POLAR EXPRESS made me cry * FIRST TIME WATCHING * reaction & commentary
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
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The main point of the hobo ghost is to help teach the kid a lesson about his skepticism, and reinforce that "seeing his believing" is more complicated than you think. The man tells the boy that seeing IS believing. But then follows it up with, "Do you believe in ghosts?" The boy shakes his head no, and the man responds "Interesting." The boy doesn't believe in ghosts, even though he is seeing a ghost right in front of him.
Perhaps yet- the ghost of Christmas future?
It took me a couple of times watching this film before realizing Tom Hanks actually voiced ALL the adult male characters, including Santa, the hobo, the kid's dad, and even the Scrooge puppet! He really came through with his voice acting in this one!
Tom Hanks has a very distinctive voice, so I don't know how you missed it. His brother, Jim Hanks, sounds just like him and played Woody in _Toy Story_ video games and commercials.
@@gaynor1721 just wasn't really thinking about it. I heard different voices for each.
If you see the early trailers, he also did the voice for the boy, but the movie used a true young person for the boy voice.
And was the face model too. It gets pretty creepy when you notice it's all Tom Hanks monsters on that train.
Iirc this movie was a bit of a passion project for Tom Hanks, he had been trying to get it made since 1999.
Rudolph doesn’t show up in a lot of Santa movies because the red nosed reindeer is copyrighted. Yep, the other 8 are public domain
11 more years until the original Rudolph story (not the classic Rankin and Bass clamation) becomes public domain.
@@Sam_on_RUclips The Rankin/Bass film is already public domain (improper copyright notice), so the wait is for the character himself and the song (and considering laws about sound recording copyright, that may never enter the public domain in our lifetimes).
@@karabearcomics I always said public domain is the life of Steamboat Willy plus a few years. But Disney didn't lobby to extend beyond the already ludicrous 95 years and the original version of Mickey is entering public domain next week. No reason to think something will change in the next 11 years before Rudolph.
Imagine your pal being copyrighted but all you are is "pUbLiC dOmAiN"
@@belleofbrightside97 Winnie the Pooh and most of his friends have been public domain for 2 years. Hence the horror film Pooh: Blood and Honey. Tigger enters the public domain next week... In case they want a sequel.
"Even Sara found one day that she could no longer hear its sweet sound."- The saddest line in the whole movie. Growing up sure does suck.
Here in Arizona, we have a steam train that runs to and from the Grand Canyon. At Christmas time, the train turns into the Polar Express. When my son was small (years ago), we went every year. Everyone is expected to wear their pajamas and robes. We all bring a copy of the picture book, and follow along as it is read over the intercom. At the appropriate point, hot chocolate and Christmas cookies are served. And after the train gets away from town and out into the dark forest, we come upon a magical North Pole village with lights and everything. The most memorable year was when we scored Christmas Eve tickets and it started snowing while we were on the train. Everyone gets a silver bell as they get off the train. We still have a collection. It was so magical!
We have a Christmas train out here in Nevada too! I need to ride it sometime with my hubby :D sounds so fun.
Here in Dallas-Fort Worth (GRAPEVINE, Texas) we have a polar express at Christmas time too! It's cute! The tickets get sold out in the summer!
Dangit!! You just added something to my bucket list.
We have it in Utica NY and sometimes real snow!
I was today years old when I found out about this.
Check out the book this is based on.
Also, to answer your question at 25:27, reindeer and caribou are literally the same species of deer. Caribou is what the North American populations are called while reindeer is what the Eurasian populations are called.
Oh yeah, and at 28:21, we got an elf version of Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.
Yep lol :P
@@RedRoseSeptember22 Why lol?
caribous are bigger
@@simonrancourt7834The North American populations?
@@RedRoseSeptember22What's with the lol?
Ashleigh: This animation is giving uncanny valley…instantly. I don’t like it.
Everyone: Welcome to the club!
The nerdy kid is played by Eddie Deezen and that is just his natural voice. You’ll know him better as Mandark in Dexter’s Lab.
He's also a weird creep and harrassed a waitress continually IRL
Yep lol I always say "Shut up Mandark" whenever I hear him XD
Someone pointed out to me that the girl also has her doubts about Santa, it's just shown super subtly to where it flies under the radar.
How? By the "Are you sure?" thing.
Sure, she SAYS she believes in everything, but there's still a little voice in the back of her head saying, "Are you sure?"
That's why she freezes up whenever someone says that. What if she was wrong this whole time? What if all this is meaningless?
So when they're at the North Pole, and she finally says, "Absolutely!", that was the film's way of telling us she now finally truly believes it's all real.
