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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 3:12 pm
(I love the book & its artwork but must confess the film's trailers have disappointed me. It looks so loud and frentic. Crossing my fingers that my first impression proves to be wrong.) Opens Wednesday November 10th Official film site RT page

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Sillycalimomma
Member
11-13-2003
| Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 11:55 pm
Saw it today-again a sneak preview/special showing. I really enjoyed it although I wish I had waited to see it-perhaps closer to Christmas. Although I was not overly impressed with the film most of the audience around me seemed to be...and well all of the children just LOVED it, and I guess that would be the point!
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Fabnsab
Member
08-07-2000
| Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 4:56 pm
Silly, what was it about? All I ever see on the commercials is Tom Hanks saying "all aboard." I have never gotten the ghist of the story.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Monday, November 08, 2004 - 1:14 pm
Thanks for the info, Sillcalimomma! I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. I'm still a little anxious since the book means so much to me but can't help looking forward to the movie now that it's almost here, lol. How did you like the animation? Some of the backgrounds and effects I've seen in the trailers look amazing but some of character clips look a little unsettling. But I'll probably wait 'til after Thanksgiving to see the film anyway. I do love the holidays but don't like rushing the season, if you know what I mean.
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Ladytex
Member
09-27-2001
| Monday, November 08, 2004 - 1:55 pm
Fabnsab: You can read about the book here
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, November 08, 2004 - 11:51 pm
I can't wait to see this film. I could never get through this book, reading it to my kids, without crying. It is so filled with hope and believing that I just know that the film will be just as good.
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Sillycalimomma
Member
11-13-2003
| Tuesday, November 09, 2004 - 8:26 am
I honestly had a hard time getting emotionally attached to the characters in the film, perhaps because it was animated. I kept thinking the children had odd shaped mouths and their facial expressions didn't make much sense to me....but that's just me I suppose. I expect too much. The children we took to see this movie have all read the book and all LOVED the movie. We took two boys ages 4 and 6. The 4 year old LOVED all the scenes with the train (there are moments when you start to feel like you have become a part of the movie!) and the six year old at one point yelled out "I love you Santa!" which had the audience in hysterics. The two girls (ages 7 and 10) really loved it too. They all walked out with enormous smiles on and couldn't wait for Christmas. My dd even ran home and cleaned her room just so she could find her bell that she had been given in Kindergarten when they read the book. She spent the rest of the day ringing it! Anyway, the other adults that went seemed to really enjoy the film as well....there was actually a man sitting behind us who was extremely vocal and seemed to love the film more than any of the kids! I would go see it for sure as Christmas approaches, it should help lift the mood 
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Jan
Member
08-01-2000
| Tuesday, November 09, 2004 - 10:13 am
gosh I have never even heard of this book until now..is that because I am Canadian or is it an age thing?????
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Faerygdds
Member
08-29-2000
| Tuesday, November 09, 2004 - 11:48 am
I also saw this at the sneak preview last Saturday... I don't know what you guys thought, but I LOVED it! It was something that I think most of us can relate to.... it's the timelessness of the question, "Do you believe?" I was sobbing several times (PMS helped) and was literally entranced at some of the animation. BTW... for those who didn't like the animations and thought the kids looked kind of odd. Check out IMDB.com and you can see that they look very much like the real actors the animations were based off of. After the movie opens and sufficient time has apssed I will tell you the BEST part of the movie (it wasn't IN the movie, but more a reaction to it)... don't want to spoil it though... 
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Tuesday, November 09, 2004 - 3:37 pm
Faerygdds: Oh that's good news! Tom Hanks has been on NPR and David Letterman's show discussing the movie-making. Jan: Hmmm...I don't know if the book is popular in Canada but it's a beloved classic here in the States. (And I'm a fan of more than a few of artist/author Chris Van Allsburg's books.) It's a picture book (with a little text) so perhaps that's why some aren't familiar with it. But I don't think there should be an age limit for imagination, belief, or enchantment! Here's a very thoughtful & perceptive review I copied from Barnes & Noble's site: "Given a talented and aggressive imagination, even the challenge of as cliche-worn a subject as Santa Claus can be met effectively. Van Allsburg's Polar Express is an old-fashioned steam train that takes children to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to meet the red-suited gentleman and to see him off on his annual sleigh ride. This is a personal retelling of the adult storyteller's adventures as a youngster on that train. The telling is straight, thoughtfully clean-cut and all the more mysterious for its naive directness; the message is only a bit less direct: belief keeps us young at heart. The full-page images are theatrically lit. Colors are muted, edges of forms are fuzzy, scenes are set sparsely, leaving the details to the imagination. The light comes only from windows of buildings and the train or from a moon that's never depicted. Shadows create darkling spaces and model the naturalistic figures of children, wolves, trees, old-fashioned furniture and buildings. Santa Claus and his reindeer seem like so many of the icons bought by parents to decorate yards and rooftops: static, posed with stereotypic gestures. These are scenes from a memory of long ago, a dreamy reconstruction of a symbolic experience, a pleasant remembrance rebuilt to fufill a current wish: if only you believe, you too will hear the ringing of the silver bell that Santa gave him and taste rich hot chocolate in your ride through the wolf-infested forests of reality. Van Allsburg's express train is one in which many of us wish to believe. Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus"
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 2:00 pm
The WB showed a scene from TPE last night during Gilmore Girls. I almost whimpered in disappointment and dismay at what I saw. I started wondering if maybe it wouldn't have been better to do it as a simple, old-fashioned half-hour tv special and leave all the bluster and padding out. But of course the economics wouldn't be feasible for that. And I do appreciate that the film-makers tried to bring Van Allsburg's paintings "to life" and agree that neither standard hand drawn nor computer animation could convey the right mood and look. Maybe I should just stop thinking about it so much and just enjoy the film for what it is! The book will always be there to admire and cherish. And after all, it would be exceedingly difficult to replicate something so very close to perfect. I'll probably end up loving the movie despite everything! I also saw part of Tom Hanks & Robert Zemekis' interview on Charlie Rose's show. P.S. Sillcalimomma, that's so sweet about your dd looking for her bell. How cute. I'm glad that kids seem to enjoy the movie in any case!
