{"id":8972,"date":"2018-08-08T15:33:54","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T19:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=8972"},"modified":"2026-07-04T13:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T17:43:21","slug":"the-polar-express-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=8972","title":{"rendered":"The Polar Express-2004"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

The Polar Express-2004<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Director Robert Zemeckis<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Starring Tom Hanks<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Scott’s Review #800<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Reviewed August 8, 2018<\/p>\r\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Polar Express (2004) is a modern entry into the annals of holiday film history. Along with treasures like Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, and all the other standards, this film has become a popular one to watch throughout the season.<\/p>\r\n

The film is not exactly like the others, since it is the first of its kind to incorporate live human characters animated using live-action motion capture animation.<\/p>\r\n

The mood of the film is mysterious, edgy, and with a dark tint, so jolly it isn’t, but compelling it is, and visually it is a marvel.<\/p>\r\n

The story is as follows: on a snowy Christmas Eve, a young boy living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, doubts the existence of Santa Claus.<\/p>\r\n

When a steam locomotive suddenly appears outside his house, he curiously boards the train and finds a mysterious conductor (Tom Hanks) manning it.<\/p>\r\n

As the train rolls away, the boy meets two other children on board and stops for another one who is also reluctant to get on.<\/p>\r\n

They begin a dazzling, frozen adventure to the North Pole with the promise of receiving the first gift of Christmas from Santa Claus himself.<\/p>\r\n

The main reason to recommend The Polar Express is simply the gorgeous visual treats it offers. In 2004, the film was a unique experience, and I fondly recall sitting in a dark movie theater, watching it for the first time.<\/p>\r\n

There was a magical element to the surroundings, combining intrigue and fantasy that still holds up well.<\/p>\r\n

For adults, I do not think the film is at all scary, but I have heard some reviewers complain that the moody ingredients are a bit frightening for children, so there is that concern.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

A major component is the mixture of human beings and animated tools. The familiar actor that everybody knows is Tom Hanks as the conductor.<\/p>\r\n

Therefore, to sit back and observe the character is a wonderful thing- is it really Tom Hanks or is it an animation?<\/p>\r\n

It is ultimately both, but the fun is in the observation and wondering how the filmmakers created this experience.<\/p>\r\n

And listen for Hanks in other voice performances throughout the film.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The story (or fable) itself is warm and fairly predictable. But, of course, being largely made with kids in mind, this is to be expected.<\/p>\r\n

There is never a doubt that the boy (interestingly, never given a name) will ultimately believe in Santa after all and live happily ever after.<\/p>\r\n

The magic is in the details, though- the boy’s journey to this realization is peppered with fun and creative richness- the little girl’s floating ticket and an ornament falling off a Christmas tree are good particulars.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Director Robert Zemeckis and Hanks worked closely together in Forrest Gump (1994), so the pair are familiar with each other, creatively speaking. Hanks undoubtedly had much input into the decision-making, and it shows.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

I do not personally rank The Polar Express (2004) among the best of the best holiday film offerings, but I support an occasional dusting off of this work for viewing pleasure.<\/p>\r\n

Perhaps over time, the animations may become dated or seem less dazzling, but the film is still worth appreciating for its creative elements.<\/p>\r\n

The story is nothing spectacular (in a way, Scrooge for kids), but it makes for a pleasant family viewing experience.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Oscar Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Song-“Believe”, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Polar Express-2004 Director Robert Zemeckis Starring Tom Hanks Scott’s Review #800 Reviewed August 8, 2018 Grade: B+ The Polar Express (2004) is a modern entry into the annals of holiday film history. Along with treasures like Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, and all the other standards, this film has become a popular one to watch … Continue reading The Polar Express-2004<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[317,205,319,201,199,11658],"tags":[11946,11949,11948,3045,11446,11947,1348,2364,945],"class_list":["post-8972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2004-movie-reviews","category-adventure-films","category-christmas-films","category-fantasy-films","category-childrensfilms","category-winter","tag-daryl-sabara","tag-eddie-deezen","tag-jimmy-bennett","tag-josh-hutcherson","tag-michael-jeter","tag-nona-gaye","tag-robert-zemeckis","tag-steven-tyler","tag-tom-hanks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8972"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23711,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8972\/revisions\/23711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}