I think this movie looks good. It looks beautiful in art and I love tom hanks as an actor. It is directed more towards kids though but I still think it wil get a good grade on metacritic. Anybody know any more about the movie or have any thoughts?

Tom Hanks + Robert Zemeckis = GOOD!!

I loved Forrest Gump and Cast Away was very good too. I know this is a little different but I think it looks pretty good. And the visuals look amazing.

It is based on a children's classic, but I'm of a mind that some of the best films of recent years have been "children's films": "The Iron Giant", "Spirited Away", "Shrek/Shrek 2", "Finding Nemo", "The Triplets of Belleville" (wow, those don't seem too childish, do they?) I am REALLY looking forward to "The Incredibles", but the main thing I got from the trailer for "The Polar Express" was that Tom Hanks SEEMED to play ALL the adult male characters. That's fine by me!

This LOOKS spectacular, but with giants "The Incredibles" and "Shrek 2" out this year I honestly dont think "The Polar Express" will be able to compete. As much as I like Hanks and Zemeckis I didnt care for "Cast Away" at all, and everyone knows the "Polar Express"'s story so the film will have to rely on the charm of Hanks and visual finesse of Zemeckis. But, it will be very sincere and I predict that will be it's downfall. "Shrek 2" was full of sophomoric humor and cynicism and apparently sophomoric humor and cynicism does really well at the box office. Everyone in the world will flock to see "The Incredibles" just because. "The Polar Express" on the other hand isnt really a movie that you can go see without the excuse of bringing your 9-year-old kid, yknow...

I also think that it wont do that well on the box office but it can still be a success. It may win an academy award or something. I still think that it will make something since all animated features like that do and tom hanks always has money making movies as well. I dont think it wil do as well as the shreks or the incredibles tho or shark tale for that matter.

Remember that box-office gross, critical appraisal and Oscars all seem to mean less than they did once before. If you love the movie, don't let those factors interfere with your enjoyment, and if you think a universally-praised HUGE hit sucks, then trust yourself.

Just try to remember to not have any sacred cows or pariahs (in other words, try to be objective if you want to understand and analyze films.) Plus try to watch as many GOOD old movies as you can. There's a lot more old movies than new movies, so that means there's a lot more LOUSY old movies than LOUSY new movies.

But if you watch enough Hitchcock, Huston, Capra, Chaplin, Wilder, Wyler, Ford, Bogart, Guinness, K. & A. Hepburn, Stewart, Fonda, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s movies, you will begin to realize that something is missing from most of today's movies. It's called good plots, characters and dialogue, but also strong personalities who are also good actors or movie stars.

Oops, I might have to move this post somewhere else, but the people I'm talking to are here, so here it is (for now.)

I just saw the movie and even though I enjoyed it, it didnt meet my expectations. The movie was packed with action and scary moments for children. When I was in the theater, more than one kid started crying and screaming that he wanted to leave. The movie attracted a lot of attention on pointless things that had nothing to do with the plot at many points. It was weird combining the action and trouble theme with the theme of christmas and happiness. The kids almost died more than once on their journey to the north pole. Also, many things were left unexplained and reasoned for. Also, some lines seemed very cheesy. I also doubt that it will make it's production budget's 165 million.

But, on a better note, the cinematography was amazing. There were some very touching scenes with the relationships between the kids and some good tunes to go along with the movie.

Overall, I thought the movie was good. I dont think it is as good as some other of Robert Zemeckis's or Tom Hanks' other movies. So, I would recommend this movie for kids 6 and over and for most adults.