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A boy's faith that Santa Claus is real is rewarded one Christmas Eve when the Polar Express stops by his house to take him to the North Pole to meet Santa.
Editor's Note
Director Robert Zemeckis revolutionized the art of animated film in 1998's WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT by dropping cartoon characters into the same frame with flesh-and-blood actors. In THE POLAR EXPRESS, live action and animation have merged seamlessly, resulting in sparkling super-realism. A landmark technique Zemeckis and his Sony Pictures Imageworks team call "Performance Capture" perfectly suits the tenor of this wondrous children's Christmas story by Chris Van Allsburg. A disillusioned little boy, just old enough to doubt the existence of Santa Claus, has the adventure of a lifetime one fateful Christmas Eve. Clad in his pajamas, he climbs aboard a magic train to the North Pole, driven by a kindly train conductor (voiced by Tom Hanks who starred in both of Zemeckis's Academy-Award winning films FORREST GUMP and CASTAWAY). Among myriad jaw-dropping moments, the train plummets brakeless through crystalline mountains in a simulated roller coaster ride. Going off the rails, skidding sideways, and snaking violently across a frozen lake, the train arrives at the North Pole (a vast, glowing city of brick buildings). At that moment, the car carrying the kids detaches and they're sent tumbling down never-ending chutes and slides until they land in the middle of Santa's Workshop. With its fascinating tale and impressive technical frolics, THE POLAR EXPRESS is destined to become both a holiday classic and a new turning point in the art of animated cinema.
| Features | Full Frame - 1.33 | | Widescreen - 2.39 | | Audio:
| Dolby Surround 2.0 Latin Spanish | | Dolby Surround 5.1 English |
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| Technical Info
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Release Information
|  | Studio: Warner Home Video |
| Release Date: 10/30/2007 |
| Running Time: 100 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2004 | | Catalog ID: 115703 | | UPC: 00085391157038 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew | Peter Scolari | | Nona Gaye | | Eddie Deezen | | Charles Fleischer | | Tom Hanks | | Daryl Sabara | | Michael Jeter | | Doug Chiang - Production Designer | | William Teitler - Producer | | Rick Carter - Production Designer | | Glen Ballard - Music Supervisor | | Jeremiah O'Driscoll - Editor | | Don Burgess - Director of Photography | | Joanna Johnston - Costume Designer | | Alan Silvestri - Composer | | Jr. William Broyles - Screenwriter | | R. Orlando Duenas - Editor | | Jack Rapke - Executive Producer | | Robert Zemeckis - Screenwriter | | Robert Zemeckis - Producer | | Gary Goetzman - Producer | | Steve Starkey - Producer | | Robert Zemeckis - Director |
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"[T}here is wonder for us to cherish, courtesy of a spectacular visual sense....It does nicely with its quieter moments, especially in the emotional scenes that close the story." 11/10/2004 p.E1Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "It's a technical masterpiece that is made primarily for kids..." 04/01/2008 p.64 |
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