‘Polar Express’ an early Christmas delight

There’s a little sadness to be had when we stop believing in Santa Claus; it is the final death knell of Christmas innocence. Robert Zemeckis’ latest pic, “The Polar Express,” understands that sadness and encourages you to forget all about it and believe again, even if it’s just for a little while… because it knows that the belief alone carries a wonderful feeling.

One thing you’ll constantly hear about this film is its amazing technical quality as a CGI-animated feature. Once the feature starts, you’ll know what they’re talking about. Created using actors against greenscreen, the characters look almost human, and that illustrates just how far we’ve come with animation technology. But I won’t waste too much time describing all of that because if you wrap yourself up in the technical wonder of the film, you might miss just how magical it is as a whole.

The main character is a young boy at an age when children not only begin to have their doubts of Santa’s existence, but also spread their doubts to their friends and siblings. It’s Christmas Eve, and the boy listens hard for any sign of the jolly fat man. He wants his disbelief removed from his mind, but reason is steadily robbing him of his innocence.

After much waiting, he hears an odd rumbling going on outside. It’s not a sleigh; no, it’s something much bigger. He puts on a pair of Buck Rogers slippers and looks outside to find a multi-car train sitting in the street.

The train’s conductor, voiced by and looking like Tom Hanks, tells the boy that it’s headed for the North Pole, where he has been invited to see Santa. Skeptical, the boy hops aboard and finds that the train is filled with many more children. He soon befriends a Hero Girl and a Know-it-All child. But little do any of them know that the ride itself is half the adventure.

Do you like Tom Hanks?

Well, who doesn’t? You’ll be seeing (or hearing) a lot of him in this picture, with six roles under his belt, ranging from the Conductor, to a magical hobo, to Santa Claus himself. Oh, sure, you’ll recognize every single one of those voices as belonging to Hanks, no matter what the character looks like; but this isn’t supposed to be a “disappearing act” where you can’t recognize the actor. Chances are you’ll just grin—the man had real fun with this movie, you can tell.

However, don’t think that Hanks is the only actor worth noting. Everyone does a magnificent job, including Spy Kid Daryl Sabara as the voice of our hero, the unforgettably nasal voice of Eddie Deezen as the Know-it-All, and the final performance of the late Michael Jeter.

“The Polar Express” captures the very essence of what a family film should be. It does not cater exclusively to the under-10 crowd and doesn’t contain any childish humor. This should be a great breath of relief for any movie-going parent.

Most importantly, there is a true sense of excitement and peril that permeates the trip to the North Pole. There is actually a scene that simulates a roller coaster ride, which had me on the very edge of my seat. And yet, there is always the feeling that everything will be all right, so children will be at ease. If you think your kids are too young to take to the spectacular superhero epic, “The Incredibles,” consider instead going to this film, even if Christmas still seems like an eternity away.

Early in the film the young boy spots a magazine sporting a cover by Norman Rockwell. “The Polar Express” represents Rockwell’s work in the best way: a wonderful, idealistic world where things may go wrong but always right themselves in the end. I was a little sad when I left the theater because I realized the joy had finally come to an end… but that should be just the incentive to go to the film for a second time.