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 4:39 pm
Faerygdds, I totally agree with you! My DH and I took our 4-year-old son last Friday and we all LOVED it! There were parts of the movie where I just wanted to sob, I was so touched. My DH, who is not a "Christmaholic" like me, left the theater feeling all warm and fuzzy and wanting to see the movie again! (Very uncharacteristic response from him!) He suggested that we stop on the way home and buy the soundtrack, and even went on Yahoo.com and wrote a glowing review of the movie (gave it an A+). Our son has spent a major portion of the past few days playing with his toys trains and singing the "Hot Chocolate" song under his breath. I saw an ad on TV for Hallmark the other night, and they're selling Polar Express memorabilia to tie in with the movie. I'm going to try to get down there and buy a bell to wrap up in a box for DS. Wonderful family movie. An instant classic!
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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Saturday, November 27, 2004 - 1:22 pm
I adored this movie. It really was the book come to life. Definitely a classic film! Although some have been put off by the animation, I don't see how it could possibly have been done any other way. It was a masterful accomplishment in my book. I loved the look of the children. They were very well done and had the look of kids, not just beautiful characters. Go see this movie and give yourself a little Christmas treat...it's not just for children. Oh, in my humble opinion, children younger than seven or eight could be easily frightened by some aspects of the film. One could always prepare them by reading the book of course.
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Wednesday, December 01, 2004 - 4:46 am
Just got news yesterday that my dd's kindergarten class is going to see this movie this coming Tuesday. Just went to the web site http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/polarexpress/flashsite/index.html I think both the class and me (I have already paid to be a chaperone , will love it!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 11:16 am
I just saw it last night and I think it was amazing! It watching Tom Hanks and really not watching Tom Hanks but the visual is just spectacular! I loved it, as much as I've always loved the book. I never could make it through the reading of the book to my children without crying and the movie was the same way. Just tremendous!
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Monday, December 06, 2004 - 10:50 am
If you have a chance to see this in 3D IMAX, do it! It was absolutely beautiful! I loved it! Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! My husband, 3 kids, 5 of their friends and 3 of their parents all agree! None of us have seen it in the regular movie format. It is such a wonderful book and story. I do think parents will probably like this better then adults who are not parents...on the regular screen anyway. As far as IMAX goes, this imax is also 3D and such a wonderful visual experience for anyone.
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Friday, December 24, 2004 - 9:25 pm
We saw it in Imax 3D -I'm not sure if all IMAX theatres are showing it in 3D - our one theatre has 2 Imax, but only 1 said it was a 3D showing! Oh the glasses for this 3D are huge - which makes it less noticable, and if you wear glasses, they fit great! You can get caught up in the story, and with the 3D experience, its just terrific. Since I realized only one theatre near was showing the IMAX experience, I did the Fandango route, which I highly reccommend, several showings were sold out - and listening to those around many had to come back, we're not used to sold out shows!! (esp not on an opening weekend... again, this movie is good, 3D is GREAT!!)
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Tuesday, December 28, 2004 - 1:02 pm
I finally saw this the week before Christmas and ended up loving it but not in the same way or as deeply as I do the book. My favorite parts were the very beginning and the very end, which, I'm sure not coincidently, most matched the tone, pace, and appearance of Chris Van Allsburg's text and paintings. And while it didn't bother me terribly, transforming the boy from a believer to a doubter definitely changed the story. It's as "valid" a story but it's not the same story Van Allsburg told. Some of the visuals were truly amazing, some extremely clever, and some just didn't work for me. I wasn't bothered by the characters' appearances though, which had been a concern of mine. I loved the sound of the bell - it's too bad neither Hallmark's souvenir gift nor its ornament sound nearly so sweet. Watching the roller coaster mountain train ride on an IMAX screen might make me whimper, LOL. After the credits is a simple, silent tribute to Michael Jeter. Trailers: Fat Albert, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Racing Stripes, Are We There Yet? and one other I can't recall.
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