Parent reviews for The Polar Express (2024)

OK, this is a tricky one. The whole point of the movie is that the main boy questions whether or not Santa exists. And the movie sets out to prove that he does (sort of). But, to my mind, as a parent of kids who still believe, this sets off too many light bulbs. I didn't know there would be SOOO MUCH Santa questioning in it. Plus another boy explains obliquely that Christmas has 'never worked out' for him. The clear inference is, he's a poor kid with parents who couldn't afford to buy him presents. So he never got any from Santa.Then at the end, they more or less say, obliquely, that Santa doesn't exist. Meaning, they say that over time, as people grow up, they pretty much everyone doesn't believe in Santa any more (except the narrator who still does). So, if you want your smart/clever 7 to 9 year old questioning whether Santa exists just before Christmas then this is the movie for you!!! :)On the other hand, for families whose kids know the truth about Santa, this is a first rate movie! It was my first time seeing it. Except for being constantly uncomfortable during the Santa questioning scenes and trying to distract my kids by doing goofy things when those discussions took place, it was a terrific movie.Being a 2004 movie, there is a whole 'uncanny valley' thing happening. The animation is so good it kinda looks real, but then again it doesn't. The conductor looks just like Tom Hanks. But the blank stares in the kids eyes was creepy. They've seemingly sovled that in more modern movies but was still a problem back then. I hope this movie gets an update one day to fix that. So, all that aside, if you can handle the uncanny valley and the constant questioning of the existance of Santa, then this is a first rate, classic Xmas movie that I think most people would enjoy.

The movie was ok. I was frustrated by the part when the boy is talking to the man on the top of the train and the man unexpectedly gets slammed into the tunnel and dies. It was unnecessary. It didn’t add to the movie and my kids didn’t need to see that. It was over before I could stop it.

I had high expectations for this film, and it is nothing like what I thought. The animation is creepy, although this is probably just because we now have amazing, life-like animation in comparison. But the conductor is scary, as well as the hobo, and the scene on top of the train is dangerous and unnecessary. There was also more Santa questioning than I would have imagined. I didn't like how a scary train showed up in front of the boys house and he goes out to investigate alone and an adult (who is pretty intense) tells him to get on board. That's not the message I want my child to be learning. I wanted to love this movie and fully intended that I would, but I found myself seriously disliking almost everything about it

Watched this with my 4 year old twins and they wanted me to turn it off because it was too scary. The conductor yelling, the 'ghost' on the roof, the eerie feeling were just too much.Personally I didn't like the idea of the little boys going on the train with a strange man. Not the kind of message I want my kids to follow. I watched the rest of the movie it has some fun elements, but many intense scenes, so I would not consider it suitable for small or sensitive children.

Ok, I know it's not popular to say, but I could not have hated this movie more. I think I just came to it with incorrect expectations. Over the years I've always heard about the Polar Express... Schools showing it with special pajama days, photos of people riding real trains that are made to look like the Polar Express, hot chocolate parties, lovely illustrated book covers about the polar Express, family traditions around the movie. So this year, I just decided to rent it to watch with the family. For dinner reason, and totally out of character for me, I didn't look up the movie reviews! I expected a lovely, feel good, light hearted Christmas classic. For me, this was not it. I personally felt stressed out about 90% of the movie. The children are for the most part in harrowing, stressful situations. The whole thing just seems made for a video game or a ride at an amusem*nt park. There's a train bum/ghost character that would be creepy in any scary movie with ugly expressions, sudden movements, he disappears and reappears. He disintegrates and then is whole later. The kids go through a train car full of old, dirty, creepy toys just ready for a horror movie and one of them "grabs" the main boy and talks in a scary way to him. There is one girl who shows a lot of kindness but even she leads the boys on one of the somewhat stressful episodes. The conductor does seem nice but not overly concerned when three kids disappear. The movie is often physically literally dark. It's just not the kind of good true and beautiful movie I would like to fill my heart with at Christmas. It's not something I ever plan to watch again. My kids just left saying that was really creepy.

A Christmas movie that small children will easily love.

The movie is ruined for little kids by the scary hobo ghost and the violence when he is slammed into the tunnel on top of the train. There are also a lot of close calls with the train looking like it is about to crash and it upsets my Kinder aged kid.

Dismal...not interesting, not fun, not cute...clunky, creepy, awkward, indulgent and Santa-centric...except when it's not. It's like a roller coaster when you should have gone to a different amusem*nt park or just stayed home.