That's why she didn't initially hear the bells.
videohistory: That's why she's there. If her faith is as unshakable as she Says, she wouldn't be on the train. But, she got on because she wanted to have her belief supported. It's possible that she was on the line because of others telling her to grow up and stop believing in kid stuff.
That happens to many of us. But, it doesn't mean that we're to completely surrender our sense of wonder, humor, and fun. Oh, and humility.
May your Holidays be one of Everlasting Belief.
PS. What's your thoughts about the ghost?
A nod to A Christmas Carol?
Someone who didn't believe once, but always longed for a second chance?
The Spirit of Christmas?
The Spirit of Faith (given his appearance as a hobo riding the top of the train and helping wayward children find their way back into the interior)?
A lot of this was tilted toward a 1930s 1940s vibe. During the Depression railroad "hobos" were a big thing. Maybe that's why they incorporated the ghost. He was also a voice encouraging the boy to be skeptical, and open to magic, at the same time.
I don't care how creepy the animation is! I love this movie so much! One of my top 10 favorite Christmas movies!
A fun story I have to tell regarding this film is that when it was released in 2005 my fifth grade class and the two other fifth grade classes at my school took a field trip to the theater to see this movie.
So the film is directed by Robert Zemeckis who directed the following films you have previously seen for the channel:
Forrest Gump,
The Back to the Future Trilogy,
And Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
This was made through his motion capture company Image Movers Digital.
Also Tom Hanks plays:
The Father,
The Boy grown up narration,
The Conductor,
The hobo/scrooge puppet,
and Santa Claus.
Same thing happened in my elementary school. Before this movie was being released, my teacher set the classroom like a train and served us hot chocolate. One of the best experience I've had as a child, which is why this movie always resides with me.
Either Image Movers Digital became a horror film company after Forrest Gump or they messed up and accidently created the greatest abomination known to man.
I believe Hanks was also the voice of at least one of the elves.
I did the same! northern Illinois for me. did we all have the same childhood lol
@@dontbstingy3587 one of the problems with computer generated human animation is that the characters are too perfect. Really people have flaws ( one eye slightly higher than the other, crooked noses, blemishes etc.) The absence of which appears creepy. I'm not sure why the creators chose to use human characters but it does make a scary movie.
This was my first time ever seeing an IMAX film. And the snow in the 3D was so astonishing. First movie I remember where 3D actually added to the immersion and magic instead of being a gimmick.
I really loved "A Christmas Carol" in 3D from the same director (Robert Zemeckis of Back to the Future fame).
Same here, it was my first Imax film and it was stunning to watch especially in 3D
The blu-ray 3d presentation is fantastic.
The reason I can come up with why Rudolph isn’t shown in a lot of films is that he is only really needy for really bad weather conditions to be able to lead the way.
I can tell you the reason, he was never given a spot on the team at least not full time. Its said Won't you guide my slay tonight. Not would you like to be the new lead Reindeer. And it's said he saved that Christmas, and that after that all the other Reindeer loved him. He will go down in history as the song goes. He will go down in history not just for saving one Christmas but for being the only Reindeer not part of santa team to not only get to be on it but actually lead it.
@@Yugioh420 I think you're partly right, I say this takes place before Rudolph. Rudolph might have been born, but it was a particularly brutal blizzard when he guides the sleigh the first time. This felt like a standard Christmas.
@scottboswell6406 most are pretty standard besides the Christmas Rudolph led the sleigh but it wasn't a blizzard Rudolph guided Santa threw. At least not the original. Unless I'm having a Mandela effect moment I'm pretty sure it was Fog Santa couldn't see threw that only The shinning nose could cut threw to guide the way. Now I gotta double check to see if I'm right or not.
@scottboswell6406 yea one Foggy Christmas eve. Santa came to say.
Rudolph was not one of Santa's original Reindeer. He was made up by a dept. store for a Christmas ad and then made into a hit song (sung by Gene Autry) and then a Rankin/Bass TV Christmas special. Reindeer trivia: They are the only kind of deer that both male and female can grow antlers.
This was based on a beautiful picture book by the same title. They tried to capture that beauty in the animation. As you said, it works for stills, like the buildings and trains but fails with moving people.
It was logical to suppose that motion capture would be a useful tool for animators. And while it may still have its uses, it clearly doesn't work for everything. For storytelling purposes it just doesn't render human figures naturally. In the years since computer animation was introduced, those working in that medium have refined it to a point that much more fluid and and expressive movement can be achieved using the skills of traditional animators. Motion capture is the digital equivalent of rotoscoping - tracing over live action footage expecting that it would result in a natural, lifelike look. Unfortunately it turned out to be the opposite. Films like "The Polar Express" were a noble experiment but not an aesthetic success.
