I was really looking forward to seeing this film about a young boy’s Christmas Eve adventure. He goes to bed full of anticipation, but his sleep is interrupted when his house begins to tremble. He looks out the window and witnesses the arrival of an enormous train that he soon realizes is traveling to the North Pole. After getting on board safely, he meets other kids, and it seems like fun is about to begin as they discover that one of them will get a chance to meet Santa Claus before his worldwide journey! Unfortunately, I didn’t really enjoy this movie. The animation style felt too rigid and artificial with its very defined facial expressions, and there was just an excessive amount of dialogue compared to what was happening visually. The game involving tickets seemed like a forced way to move the story along; it quickly became awkward and served mainly as a way to connect these disconnected events. While I’m certain that the CGI work and blending of live action are impressive feats, ultimately the film felt overly sentimental, with messages about cooperation and Christmas cheer pushed too hard. The music by Alan Silvestri is pleasant enough, and things do get more engaging when the animation focuses on the train itself, but overall, it didn’t quite win me over.

Source on TMDB