Believing in Santa Claus isn't easy when all of your friends and family insist he's just make-believe. A young boy lies awake in his room one snowy Christmas Eve, excited and alert. Breathing silently. Hardly moving. Waiting. He's listening for a sound he's afraid that he might never hear, the ringing bells of Santa's sleigh. The time is five minutes to midnight. Suddenly, the boy is startled by a thunderous roar. Clearing the mist from his window he sees the most amazing sight: a gleaming black train rumbles to a stop right in front of his house, the steam from its powerful engine hissing through the night sky and the softly falling snowflakes. The boy rushes outside, clad only in his pajamas and slippers, and is met by the train's conductor who seems to be waiting just for him. "Well, are you coming?" the conductor asks. "Where?" "Why, to the North Pole, of course. This is the Polar Express!"

What can I say, this is the kind of movie kids and families will love, while for me it was just too cutesy. I know its Christmas time and Hollywood like to capitalize on it with these feel good, holiday, Christmas cheer movies but sometimes it feels like we are just bombarded with them like we should be dancing in the streets singing carols once the temperature drops. I know the movie is based on a book by the same name and the book sounds fantastic to me because when reading this tale of magic and wonder you would need to use your imagination to see all the wondrous things rather than have the magic spoon fed to you by a group of animators. Some books are just better left as book, where the magic of them remains in our minds rather than on someone’s storyboard.

As far as the technical aspects of the movie go, they were done OK but not with any panache or splendor another studio has got us to expect from an animated movie. Pixar might have ruined all animated movies by raising the bar so high, Shrek managed to reach it through its wit and intelligence while movies like this and Shark Tale just seem to be falling short. I mean there is nothing that bad with the animation, there is just nothing eye opening or amazing either, we have become an overindulged audience who has feasted and anything less seems any good. The story and the plot are great and that is the testament of the book I believe as it does do a good job telling the story of Christmas. If you have a family or children they will love the movie, but if your like me I just think you would be better off reading the book.
3 stars out of 5