Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Polar Express 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

All aboard, or all abhorred?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 10, 2022

One of four major holiday WB catalog titles earning a 4K bump this moth, Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express is slowly chugging towards its 20th birthday in a few years. The film's once-groundbreaking use of CGI, which never came close to crossing The Uncanny Valley, is as much a part of its overall charm as the 1985 children's book it was based on. Not surprisingly, Warner Bros.' new 2160p transfer doesn't pull twice the fine detail out of this barely 2K production, but better disc encoding technology and HDR10 enhancement work overtime to make a noticeable difference.

For a synopsis of the film, please see Martin Liebman's review of the 2008 Blu-ray, which was later side-stepped by a 3D Blu-ray far less convincing than what fans saw in limited IMAX theatrical engagements. (I was at one of those shows back in the day and vividly remember a young audience member trying to grab the flying ticket.)

While I've willingly watched The Polar Express most every year, especially once my own daughter finally came of age, it's not a great film. Entertaining? Sure. Atmospheric? Certainly. But this bad boy's padded within an inch of its life (the source book, after all, is 32 pages of mostly pictures), the script is rough, its momentum lurches constantly, and friggin' Aerosmith is the official North Pole house band? Gag me with a candy cane. In my opinion, it's more a guilty pleasure not far above the likes of Jingle All the Way than a certified classic... but The Polar Express is still an enjoyable film in the right mood, and one that its target audience will likely grow to love if they can tolerate creepy eyes.

The Polar Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If you already appreciate The Polar Express' unique visual aesthetic as-is, Warner Bros.' new 2160p, HDR10-enhanced transfer only amplifies the film's tangible atmospheric qualities. It's an occasionally hypnotic and even somewhat eerie experience in the moment, an admirable attempt at hyper-realism that nonetheless rarely crosses The Uncanny Valley mentioned earlier and probably earned the film just as many detractors during the past 18 years. Although The Polar Express' digital roots and possibly sub-2K source resolution mean that this upscaled 4K presentation shouldn't wring any more fine detail out of the picture, there is a perceivable bump in quality that likely extends to its much higher bit rate and the newer format's more efficient encoding. You won't have to struggle to find this detail boost or even zoom in closely, but it doesn't make as immediate an impact as the other half of this new visual presentation.

HDR enhancement naturally makes more of an immediately eye-popping difference within the broader boundaries of color-driven films, animated or otherwise, and especially those with a heightened visual atmosphere... which more or less describes The Polar Express to a T. Although its overall color timing has not changed much, it takes on a more reddish hue overall with skin tones that now lean slightly pinker than before. (This is not uncommon since DVD-era masters often pushed transfers towards the yellow/orange side.) Here, the varied palette now reveals more distinct differences along the way and, combined with richer gradients, brighter whites, and deeper blacks afforded by its wide dynamic range, the result is a more visually potent picture with increased depth, more cleanly-defined highlights, and better-refined contrast levels. These collective improvements give the film an even more surreal appearance that, in my opinion, works to capture The Polar Express' storybook atmosphere better than ever on home video. I obviously don't remember the first theatrical showing with photographic clarity, but it's safe to assume that this film almost can't look better than it does here aside from, y'know, just re-doing the whole thing from scratch.

The newly-minted Blu-ray, which is the source for this review's screenshots, looks damn good too. (I've no clue about WB's decision-making process in this department, as they're usually known for just recycling old discs but seemingly create new ones at random.) Either way, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see that this new Blu-ray is more or less a natural evolution of WB's own 2008 release, which somehow pulled a halfway-decent picture out of a single-layered disc with bonus features. Though the lack of HDR enhancement doesn't give it the same impact, better encoding and increased real estate yield self-explanatory results and push it dangerously close to format limits. In short, it's a nice upgrade in its own right and maybe, maybe even worth the price of admission if you're not set up for 4K.

The Polar Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although the more common 2008 Blu-ray was limited to lossy Dolby Digital 5.1, WB's 3D Blu-ray served up a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix and that's also what we get here. This encoding sounds more or less identical to my ears -- it's a very solid track and quite active at times, but I'd still have loved to hear an Atmos remix.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature and all applicable extras.

The Polar Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with surprisingly attractive new cover art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The surface-level bonus features are largely identical to WB's 2008 release and can only be found on the new Blu-ray disc, but have been re-organized due to the newer menu interface.

• You Look Familiar (4:11) - Motion capture footage and the many faces of Tom Hanks.

• A Genuine Ticket to Ride (13:32) - A short five-part making-of featurette.

• True Inspirations: An Author's Adventure (5:28) - A short chat with author Chris Van Allsburg.

• Believe: Behind the Scenes (4:24) - Featuring your mom's favorite singer, Josh Groban.

• Flurry of Effects (8:48) - Another short five-part featurette, this time about motion capture.

• Smokey and Steamer (7:04) - A deleted song by the late Michael Jeter.

• Josh Groban at the Greek (4:33) - Performing a live rendition of "Believe".

• Meet the Snow Angels (2:44) - Christmas memories from the cast and crew.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:31)

The Polar Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express is either a sentimental Christmas favorite or a bloated CGI creep-fest... but no matter your opinion of the film, Warner Bros.' surprisingly solid 4K combo pack serves up an absolutely outstanding visual presentation that easily eclipses earlier home video editions. (Even the Blu-ray is new and improved, which isn't usually the case with WB catalog titles.) New extras and an Atmos mix would've put this one all the way over the top, but as it stands this is still a very solid 4K upgrade well worth adding to your list. Firmly Recommended.