Zemekis tried so hard to make mo-cap work. But the more human he tried to make the characters, the less real they looked. In many respects, the technology just wasn’t ready. Most of the movement comes off slightly stiff. The hands, wrists, and fingers don’t move right, because the mocap gear just didn’t pick up the subtler movements.
And the facial capture never really worked at catching all the subtle movements around the mouth and eyes humans are naturally hyper attuned to, since it’s the foundation of how we communicate. While it did save them money building sets, it would have been better if the kids, anyway, had been real actors.
Unfortunately, the dynamite team of Zemekis and Hanks was kneecapped by - at the time - a rarely used term we use quite a bit now.
The Uncanny Valley.
TPE became its poster child.
So the reason why Rudolph is not included in this or other Christmas movies is because Rudolph is copyrighted by a company out of a Connecticut called Character Arts, LLC. It was originally featured in a booklet published by Montgomery Ward Department Store. Merry Christmas Ashleigh!
One thing I've caught about this movie over the years:
When they're walking around the north pole, they hear the elves talking about the last present having candy cane paper and a green number 7 bow.
You're supposed to think that it's Billy's present, but eventually, you notice so is Hero boy's present.
Leaves you to wonder: did Santa know he was going to lose the bell?
People growing out of being able to hear the bell literally makes me cry, lol. I loved the book so much as a kid, I have a little bell that I hang as part of my Christmas decorations!
I too have a little Polar Express bell that I hang on my tree every year. I got it from my grandma. I turn it into a game. Who can find the bell in the tree? Kind of like someone finding the pickle ornament or something.
This movie is crazy as hell but I love it so much. The way I see this movie and the whole point of it (as well as its kind of dark undertone at times) is the concept of belief and faith, not just in Santa, but in anything. The main character has this constant internal struggle of wanting to believe, but "needing proof" in order to believe in it. His character foil, however, is the girl he meets on the train, who has a strong sense of belief and faith. She doesn't need her proof to belief in Santa; she just does. The main character challenges this idea, and her concept of faith, by consistently almost doubting her. He's always asking her if she's sure about the choices she makes and her response is often to simply brush him off and go on her way. It's only toward the end of the movie where he asks her again where she stands firm in her choice, responding with a steady "absolutely." And in each instance where her faith is challenged, she's always right which conflicts with the main character's need for proof or logic before he chooses to believe something.
By the end of the story, the main character chooses to believe without the proof he so desperately needs, and because of it, it pays off. This may come off as blind faith, but I wouldn't say that it is considering through the entire night, he's shown that you don't always need hard evidence to believe in something. It's just as the conductor says, "Some of the most real things in the world are the things we can't see."
moogotron: The very definition of Faith/Belief is to give credence to Nouns -- persons, places, and things (Thank you, Schoolhouse Rock. haha) -- we can't see, that haven't happened yet, and that aren't manifest within the world but within ourselves.
Just like we learn in other Christmas movies and TV shows like The Guardians, it can require a little sacrifice, ignoring what people tell you, and resisting the bitterness and anger that disappointments and hard times heap upon us throughout our lives.
The end of the movie says this when the boy, now a man, says his little sister lost her Belief as she got older, so she, like the parents, couldn't hear the bell anymore.
Granted, she didn't get the opportunity to take the train trip like her brother, who was granted a rare glimpse into something Amazing.
But, isn't that the way it often works? A few people tell of a miracle they encountered, but the rest of the world that didn't get that precious insight can't bring themselves to believe. And often become the mockers and tormentors of The Believers and The Faithful.
Some give in and stop believing. Some stop talking about it and keep their beliefs hidden within themselves like a precious secret.
However, there are those who tell everyone they meet, regardless of the negativity they receive.
I really think that's the real reason Harry Potter was so special. That first book brought back Belief for so many kids, teens, and yes, adults, who had lost their sense of Wonder.
And for a time, or longer if lucky, millions were able to recapture that Feeling of Anything and Everything Being Possible.
Just like when we were very, very young and our entire souls were sure there was still Magic in the world.
Happiest Holidays to you.
May your New Year be wonder-full
Believe to understand and undestand to believe
The book this was based on was a very simple story, beautifully illustrated. In fact, the main point of the book was the illustrations. It was just the main kid, not quite sure if he still believed in Santa, taking the train to the North Pole, being served hot chocolate, getting the jingle bell. Pretty much everything else was added to pad out the movie to a full movie length. If they had just stuck to the book, it would have been a half-hour TV special. The girl, the nerdy kid, Billy, the ice, the "rollercoaster" tracks, all the other "crises" on the way, were made up for the movie. IIRC, there were some illustrations of the trees and birds and animals on the way, and a railroad hobo, but nothing about losing the ticket, or making words with the hole punch, or the hole in the pocket.
