The Polar Express

 Hello!

This week, I watched a cult classic that I actually have seen multiple times before: The Polar Express (2004). Now, some people may say that this film is not a cult classic, but they are wrong. In my opinion, it is the most influential movie of our generation, and it was an absolute joy to rewatch it.

For those that haven't seen this masterpiece, The Polar Express follows a boy on Christmas Eve who's starting to think Santa is fake, but is woken up to a large train grinding to a halt in front of his house. With no one else noticing the commotion, the boy goes outside and is greeted by Tom Hanks (who plays "the conductor" but its literally just Tom Hanks) who tells him that the train is headed to the North Pole. After initially rejecting the offer to come aboard, the boy hops on, and he's dragged into a whirlwind of events on the train, and eventually in the North Pole when they arrive. The other main characters of the story are a brave girl who loves Christmas, a shy boy that thinks Santa has forgotten about him, and a nerd boy who became an early age meme template. 

nerd boy (colorized)

This movie was absolutely wild to revisit. The amount of insane events that happen in about 80 minutes is actually kind of unhinged. Even though I had watched the film before, I was at the edge of my seat, hoping they were gonna make it to see Santa. I also think this film was the prequel to fight club (hear me out). None of the main characters are named, there's this guy who freeloads on the train and guides the boy/saves him multiple times, but it's revealed he's a ghost? Or not real?? Deep...

My favorite scene was definitely the where the animators forgot to draw the legs on one of the elves in front of Santa's sleigh, so there is just a legless torso levitating across the screen. In my opinion, it only improved the quality of the movie and my experience. This movie is high art, and some people just wouldn't get it. 

Anyway, it was great to revisit a Christmas cult classic just in time for the holidays. I would definitely recommend checking this film out if you haven't already seen it!