While I know we are coming to the end of the holiday season as I write this review, let me remind all of you that there is simply no better holiday movie than "The Polar Express" in 3-D at the IMAX Theater. Taking nothing away from such Christmas classics as the original "Miracle on 34th Street" (the one starring Edmund Gwenn in a best supporting Oscar role), "It's a Wonderful Life (which was considered a flop at the time), or "A Christmas Story", you simply can't top "Polar in 3-D's" combination of heartfelt emotion and heart stopping special effects.

To be quite frank, I did not see "Polar" during its original theatric release in 2004, as I was largely turned off by the negative reviews. If reviewers didn't find fault with director Robert Zemeckis' stylized live action animation, they dismissed the film's scenes at the North Pole as reminiscent of a Nuremberg Rally in Nazi Germany.

As a result, it should go without saying how astonished I was to actually experience this film at the IMAX. Contrary to those reviews, this movie tells a stirring tale of children holding onto their belief in Santa Claus. For those of you who don't know by now, the plot deals with a mystical train that takes children who are borderline non-believers on a trip to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.

What makes this film work so well is the fact that the incomparable Tom Hanks plays multiple roles. He is the father of the central character, again a boy who is starting to believe that Santa Claus is a fake. In addition, he plays the train's conductor, a magical bum that lives on the train's roof and Santa Claus himself. Hanks' innate earnestness lends a sense of believability to the story that is central to its charm.

The relationship of the kids on the train as they head towards the North Pole is especially endearing. Of particular note is a little boy from the "wrong side of the tracks" who boards the train from a home having absolutely no Christmas decorations, including a tree. The friendship that grows between this alienated little boy and other kids is a splendid treasure to behold, and we can thank Mr. Zemeckis for it.

This year, I took four kids to see "Polar", two age 9 and two age 6. Connor and Calen, my grandchildren, have seen it with me the past two years, and they nonetheless were looking forward to it with great anticipation. All four kids absolutely loved the entire movie, and it was an absolute joy sitting next to them and watch them pinned back in their seats wearing those goofy 3-D glasses!

Furthermore, it is impossible to describe the thrill of taking children to this movie who are reaching the age where it is no longer completely cool to believe in Santa Claus. This movie not only takes on young doubters, but doubters of every age.

Polar uses a metaphor of a bell from Santa's team of reindeer, the ringing of which can only be heard by people who still believe. In an ending that I must admit still leaves a lump in my throat, Santa gives the bell to the central child character (again voiced by Hanks) at the North Pole and he proceeds to lose it after placing it into his robe that has a hole in the pocket.

Heartbroken, he returns home, only to find one last present under the Christmas tree with his name on it. Opening it, he finds that bell with a note signed "Mr. C." As he holds it to his ear, smiling to the sound of its magic bell, his father tells his mother, "What a shame that the bell is broken."

During the narration that ends the movie, you hear this little boy as an adult state that while his sister and others stopped hearing that bell, as they grew older, he continues to hear it ring at Christmas time. I can say without any shame whatsoever that at the age of 61, I hear it every year also. I love everything about this season, from the shopping, lights and most importantly, the spirit of camaraderie and friendship.

I am convinced that the world would be a better place if we could all still hear the ringing of that little bell.