3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Get up, get on, and get ready for the ride of your life! It's Christmas Ever, and you're about to roller-coaster up and down mountains, slip-slide over ice fields, teeter across mile-high bridges and be served hot chocolate by singing waiters more astonishing than any you can imagine. You're on "The Polar Express!" "Seeing is believing," says a mysterious hobo who rides the rails with you. You'll see wonders... And you'll believe. All abooooooard.

Like Disney’s A Christmas Carol, Zemeckis conceived this film for 3D right from the get go. The results show with a very immersive and vertigo inducing experience that is a showcase for the technology. Warner previously released this movie as an anaglyph 3-D presentation that was nearly unwatchable. Now with true digital 3-D available, you finally get to see just how good this looks. Warner has also upped the ante with a blistering 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This is a great sound design with tremendous spatial design and low bass extension. I love the definition in the bass during the train sequences and especially the roller coaster like mountain passes and lake sequence. The dialogue blends in well with the animation and the balance of the elements is dead on.

Extras are identical to the previous release on Blu-ray and include an extra musical sequence, some production features that look at the motion capture process, interviews and the trailer.

Warner does a fantastic job with this 3D presentation making it a great show off title for the new technology. While the animation shows a little dating, this is still a rollercoaster of a ride and a great holiday themed family film. Highly recommended.