Polar Express go-to to capture holiday magic

Posted Dec. 17, 2022

By Benjamin Larkin

Cub Reporter

The Polar Express, a 2004 film by Robert Zemeckis is still a film worth watching this holiday season. There are many classics associated with the holiday season and the polar express has been elevated to that level overtime..

The film is based on a picture book of the same name, they both tell the story of a young boy taking a train to the north pole to find out if santa claus is real. The film follows its main character from his home all the way to the north pole on its namesake the polar express. And that journey is the main part of the film with train cars and arctic ice and snow serving as the main background. But where this is where the film really excels, the sense of magic present throughout it, sometimes cheerful and bright and sometimes dark and eerie as the main character grapples with his belief or lack of it. And that's what the film is really about, a child's journey to restore his belief. 

The polar express was the first film to be animated fully by motion capture, which is an animation style where actors wear body suits that allow specialized cameras to record their movements and allow them to be animated creating hyper realistic movements and expressions. Though this received mixed reception at the film's release as many considered it too life-like.  But this level of detail even in the areas that had to be animated normally gives the film a unique art style. In fact the level of detail is so great that when they were unable to use motion capture for hair they decided to illustrate every strand of hair and animate it to rise and fall in realistic ways. 

The score of the polar express is well made with several great orchestral pieces and classic christmas songs, even containing a few original songs. In particular the orchestral pieces of the film fit well with their respective scenes completely enrapturing the viewer. All in all the score of the polar express makes for just as magical an experience as the rest of the film.

The Polar Express is a great film about the true value of believing even when you can't see or hear what you believe in. With cast members like Tom Hanks and music composed by Alan Silvestr directed by Rober Zemeckis it is a film that deserves more appreciation and recognition, even if the film has aged the amount of effort put into is still obvious. So when considering which Christmas movie to watch this year I believe that this film deserves the same amount of consideration as any of the classics and will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.