The other Christmas movie and if you ask why the other Christmas movie then please go and read the first paragraph of move ranked #15. As the Muppets Christmas Carol sits proudly on the TV just after breakfast then this Christmas gem sits at the end of the day. The last view before its time for ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ reading whilst being tucked into bed. Then a night of can’t sleep and I need a drink of water and I just need to do or get that before finally dropping off at 3am to wake at 5.30am to start opening presents. ‘The Polar Express’ is a movie that reminds me of family Christmases more than anything else. A Christmas movie without a villain that is just a visual delight based on an executive’s own experiences growing up and passing that on. It’s like sharing their Christmas with us, what is there not to like? That I don’t know but critics and people didn’t with IMDb giving this a 6.6 out of 10 IMDb and extremely poor 56% by Rotten Tomatoes. Released in 2004 and co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis which was based on The Polar Express book written by Chris Van Allsburg. With the musical score from the fantastic Alan Silvestri and I feel I must mention the Cinematography which was credited to Don Burgess and Robert Presley as its stunning. It stars the voice of Tom Hanks but clearly the main character is based on him also. It uses the voice talents of Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett and Eddie Deezen. It is reported that is cost $165m to make the movie which gave an initial return of $286m from the box office but if you total all the various releases it had it chalked up a tidy $313.5m.
To keep the plot brief it follows the story of a ‘non-believer’ or I should say a very questioning boy who on Christmas Eve is visited by a steam locomotion in the middle of his street. The train pulls up outside his house and magically he is the only one in the street that can hear or see it. So, going to investigate he steps into the snow in his dressing gown and PJ’s. He is invited to board by the guard who says he isn’t going to wait and magically a ticket has appeared in his pocket for the journey. He boards the train, and it travels north to Lapland to visit Santa as he prepares to launch for his incredible night of work. Fundamentally that is it, in a nutshell.
There are other crinkles and subplots but that is it. It’s about a boy who gets visited by a mysterious steam train in the middle of the night that takes him to see Santa. That’s it done. So why is it in my top 15? Simply because as the reasons mentioned before and in the previous review. This movie sums up Christmas for us as a family this is the signal that Christmas is coming. It goes on around 7.30pm (probably later this year) and will finish just after 9pm where it’s time to put the food and drink out for Santa, tuck the little people into bed with a Christmas story and dreams of presents and gifts to come tomorrow. This is the bell that signals its Christmas Eve night and tomorrow is the special day, that all kids dream of. For us this is what this movie means, and I assume it will remain with our kids forever, but it is a kind and loving movie also. There is no bad guy there are thrills and spills and suspicions and sinister music over some dimly lit areas and the children in constant fear of being thrown of the train for losing their ticket. Its lean’s that way now and again, but it never goes that way it always pulls back from anything that may be bad and simply gives happiness and joy and maybe that’s why it got the low scores because people don’t want that anymore. Not enough explosions and violence well there is a place for that and there is 100% a place for this in my eyes. Go and enjoy it next Christmas.
In contrast next up is the conclusion of a horror trilogy that forgot it was a horror…
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