And yes, the CGI was creepy-looking. They hadn't yet figured out how to make realistic people with CGI. It probably would have worked better if they had gone for a more cartoony-style with the people, like in the various Pixar movies.
And yes, Tom Hanks did most of the voices. And the voice of the nerdy kid is the same guy who plays nerdy characters in many other movies, sic as War Games.
MR POTATOHEAD! Back doors are not secrets!
The one with the weird voice? He was also in the movie Grease as Eugene.
Eddie Deezen. ;)
I mainly remember him in Wargames, too. (not Wargames Two, that was terrible. lol)
Wargames (1983) has a genuinely important message, I think. Even more so at this time in the World today.
@@electronash Absolutely
@@electronash And he was also in a really stupid movie called "Joysticks" - a silly teenage comedy about playing video games. This may have been his first movie. I only know about it from RiffTrax.
I'm 75 and I have watched this film every year since its release. You missed the age of trains and I miss trains. In the 50s when I was a kid, my younger brother and I rode the Denver Zephyr on the Burlington railway from Denver to various places west of the Mississippi to spend the summer with my father's parents. One year we departed from Chicago. My grandfather was a preacher who serviced little towns in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas. When we first began our annual trips I was 5 years old and my brother 3. We traveled alone under the care of the porters. Since the 50s I've traveled very often by plane around the country and Europe, but I have yet to find a fight that was as elegant as train travel . That was before the government ruined train travel with AMTRAK. I'm rambling as old men do. Hobos were a part of trains. Going back to the Great Depression of the 30's Hobos and often out of work men would jump into empty freight cars to catch a free ride; hobos to who knows where and out of work men to anyplace where work might be found.
Trains were once the main public transportation system between cities and towns. Tracks were laid passing through population centers, establishing stations for shipping and travel.
Trains were especially important in rural areas, most notably in the eastern mountain areas and beyond. It was these mountain areas where bluegrass developed and songs were written that included trains. Hillbillies immortalized trains in their music.
I was born in the mountains. When the Great Depression hit our area, many young people fled to cities on the train lines that went through their little rural town. In my family, some went east to Baltimore and some went west to Indianapolis. Years later, my family had an annual family gathering that each year was held in either Baltimore, Indianapolis, or the tiny town our family began in. I still have family in those three towns.
When I was a divorced mother, I used to take that same train, daughter in tow, to stay a week or two with my grandfather, who still lived in that tiny mountain town. We would go three times a year, so my daughter now in her 30s had that same experience of train travel that my own parents and grandparents had. It's the same train line that my grandfather would take from his birthplace to come court my grandmother in the same tiny town that my family spread out east and west from.
@@chris...9497 Yep. Trains were important all over the country. For a time they were the main movers of nessisary goods. In the west where good roads were space before Ikes highway system was completed trains got products that were manufactured in the east to us in the west. Cattle and hogs and grains moved from west to the east. I've ridden on AMTRAK a few times but for me it isn't as special as it was in the 50s traveling on the Burlington, Sante Fe, B & O, or the Norfolk and Western.
Merry Christmas, Ashleigh!! This is a sweet movie to watch during the holiday. It's been a hard season for us in our home, but you've brighten our year! Thank you!
P.S. Kinda wish Ashleigh listened to the song during the credits, Believe by Josh Groban. It's obviously orchestrated throughout the movie, but since it was written for it I wish she heard it; it's catchy.
We had this on the biggest screen we had. When the train takes the steep drops you would feel it in your stomach. I loved standing in the back of the theater and hearing guests gasp.
I saw this in theaters with my late step-grandfather (a day with just me and him, even though I have two brothers too), and it's a really cherished memory of mine, and also part of why I love this movie so much. It's just a wonderful Christmas film; gotta love Tom Hanks! Plus, you pair him with Robert Zemeckis again after Forrest Gump and Cast Away and it's a no-brainer already.
Reading the book growing up, I have to say, this film really honoured the text and the illustrations in this film.
Yeah the animation here is creepy af, as much as it works for still images, but I'm such a sap that the movie itself makes me cry every single time Almost every scene with Billy, and most of the ending from the moment Santa shows up. I also just LOVE the Hot Chocolate song and dance number.
Fun facts: The two engineers are both voiced by Michael Jeter - best known to most people either as Del from The Green Mile or as Mr Noodle's Brother Mr Noodle from Elmo's World/Sesame Street - in (I think?) his final role before he died; and the elf singer at the end is Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.
My wife and I watch this every Christmas season. We are in our 60s and love it. It brings out the kid in us.
