The Polar Express

I resisted this film for a long time solely on the basis that it just didn’t look right to me. A technical marvel for its time, the emotion of the characters just didn’t come through. But after seeing it with my young son, I finally saw what I had been missing. This is a magical film, for both young and old. Many of the scenes are constructed for optimal 3D viewing, so the story is somewhat light. But it is an exhilarating rollercoaster ride. Some scenes are completely spellbinding and have to be seen to be believed. The liberating thing about CG animation is the camera can easily go anywhere. Make the floorboards invisible and shoot upward, no problem. In the end, the story won me over. I can only imagine what it was like to see in 3D IMAX.