We rented this movie last night primarily because we missed it in the theater last year. I found that I really enjoyed it primarily because of the mood it created. The story was full of little twists and turns that kept it fairly interesting, and the characters were realistic but not to the extent that they ever lost their fairy tale qualities. The quality of the animation was excellent.

The movie captured the allure and nostalgia of a train ride quite well and coupled that with the anticipation of the Christmas season. The story also incorporates some of the best qualities of human nature in some of the characters along with a bit of the irritation of a know-it-all character.

Tom Hanks’ performance, as usual, was excellent. The conductor character was so well done, in fact, that I would be bit concerned that an animated character might replace him someday, maybe at a lower salary.

Overall, a very well-done effort.