This is such a wonderful movie! We still set up the Polar Express train under our tree. The set came with the movie, a full train with sounds and Tom Hanks yelling "ALL ABOARD!" tracks and the bell. My son cried when we gave him this set on Christmas many years ago.
The sock thing from the pot of coffee, that's the old poor man's way of making coffee. You put the beans in a sock, crush'em with something hard, then drop them in a pot of hot water. Learned how to do it when i was a civil war reenactor
🎶 Children sleeping
Snow is softly falling
Dreams are calling
Like bells in the distance
We were dreamers
Not so long ago
But one by one, we
All had to grow up
When it seems the magic's slipped away
We find it all again on Christmas Day
Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You'll have everything you need
If you just believe 🎶
Only from watching the intro and seeing part of the title being "made me cry," I have the feeling Ashleigh is going to be on the Polar Hot Mess Express!
Happy Christmas, Ashleigh
First about movie, the film is entirely in CGI / Digital animation. It was one, if not, the first of the full-length movie in CGI / DA. Since it was early 2000s, CGI animators hadn't quite gotten people's faces and movements done quite 'right'.
This can also be seen in "The Mummy 2" where the CGI animation got the 'Rock' Johnson digitizing wrong as the Scorpion King towards the end of the film.
Might be remembering wrong, but I do believe there were some IMAX theater showings of this film.
Since chocolate is indigenous to the Americas, the Mayans, Aztecs, Incans, and a few other indigenous people originally would add chili flavor to help it absorb better into the blood system. So, it is not exactly "disgusting". It originally was not a sweet drink. It was seen more as herbal tea like. Best tasting 'hot chocolate' is made with whole milk or buttermilk and Central American cooking chocolate.
Towards the end, you might have missed it, but the train underneath the Christmas tree, was the same as the Polar Express. Personally, I always thought that not being able to hear the sound of the bell had to do with not TRULY believing in the magic of imagination and the cynicism of adult mentality towards make believe / fantasy.
Either way, I hope you and Blake had a wonderful Christmas time with family and / or friends. Make sure to bring some tissues for your next film. You WILL need them if you cried in this one,
I was almost done with college when this movie came out, so my family didn’t exactly “grow up” with it. But my sister-in-law loves it and insists on watching it yearly with my nephews. It’s way too uncanny valley for me.
I saw this first in IMAX 3D, which it was made for. My mind was blown, instant classic for me. Watch it every year. I tear up when the boy finally sees Santa.
Tom Hanks did multiple voices for this movie. His IMDB is listed as Hero Boy/ Father / Conductor / Hobo / Scrooge for this movie
I actually read somewhere that Tom Hanks had to take a lot of breaks because he was so exhausted.
I saw this movie in theaters with my grandma. During the scene where they're in the abandoned workshop looking around I dropped a Skittle on the floor I actually heard people whispering thinking there was someone in there.
My grandmother leaned over to me and whispered "I heard that Skittle dropping"
Rudolph is only ever needed when visibility is down, he's not TECHNICALLY one of Santa's main Reindeer.
The Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel in Chattanooga Tennessee does a Polar Express ride during Christmas season. It's worth it especially if you have kids with you. As always great reaction and I love it. Great Christmas surprise from you. I'm filled with Christmas joy.
I love this movie!! I also love how Tom hanks voices multiple characters in this one, it’s always a tradition for my family to watch this every Christmas👌
Saw this in a theater. It was not only in 3D, it was also in IMAX. It wasn’t uncanny valley, it was uncanny CANYON. Creepy AF.
The hot chocolate and chili peppers was the original way it was made back in the Aztec days when explorers were introduced to it.
Ahh!!! I’m so excited to watch this with you while I finish wrapping! You’re going to love this one I think. ❤ Merry Christmas to you and yours.
So glad to see a reaction to this movie! I love this movie, my wife hates it, lol. The cartoons freak her out and she hated the marionette car. I loved everything about it. A great story with great voices, songs and humor. Merry Christmas everyone.
Merry Christmas!
And speaking of Rudolph, I recently learned this as I was watching some Disney Christmas content... They kept referencing 'The sleigh crash of '64', so I looked it up. Apparently the theory is that Rudolph is copyrighted so in the Disneyverse Rudolph doesn't exist. So as far as Disney is concerned, when the blizzard happened on Christmas eve 1964, there was no light to guide Santa's sleigh so he crashed, thus the 'The sleigh crash of 64' 🤷♀️
If it's Xmas Eve or Day, the greeting should be 'Merry Christmas'.
