakneck pace but slows in all the tender moments. Visually, this train ride is both majestic and edge-of-your-seat. --The Hollywood Report
