This is an interesting movie. On one hand, I have no doubt that it will likely end up in the stable of films that are rerun endlessly at this time of year, simply because it's a pretty decent tale, and that's what films like this do at this time of year. But on the other, it's rather creepy. The animation is good, and if it were ten years ago, I'm sure we would all be amazed at how lifelike the characters are. Let's face it - it isn't ten years ago.
While there are some pretty amazing reproductions of life here, they just don't quite make the final step. The hair doesn't move. It's like a plastic wig. And while the eyes are okay, the mouth is just a bottomless pit into oblivion. Ignore those things and you're okay. Younger kids might be able to do so, but some will undoubtedly be spooked by these aspects of the film.
Once you get past the utter horror that can be represented by such a lighthearted movie, it's not bad. Hero Boy (that's actually his name in the credits), played by Tom Hanks is on the verge of unbelief, teetering on the precipice of no longer believing in Santa. It's his critical year. As he has trouble drifting off to sleep on Christmas Eve, he is suddenly stirred awake by - of all things - a train heading down his street.
As all young lads should do, he goes outside to investigate, only to find out that it's here to pick him up. While he isn't quite sure he should get on, eventually he makes the decision to take the ride, and thus begins the adventure. One day, someone will make a movie where the kid doesn't get on. But it will be terribly short.
In any case, he gets on and meets several other children, all on their way "somewhere", and all of them seemingly oblivious to the fact that a steam engine just picked them up. Hey - you're only a kid once. Along the way, they get hot chocolate served by dancing French waiters and encounter all sorts of trouble, such as lost tickets and a train that refuses to stay on the tracks like it should.
Even a ghostly apparition is riding the rails with them, and all along the way, Hanks plays his part - several parts in fact. He is not only the boy, but the conductor and the ghost as well (he also makes a tiny appearance as the boy's father and an important role at the end). Eventually, everyone realizes what they probably knew all along - they are headed to the North Pole, where seeing is believing, and sure enough, Santa himself (who is played again by the intrepid Hanks) comes out to start his rounds.
At that point, the young boy is frustrated because he has trouble seeing the jolly elf, because all the smaller elves want to block his view - not on purpose, but because they are so excited to see him themselves. When he finally does see Santa, the boy realizes that he can't hear the bells. Yet he wants to believe so badly, he convinces himself that he can, and finally he can hear the bells. That is when Santa himself comes over and tells him that he will be the recipient of the first gift. The boy asks for a small gift - the bell that he rang to her the sound for the first time. What a special gift! And with that, Santa is off.
However, on the ride back home, the boy realizes that he had a hole in his pocket and lost the bell. But the next morning, after all the other gifts are opened, there is one remaining under the tree. It seems that Santa has left the bell for him, along with a note to get that hole in his pocket fixed! Now, the boy truly does believe.
The movie closes with a narration about how the boy's friends slowly lost the ability to hear the bell, and even his sister eventually lost the sound too. But to this day, he can still hear it chime its sound as if it was yesterday. The story is a good one. It's just those creepy animations that lose something.
Rated G.
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