The Polar Express, for the most part, is a magical, whimsical treat that most moviegoers will cherish—even if it's not quite the Christmas classic Zemeckis clearly set out to deliver. In adapting Chris Van Allsburg's 29-page story, Zemeckis does everything he can to expand the story while remaining true to Van Allsburg's text and paintings. Zemeckis relied on CG—with a twist—to realize his glorious imagery. The twist? He employed motion-capture performance photography to film Hanks, Gaye and his other actors and then digitally replaced them. Thus, the Conductor looks just like Hanks, and there's a human, naturalistic touch present in all the characters.

Story-wise, Zemeckis puts across all the lessons without boring adults or talking down to children. That said, it's a tad simplistic (learn to trust, we're all the same despite our color and class), and Zemeckis often stops the action to drive home those lessons. Hanks plays pretty much everyone: Hero Boy (though Daryl Sabara provides the voice), Hero Boy's Father, Hobo, the Conductor and even Santa. Somehow, he manages to make them all vibrant and differentiates them from each other, no small feat. Gaye gently underplays Hero Girl, while Deezen must have had a blast voicing the petulant, brainy Know-It-All. And kudos, too, to Scolari (and Jimmy Bennett), who ensure that, in the end, no one forgets Lonely Boy. However, peripheral characters are randomly thrown in and don't register: Steven Tyler rocks the Pole, but why? Didn't he already do the same thing on a Christmas episode of Lizzie Maguire? And what gives with the hopped-up Jewish elves?

Further, this grinch must report a few other flaws that nearly derail the whole film. Alan Silvestri's score tries way too hard to punctuate every little moment; better to complement an emotional bit than overwhelm it. Far more troubling, the eyes on nearly every character are oversized, glassy and off-putting. They look fake, and the characters seem incapable of looking at each other. There's no minimizing the gravity of the matter; for all the lifelike character movements and photo-realistic hair, the eyes are cold, detached and distracting.