This was a beautiful story released as a book in the 1980s and was a wonderful adaptation
Well after Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Robert Zemeckis went on a stint of directing "animated" (mostly just motion-captured) movies in the '00s. For some reason, he or other execs thought the CGI of the era was capable enough of depicting believable, hyper-real humans and… they were less than correct. The least unsettling one was Monster House, because it actually went with a more traditionally cartoony style. Even now, he's still not quite detached himself from weirdly pushing uncanny valley visuals onto stories that really don't need to be presented in such "attempts" at realism.
As you and others have pointed out, it's a really good look for the environments, and overall it has a really nice finish (in spite of a lot of itself) that helps it match the visual style of the original book illustrations. But the people, yo… the people…
Certainly not a Christmas favorite of mine. Definitely one of those stories that doesn't really merit a feature length runtime, and it is just… visually difficult to stick with. But it's a sweet, sentimental narrative that makes a 30-something stick-in-the-mud like me still want to believe. The musical score I think really helps in that department too.
Oh! And Merry Christmas!
I remember my family and I went to check out this movie on the opening weekend years ago.
I hope everyone had a great holiday, a great non-holiday if you don't celebrate! I had a fantastic Christmas Eve, and a nice Christmas day, until it was marred by sorrow. You can stop reading now if you don't want to read the sad part.
My sister and her husband went to a friend's for dinner, then came back to find one of their older doggos had passed away. It made me very sad. The first time I lost one of my cockatiels was the day after Christmas 2014, and my dad died that year to boot. Such things seem to happen around holidays a lot, at least in my family. But, I know Sis's doggo (who was a rescue) had a very good, loved, and appreciated last year of her life, and I believe in reincarnation (there's just so much to learn and teach, it couldn't possibly happen in one lifetime, but, JUST MY BELIEF, not saying anyone has to agree with me) and I also believe once spirits touch in pure love, they often return to each other in following lives. And even if they don't, those we love stay with us, always, in our hearts, soul and mind.
They used to show part of this at dollywood around Christmas in the motion theater where thunder road used to be.
Ahoy Ash, please do "What's Eating GIlbert Grape?" is just turned 30yrs old on December 17th and is a great example of the careers and potential both Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio would become have actors.
Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄, Ashleigh!
This movie was directed by Robert Zemekis, who, too, used CGI motion capture shots for his other movies "Beowulf" (2007), and "Monster House" (2006).
SeaWorld had a simulation coaster of the train ride from the movie that took you to see Santa in the Wild Artic except. It really felt like being on the Polar Express.
Uncanny valley was my issue with this movie, too.
Other wise it's nice
Merry Christmas, Ashleigh!
Dear Ashleigh, Happy Holidays to you, hubband and your families. Thank you for a year of great reactions. May 2024 be even greater on this Hot Mess Express.
Santa and the reindeer characters are all part of the public domain. Rudolph is a copyrighted character and would require permission and royalty fees from the estate of the original author. Hence, no Rudolph in the low budget Ernest movie.
And yes, reindeer are caribou. I never knew that. But it makes sense, looking back. I'm pleased they used ACTUAL reindeer in this movie, and not regular brown deer, as they are so often depicted.
Hobo ghost man once rode the train...until the tunnel got him.
And now he keeps riding the train.
The animation in this film is taken directly from the book of the same name. It's basically an animated version of the book. That's why it is in such a particular style.
32:45 You're correct in that the Hobo Ghost Man is representative of the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future (hence why he took over the puppet of Scrooge). His 'purpose' is to help convince those who doubt the spirit of Christmas by being so overly cynical and acting as a devil's advocate. He's an ardent unbeliever despite the train (and his very existence) disproving his disbelief.
I hope you add Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer and Rudolph's Shiny New Year to the list of future movies! I need my Rudolph!
My daughter-in-law put this on Christmas Eve and my 15 yr old granddaughter and I both thought the animation were creepy. My grandsons 2 and 4 were into it.
The theater where I work has an annual screening, with a hot chocolate/pajama party. It sells out every year. Families come, all in their pajamas, and get a free cup of hot chocolate before watching the film. This year, I wore my engineer's cap to get in the mood. :) I was pouring the hot chocolate, and when I would run low, I'd blow my train whistle to get more from the concession stand. It is always a lot of fun (even with the dead eyed characters.) Tom Hanks plays a number of the characters. I don't think it was originally in 3D, but I seem to remember a 3D conversion was made later.
Rudolph was in this movie - when the train enters town you see The Statue of him with an illuminated nose was a tribute to his famous ride.
