Tom Hanks Movie:

		List Price: $28.99		Label: Warner Home Video Salesrank: 10928 Released: October 10, 2006
		Our Price: $7.06
		Used Price: $5.35
		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: HD DVD

Editorial Review:
When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

Description of The Polar Express [HD DVD]:
Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
The most intriguing feature on the two-disc DVD is probably the six-minute sequence featuring a new song performed by the two engine-room characters, Smokey and Steamer. The animation is crude and the song is nothing special, but it does preserve the dual performances of Michael Jeter (he played both characters), who passed away during filming. One of the striking aspects of The Polar Express is its use of motion-capture technology to turn real actors into animated characters, and that is examined in a significant portion of the five-part 11-minute featurette, in the "look at" Tom Hanks's multiple performances, and in an Easter egg that offers a side-by-side comparison of the actors in their motion-capture suits with the finished film in the "Hot Chocolate" number. There's also a live performance of Josh Groban singing "Believe" followed by an interview segment with him and composer Alan Silvestri, author Chris Van Allsburg providing a five-minute capsulization of his career, a PC game demo, and a kids' set-top game. The version of the film on DVD is the standard theatrical version, not the 3-D version seen in IMAX theaters. --David Horiuchi

The World of The Polar Express

The book by Chris Van Allsburg

The Soundtrack

The Magic Journey (Polar Express the Movie) (book)

Stills from Polar Express (click for larger image)

The Polar Express [HD DVD] Reviews:
worst 3D ever
2009-11-23 - Love, Love, Love this movie, so I decided to buy the 3D version for my kids this year! This was the biggest waste of money ever!! The movie picture and color are distorted and the 3D is almost non-existent! I couldn't watch with the "glasses", it gave me a headache. After a while even my 4 and 6 year gave up on the glasses! They wanted to use the glasses they got when they saw Toy Story 3d, but unfortunately, they did not work!! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS IN 3D!!!!!!!!

Polar Express
2009-11-21 - I love CHRISTmas stories. Light up CHRISTmas tree and put on a movie while wrapping presents.

This movie is great and all the family will enjoy.

3D is TERRIBLE!
2009-11-21 - Speaking about 3D portion only... I bought the standard 3D version of the movie... not the blue ray version. Within minutes we had to shut it off. The images are distorted. There are terrible shadows around the chraracters and objects. The glasses are made of paper, with red on the left eye, and blue on the right. The colors of the movie are distorted from the glasses. A complete waste of time and money. Tried this movie on two different televsions, and with two different DVD players.
Rip off.

My son's Favorite Holiday Movie
2009-11-20 - My 3 year old son loves the movie Polar express. I had saved it on our DVR and we watched it so much but had to fast forward all the commericals. Great Movie for all ages!

dvd The Polar Express
2009-11-19 - This dvd quality is really bad in terms of Good like new as i found on the web-site.
It pops so much time and doesn't play well. The seller must explain the truth.