I know nothing about this movie...does it tell the kids there is no Santa?? What age group? Can believers in Santa watch it?? Thanks!

By Tripletmom on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 09:05 pm:

Yup!!!! No worries Katie put on the Polar Express play at school in S.K. We also have the book.

By Reds9298 on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 09:08 pm:

The book is fantastic and I liked the movie, too. It's about a boy who "dreams" that he takes the Polar Express train to the North Pole. he's chosen because he's at a year when he's threatening to not believe in Santa. He's has adventures on the train on the way to the Pole, and realizes when he gets there that he DOES believe in Santa still and continues to believe in his spirit for the rest of the his life. It does not at all promote "no Santa", but quite the opposite. The book is beautifully illustrated and is my coffee table book at Christmas. The movie is also really beautiful and does the book justice artistically, but quite a bit was added in order to make the movie long enough. Age group - probably any age that might even remotely still believe in Santa, and for us adults, I think it's a wonderful dream of what the North Pole could actually be like. Absolutely for Santa believers!! HTH

By Pamt on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 09:08 pm:

No, it confirms Santa. It was a classic book first and you can probably find it at the library. I LOVE the book (it's a picture book with beautiful illustrations), but frankly found the movie rather long and boring.

By Pamt on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 09:09 pm:

GMTA huh, Reds?

By Reds9298 on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 09:15 pm:

I agree Pam...I was a little let down by the movie, although I thought it looked really great. Sorry, I haven't seen "GMTA" before....What's that one? LOL

By Pamt on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 10:49 pm:

GMTA--Great Minds Think Alike

By Kaye on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 10:59 pm:

This book was written by Chris Van Alsburg. It won the caldecott medal one year (not sure when). It is amazing, by far my favorite kids book. It is such a warm fuzzy Christmas story. The movie I enjoyed, but I did think it was long. We saw it in 3d imax, so it kept my attention..LOL.

By Kate on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 11:17 pm:

But does it put the IDEA into kids' heads that Santa may not be real?? If the character is questioning the existence of Santa, that's already beyond total innocence....that part worries me. Do a lot of characters in the books insist he's not real? At the end does he end up believing in just the spirit of Santa, and not the person?

By Tripletmom on Friday, December 15, 2006 - 11:27 pm:

No,it doesn't.I was a little upset at first when I found out S.K.'ers would be doing this play.I thought,why would they want to put the idea in kids heads that Santa doesn't exsist.It's really not like that at all.It's really ok.HTH

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, December 16, 2006 - 01:57 am:

I LOVE the book. I was a little disappointed by the movie, since they have to add so much, to make it movie-length. After I read Polar Express at the library, I HAD to go buy it!

By Nicki on Saturday, December 16, 2006 - 02:05 am:

Ditto Dawn. My dd (age 4) loves the book, but finds certain scenes in the movie a bit scary. We have the movie, but seldom watch it.

By Paulas on Saturday, December 16, 2006 - 02:14 am:

I am doing a Polar Express Party at school this week. I can't wait.

By Luvn29 on Saturday, December 16, 2006 - 09:03 am:

Not at all. One character in the story is basically the only one that is a little questioning. But it doesn't really dwell on that or put it in kids' heads. My son is a full believer, my dd may be questioning a little, though she hasn't told us she is. They loved it.

The movie totally relies on the belief of Santa. I'll give it away for you, but at the end, they make it to the North Pole, and a few of the main characters get lost. They end up in the Elves toy shop/warehouse or something. They watch the elves finish up something and then go to the main square to watch Santa arrive for his sleigh.

It is a beautiful scene. The kids make it there, and they are all watching, standing among all the elves. The reindeer and sleigh is there all ready to go. They bring out the sleigh bells to put on the reindeer. The point is, you can only hear the bells if you truly believe. At first all the kids are talking about how beautiful the sound is, except the main character. He can't quite hear them. Then Santa walks out, and everyone is so excited, and the boy keeps jumping up and down because the ones in front of him are blocking his view. All of a sudden he sees one of the sleigh bells fall to the ground in front of him. He picks it up and rings it but doesn't hear anything. Then he looks around, closes his eyes, and says "I believe" and truly means it. Then he rung the bell and could hear it clearly. He turned around, and there stood Santa, and the boy, in awe, handed him the bell.

Santa smiled, went over to the sleigh. He had to chose who to give the first gift of Christmas to. Long story short, he chose the boy, asked him what he wanted, and all he wanted was one of the bells. Santa gave it to him. On the train, going back home, he found that he had placed it in a hole with a pocket, and lost it. He was very upset.

He got home, went to sleep, and the next morning, they opened presents. There was one small one left with his name. He opened it, and it was the sleigh bell, with a note telling him he found it on the seat of his sleigh, where he had given it to him. The boy stated he would always be able to hear the bell ring.

I hope this helps. It definitely is for believers, and I believe, those having a little difficulty. It was a magical movie. Yes, long at times, but it held my kids' attention. And it definitely adds to your belief of Santa.

By Mia on Saturday, December 16, 2006 - 07:45 pm:

The vhs is on sale for $1 right now at Amazon.

By Reds9298 on Saturday, December 16, 2006 - 10:29 pm:

Thanks for clueing me in Pam. Yes, they do!!LOL

By Breann on Sunday, December 17, 2006 - 05:11 pm:

Our family loves the movie. My kids are still little, and they have watched this repeatedly. When they decide not to believe anymore, we are going to get them the bell, and wrap it in the striped paper like on the movie.

We enjoy the movie, and didn't find it boring at all. I think it will be a classic.

I've been disappointed with the movies on tv this season. The ones they play on abcfamily and stuff. They are mostly ALL about kids not believing. I don't want that thought put into my kids head yet.

By Bellajoe on Sunday, December 17, 2006 - 07:56 pm:

Well, i started typing it out but then realized Adena had already typed exactly what i was going to say.

My ds is 6 and absolutely LOVES the movie, and the book. And still believes 100%.

By Luvn29 on Sunday, December 17, 2006 - 10:23 pm:

Glad to have saved you the time Patti! LOL!

By Kate on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 04:32 pm:

Thanks everyone! I so appreciate the responses and details! We watched it last night. No one was thrilled with it, and I especially disliked it. I thought the 'Beauty and the Beast--Be Our Guest' style serving of the hot chocolate was ridiculous and especially unenjoyable. I didn't understand the 'ghost' guy and didn't care for any of the 'train adventures'. It got better when they got to the North Pole. My girls weren't pleased that the characters had no names!! Does the book mention names?? It's hard to feel for a nameless character.

Glad I saw it, but won't be watching it again.