The Polar Express (HD-DVD)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: B-     Feature: C+

 

 

The question I always get asked about Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express (2004) besides if it is any good, is if it is animated and if so, what kind of animation.  It is motion capture technology on real people and except for artists who add backgrounds and objects later, it is like a digital version of rotoscoping where their bodies are captured by placing digital signifiers (see the picture section below) which are then run by the computer to get the final result you see on screen.

 

Based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, with screenplay adaptation by Zemeckis and William Broyles, Jr. is about a young boy (voice of Peter Scolari, Hanks co-star from Bosom Buddies) who takes a special train for the holiday that takes him on a trip he’ll never forget.  Hanks does the voice of several characters throughout as Zemeckis plays with the idea of the guide/father figure, while Nona Gaye is really good voicing the young African American lady also trying to find her way.  Though this does not work overall, it offers some interesting moments, yet might be too scary for young children despite its G rating for some scary moments as far as the unknown and strangers are concerned.

 

With that said, it is still worth a look, but is probably best screened around the holidays for maximum impact.  It is not the feature I was expecting or had in mind, but for what Zemeckis and company tried to do, it succeeds on some level.  Unfortunately, this is more often about mood and sentiment than story and after 99 minutes, it just never reaches its potential.  Then there are the technical aspects that are mixed.

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is on the soft side because of the all-digital system used and because of the “misty Christmas” style is uses on purpose, in part to make that limit an asset.  Even as it was blown up to IMAX 3-D, it was still an issue and remains so, along with the computer memory limits that make this slower (dreamlike or zombie-like) in a way that will put age on this quickly, though I though it had that problem on arrival.  Color is limited by the digital palette and detail is mixed.  Still, the motion sensor tracking system that puts dozens of patches on each figure to track movement makes for a unique visual result and there are some good trick images I give it credit for.

 

The Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 works best in the trickiest moments and boy, does this film love to overdo ambient sound.  If it were any less restrained, it would be a joke, but Zemeckis is one of the directors better-versed in sound than most being the successful commercial filmmakers today and knows how to push sound when he wants.  Too bad this is not DTS of some kind of Dolby True HD, especially since it was an IMAX presentation.  Still, the sound mix is interesting enough, except maybe when Aerosmith shows up.  After all, no Rock band more encapsulates the joy of the holidays than Aerosmith?

 

Extras include a PC Demo game, a five-featurette documentary on the film’s “rides”, a profile of author Allsburg, Josh Grobin singing Believe live plus a making of that song piece alone, Smokey & Steamer song piece, a piece on five of the motion-capture sequences and a look at Hanks several roles.  I actually liked enough of that more than the actual feature to recommend this disc more, but rewatchability is the key and unless you love it and think it is a holiday classic, you will only want to see it so much.  Overall, a mild recommendation at best.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo