What a disappointment! This movie had so much potential -- It had a beautiful story for all faiths, stunning art, Tom Hanks' captivating voices, and a world of fantasy where truly great film could have happened. But once the Polar Express pulled out of the boy's neighborhood, it was a runaway train. The action scenes were so repetitive that by the umpteenth rollercoaster ride, I was wishing my watch had an illuminated dial. Some of the "exciting" scenes - featuring the train skidding across ice, cracking under its weight -- were terrifying to my children, who live in Alaska where cracking ice claims several lives each year -- but worse, these scenes were repeated so many times that I wondered why the producers couldn't find some other misadventures to fill up the time. The addition of a handful of characters (also a time-filler) worked about 50% of the time -- the ghost on top of the train was interesting to the over 13 set; younger kids didn't get it. The redneck engineers seemed out of place, and added nothing to the movie. The main characters worked, but the animation made the insides of their mouths black, which was creepy. The "poor kid" was a wonderful addition, but his character seems to have been given short schrift, so Tom Hanks's ghost could get more airtime. A shame, given the point of the story. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this movie was the music. What an opportunity there was, for a truly memorable score! Except for one sweet song sung by the lead female character - to a modestly successful background -- the score was as hollow as the animated characters' eyes. There was nothing that approached "Can You Feel the Love Tonite?" or "Colors of the Wind". The musical let-down was compounded toward the end of the movie, when Frank Sinatra-style Christmas songs were piped through loudspeakers in a deserted Santa Land. The sound was so eerie, and the scene so strange, I couldn't wait for Santa to load up the sleigh and take off. I wanted to get outa there. What a nightmare, indeed!