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The Polar Express (2004)
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In this animated tale based on Chris Van Allsburg's children's book, a sceptical boy finds his belief in Father Christmas restored by an incredible journey to the North Pole on board a magical train. Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis's fantasy adventure is undoubtedly technically impressive, thanks to the introduction of “Performance Capture” — a new type of CGI that transfers the live actions of actors into a digital format. The process enables star Tom Hanks to take on six different roles, from the young hero to Santa Claus himself. However, as a fast-moving life lesson about faith and hope, the film weaves sentimentality and gentle moralising into every scene. But, though the emotion feels contrived, that's nothing compared to the flashy set pieces and meticulous detail, which do more to flaunt the technology than move along the story. SF
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Tell us what you think
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Running time
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95min
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Country of origin
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US
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Genre
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Animated Fantasy
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Original language
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English
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Screenplay
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Robert Zemeckis, William Broyles Jr, from the illustrated children's book by Chris Van Allsburg
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Theatrical distributor
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Warner Bros
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UK cinema certificate
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U
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UK cinema release date
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December 2004
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Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
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