The Polar Express came out 20 years ago last month. It’s hard to believe that two decades have passed since it hit theaters. I remember watching at the time, not particularly interested in it. More than that, there was a bit of an eerie quality to the whole thing.
In the decades since, I’ve become a mother. And now, my two young boys absolutely love it. Seeing it through their eyes has changed my opinion: The Polar Express is a classic.
In 1985, Chris Van Allsburg published The Polar Express. It was awarded the Caldecott Medal and remains a beloved children’s book. Like all adaptations, the film can’t perfectly capture the feeling of the book, but it does try.
Robert Zemeckis chose motion capture technology to animate the characters. As opposed to cartoon animation, motion capture can be an uncomfortable mix of realistic and imaginary that viewers can’t quite wrap…