As for the ghost it is simple :
Father - Santa Claus
Son - Conductor
King Of The North Pole - The Holy Ghost
You saw the Holy Trinity in this movie
My guess on Rudolph would be that he's only used when the weather is bad and they have a hard time seeing next. I didn't see where anyone saying anything about the band at the end that was Aerosmith. Also, as far as the animation goes, they're slowly but surely trying to make it in my opinion to where animation looks almost as real or as real as reality. Check out Beowulf hell what's that other one besides this one? I can't think of it. There's another one with similar animation so oh and Merry Christmas everybody!
I always thought this movie was just some kid's fever dream.
I just watched this with my girlfriend’s 10 year old daughter on Friday. It was the first time that she and I really got to hang out (I just met her in August after dating her mom for 6 months) and it was a very sweet moment for me as I don’t typically like kids. At the end she was laying on the couch with her legs over mine fast asleep. It’s a good memory of Christmas.
The elf in charge of naughty checks was using Yiddish slang!
A Christmas Eve classic right here ♥my hubby and I watch it every Christmas Eve as a tradition. So glad you enjoyed it Ash ^.^ Merry Christmas!!!
Yes, it was in 3D. I saw this in IMAX 3D with my parents and loved it. My mom still talks about it ☺️ Merry Christmas!
If you want to see similar animation techniques done with later technology that facilitates less uncanny valley (humans don't look like monsters), I'd recommend the Adventures of Tintin, as directed by Stephen Spielberg. (It does also help that the characters in that one are slightly more stylized, but not as much as a Pixar or Dreamworks movie).
Watched that movie once when I was super stoned and those dead eyes from all the characters freaked me out.
I saw it in the theaters with my dad and sis. I knew literally nothing about it besides growing up with the book.
My sister still maintains to this day she's scared of marionettes because of this movie.
Herpolsheimer's was department store headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was in business from 1865 to 1987.
The Know-it-all Kid was voiced by Eddie Deezen. He was known for playing nerds in movies. That's his actual voice.
I know Eddie as Mandark from Dexter’s Lab. Most unforgettable evil laugh ever.
Ah Ah-Ha! Ah Ah-Ha Ah-Ha!
Eddie Deezen is one that you should look into his recent life to much
The Polar Express had a single music piece that just felt the most eerie and also charming feeling at the same time for me
Each person has Christmas movies that bring memories of childhood. I've never seen this film. Most of the films I watch at Christmas are ones I've chosen as an adult to watch. The Bishop's Wife (best Christmas film ever), The Nativity Story (for historical accuracy), The Snow Queen (for music and originality). Some of these films may not be as popular so I don't know if they are suitable for a reaction channel. Perhaps "Mame" (1974), The Lemon Drop Kid or Meet Me in St. Louis have enough Christmas connection for future reactions.
Dollywood (Dolly Parton's theme park in East TN) use to have a theatre motion simulator ride about a Moonshining car chase. However, at Christmas they had a cut down version of the film to use for the holidays. It was a heck of a ride.
I saw this with my 5th grade class. We had to do it School of Rock style as the school didn't approve it. We all brought in money for us and a parent, teacher bought the tickets. Good times.
Justice for Billy! He definitely should have got the first present of Christmas
One of my wife’s favorite movies with The Nightmare Before Christmas being her Number One :).
Hope you had an amazing Christmas Ashleigh 💚🎄❄️
Merry Christmas
I read somewhere that The Main Boy, The Conductor, The Hobo, and Santa all represents different types of people on Christmas. Not sure if it's true or not.
Grand Rapids guy here Herpolsheimer's was a real store located at the geographic center of town. They had a monorail in the basement that was decorated for Christmas. Now it's the police station and federal court. There was a train that ran just to the north back in the early to mid 1900s. These are the tracks that the polar Express is running on. The tracks are gone but a bridge remains on the Grand River that is open only to pedestrians (near the Gerald R Ford presidential museum)
Chris Van Allsburg was born in East Grand Rapids and included Grand Rapids in the story.
I remember getting to see the monorail before all the remodeling took place. I'm not sure when the department store itself closed for good.
@@carriemilito2851 I think 87 is when Herp's closed. Then it was the City centre until about 1990. I used to skip school and go there and eat in the food court.
The original Herpolsheimer’s Children’s Train was pulled out of storage, restored to its original condition, and is displayed at the Grand Rapids Public Museum every holiday season.
@@ptw5h2o3 I've heard that but I've never been to the public museum at Christmas.
Going to Herp's was a big deal as a kid. As you exit the escalator, kids would follow the reindeer tracks painted on the floor that would lead you to Santa. He gave a free toy to every kid. Riding the monorail train ( which was painted as a rocketship) above the toy dept was super fun.
the figures the boy meets are representations of his future.
he either would've become the Hobo chasing the polar express or become the conductor..
