Tell me more ×
Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and tv enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

I enjoy most of Disney animations but the film Polar Express just made me so uncomfortable that I couldn't get past the first 10 minutes. It's just plain creepy. I have no issues with Shrek, Toy Story, Robots Sharks Tale and other animations. But this film just made me feel out of place.

share|improve this question
1  
Don't mean to be pedantic, but Polar Express was from Warner Bros., not Disney. – PaulStock Mar 21 at 14:26
@PaulStock thank you for the correction – user4371 Mar 21 at 18:48

2 Answers

up vote 11 down vote accepted

It may be that you have fallen for the classic effect called the Uncanny Valley.

The reason those humans seem creepy to you is that they indeed look pretty much like real humans and not like exaggerated caricatures of humans usually seen in other animated movies. This first sounds rather paradox, but when looking at arbitrary animated creatures (like toys, talking animals or even artistically distorted humans) you don't care if they don't behave exactly like humans. But because the figures in the Polar Express look so much like real humans you realize even slight divergence from human behaviour much more. So the more realistic and human-like a figure looks, the more you expect it to behave exactly like a real human, and if it then doesn't, it feels kind of creepy to you.

This is kind of a subconcious process. You first see some pretty well visualized humans and instinctively think they are humans but then you realize they behave somehow strangely and inhuman and that difference in realism between visual appearance and animated behaviour is what makes you feel creepy. The linked Wikipedia article may provide some more theoretical insight into this effect (in fact it even lists the Polar Express as an example).

share|improve this answer
Thats a big Bingo, thanks, they even mentioned Polar Express in the article. As there were previous animations made were people felt this I'm suprised they still make them Or maybe me being older has something to do with it. – user4371 Mar 20 at 0:26
@Doogfar I guess they just thought they could get it realistic enough using motion capture techniques. Haven't seen it, though. But for example I for myself didn't have any problem with the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, maybe because its humans looked nearly perfectly realistic in contrast to the still slightly artistic humans from the Polar Express (or it may be just me not being that sensitive to the uncanny ;)). – Christian Rau Mar 20 at 0:36
Final Fantasy also freaked me but Bewulf didn't – user4371 Mar 20 at 0:42
up vote 3 down vote

That may be the case because Polar Express is made using motion capture Technique, Which is not used in Shrek, Toy story etc. Motion capture Technique are generally used to present real emotions or live movements. Or may be the case that its animation is not made that playful as toy story or shrek to make it more realistic. In general Polar Express is got good appreciation with mixed reviews but it received a cult following.

So it made this way on purpose and i think its done to make it feel realistic.

share|improve this answer
Yes that's the reason, thanks for that, as evidenced by this youtube youtube.com/watch?v=nhvu6o0yyAo where I can see the actor and the motion capture result. Yet the question is, why does it make me feel queezy. I know its not only me as others have commented on this as well. – user4371 Mar 20 at 0:09

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.