Merry Christmas, Ashleigh! Happy Holidays, everyone! God bless us, everyone!
I've seen this movie before but anyways Merry Christmas Mrs Berton I hope you beans and your husband have a very merry Christmas 🎄🎁😊
Thanks for the heart Mrs Burton I've been a fan of you since your Indiana Jones and Star wars days also I really like to review jaws and wondering if you'd ever do 2 raiders of the Lost ark is my favorite because it has as it has Indiana Jones girl in it that he had a kid I used to know a girl like that that are wrong every time I watch raiders of the Lost ark I wonder if I'll meet her again and show him like a bar somewhere and then she'll punch me in the face for screwing her over can't be all bad though I gave her a friend shirt anyways may you have a Merry Christmas and may the Lord bless you and keep you and your family
Im glad youre still doing While you were sleeping because that movie is ABSOLUTELY a christmas movie. and even though I normally hate romantic comedies... I love While you were sleeping
The animation is based on Chris Van Allsburg's children's book. He also created Jumanji.
One of the voice actors was Peter Scolari, who was Tom Hanks costar on Bosom Buddies.
This comment is just film analysis and not an attack on any beliefs!
Hard to ignore the religious overtones. Many Christians believe in a triune God: The father, son, and Holy Ghost, (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.). In this belief system, they are all different but the same.
Here, Tom Hanks voices Santa (The Father), Jesus (The Conductor), and the Holy Ghost (the Hobo.). There are all different characters, but they are all the same person (Hanks.)
Those of us who don’t believe find any Santa analogy to God funny because in every story, the main character rightfully withholds belief in Santa until they are presented with actual evidence - unlike the God of the Bible who demands beliefs without sufficient evidence (aka gullibility.). He couldn’t hear the bell or see Santa until he had enough evidence, but this is somehow a lesson to believe stories you hear WITOUT evidence. It just doesn’t make any sense!
I find it hard to watch this movie without feeling sad and humored about this disconnect at the same time.
That said, there is more than just this. Ask yourself: What are the “tickets” and why does the main character keep trying to save the girl’s ticket? What is the meaning of the poor child’s journey? What is the meaning of the girls change from lack of confidence about which switch was the break to being confident as to which direction to go when lost in elf city?
Yes, Caribou and reindeer are the same thing. Join us from Alaska for our next arctic factoid! Like Santa's Workshop in North Pole, AK, and right next door, The Reindeer Flight Academy. Also, you will never be able to hear this theme song again and not tear up.
The kid with the annoying voice is played by Eddie Deezen, who's regularly cast to play nerds. He was the main rival in Dexter's Laboratory, one of the computer nerds in Wargames who helped figure out how to hack into that computer, he was even a nerd in Grease! Just to name a few. He was also Big Bird's particularly annoying adopted brother in Follow That Bird
Ashleigh: “Yep! That’s Tom Hanks! I know my man’s voice!”
Me: “Yeah, but… How many TIMES did you recognize Tom Hanks’s voice?“
1:30 - This movie is an adaptation of a legendary Caldecott Award-winning children's book. Many of the camera shots and much of the narrator's dialog is taken directly from the book (special call-out to the shot of the wolves running alongside the train).
2:08 - For 80% of the cast, the answer is 'yes.'
2:12 - Between the early mo-cap and the art style, the valley-ness of the characters is one of the few flaws of this movie.
You love Dolly Parton so much that I think you would love her 1986 film, a smoky mountain Christmas! My mom and I watch it almost every year, and know all the songs by heart.
Hey Ashleigh, the Tn Railway museum in Nashville and the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad both do a live Polar Express train ride. Heard it's pretty fun to do.
Tom Hanks plays:
The Boy's father
The Conductor
The Hobo
Santa Claus
And Ebenezer Scrooge puppet.
Am I the only one who doesn’t mind the animation? I don’t know why, I’ve never had a problem with it, not even when I was a kid.
Yeah, if anything it felt like it was the art style that the pictures in the book had, just in motion. I actually liked it, it is stylized, not meant to be realistic
the animation was meant to evoke the illustrations from the children's book of the same name, but since the CG was in its early stages, it's firmly in the uncanny valley. Still, it's a great Christmas movie.
As a kid I loved this movie but as an adult the message of this movie confuses me. The whole believing thing isn't really extrapolatable to other real world lessons, except maybe like religion? So knowing santa isn't real this movie is just like...training children who are coming to terms with reality to continue to believe the lie of santa lol.
Rangifer tarandus refers to both raindeer and caribou. All rangifers north of the polar circle are from the tarandus genus, even though they vary in appearance slightly. So they are both the same animal, just different populations.
The noise we hear in the film is from a moose though...