Chris Van Allsburg
Author
Where the Botched Children's Book Adaptations Are...film a disturbing vibe that was hard to shake. -Curtis Silver Robert Zemeckis pulled out all the stops in this motion-capture adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's children's book. The problem: Despite a handsome storybook tableau, those frozen... In this article: Wired.com, Willy Wonka, Johnny Depp, Stuart Little, Sleeping Beauty, and Smaug |
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Denver Post Entertainment | November 05, 2009
Review: Dickens trumps Disney in 3-D Christmas Carol
He flies into the past. He hurtles into the future. Zemeckis came under the spell of the technology while making Chris Van Allsburg's children's book "The Polar Express" into a movie. Actors do their peculiar magic wired to, and recorded...
In this article: Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens, Jim Carrey, Robert Zemeckis, Gary Oldman, Disney, Bob Cratchit, The Polar Express, Tiny Tim, and Colin Firth
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Film.com Movie Blog | October 14, 2009
Children's Book Adaptations That Failed
Who'da thunk that Robert Zemeckis -- who gave us such wonders as Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit -- could mutate a lovely picture book by Chris Van Allsburg into the hellish undead monstrosity that is The Polar Express? What...
In this article: Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, Grinch, Where the Wild Things Are, Johnny Depp, Spike Jonze, Tim Burton, The Polar Express, Child, and Christmas Eve
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The Huffington Post | November 04, 2009
Marshall Fine: Movie Review: Disney's A Christmas Carol
...underwhelming films (i.e., Death Becomes Her). His film version of Chris van Allsburg's The Polar Express was a leap forward in the blending of motion-capture technology with computer animation. But while it gets trotted out on an annual...
In this article: Disney, Robert Zemeckis, Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens, Forrest Gump, A Christmas Carol, Michael Caine, The Polar Express, and Death Becomes Her
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New York Times | November 28, 2008
Holiday Gift Guide: DVDs
...character; the new two-disc edition includes a snow globe. (Universal, $34.98, PG) POLAR EXPRESS: 3-D Robert Zemeckis brings Chris Van Allsburg's beloved children's book to life. The film offers classic Christmas imagery, rendered in...
In this article: Blu-ray, Warner Home Video, DVD, Universal, Fox Home Entertainment, Dr. Seuss, Criterion Collection, Disney, and Douglas Fairbanks
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boston.com - Top arts and entertainment stories | October 03, 2009
Where the wonder goes
...salute. The book remains its own smaller and richer reward. So too with Chris Van Allsburg, whose works are light on text but illustrated with a sense of deep and abiding mystery. "Jumanji'' (1995) and "Zathura'' (2005) became ordinary...
In this article: Spike Jonze, Ella Enchanted, Tim Burton, Hollywood, The New Yorker, Dr. Seuss, William Steig, Pooh, and Disney
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Wikipedia | November 05, 2009
The Polar Express (film)
The Polar Express (film) The Polar Express (also known as The Polar Express in 3D) is a 2004 Academy Award -nominated feature film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. The film, written, produced, and...
In this article: The Polar Express, IMAX, Tom Hanks, The Polar Express, Michael Jeter, and Christmas Eve
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New Jersey On-Line | November 27, 2008
Two Days for Nov. 29-30
...realism and fantasy. The classic holiday story is based on the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book written by Chris Van Allsberg, is directed by Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis and stars Academy Award winner Tom Hanks. The movies runs an...
In this article: The Polar Express, The Star-Ledger, Saks Fifth Avenue, Oscar de la Renta, Gingerbread, French toast, and Bacon
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PR Newswire: All Releases | November 07, 2008
All Aboard! Taubman Malls Open The Snow Globes Featuring The Polar Express With Pajama Program
...Express. Directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Zemeckis & William Broyles, Jr., the film is produced by Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Gary Goetzman and William Teitler and is based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg. Tom Hanks,...
In this article: Taubman Centers, The Polar Express, Warner Bros, Robert Zemeckis, Trademark, Caldecott Medal, Alan Silvestri, and Tom Hanks
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Beowulf and Motion Capture - Movies - New York Times
But to bring both Chris Van Allsburg s much-loved children s book The Polar Express and now, the Old English epic Beowulf to the screen, the director Robert Zemeckis turned to his old associate, the special effects wizard Ken Ralston. Mr....
In this article: Beowulf, Robert Zemeckis, Anthony Hopkins, The Polar Express, Sony, Ray Winstone, and Tom Hanks
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More on Chris Van Allsburg
Description from Wikipedia:
Chris Van Allsburg (born June 18, 1949 in East Grand Rapids, Michigan) is an American author and illustrator of children's books. He won the Caldecott Medal for Jumanji (1982) and The Polar Express (1985), both of which he wrote and illustrated, and both of which were later adapted into successful motion pictures. He received the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1980 for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi.
He attended art school at the University of Michigan, and received his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design. Mr. Van Allsburg is said to have disliked children before becoming a father, making his decision to work on children's books rather odd.
His books often depict fantastic, uncontrolled events and utilize sometimes brutal irony. Van Allsburg breaks out of the comfortable world of children's literature to explore the darker side of human nature. For example, his book The Sweetest Fig is about a selfish man who is suddenly given the opportunity to make his wildest dreams come true. His greed is eventually his downfall. This is not an unusual moral for a story in children's books, but Van Allsburg's chilling characterization of the man brings a frightening tone to the narrative. The Wretched Stone, in which a ship's crew is mesmerized and corrupted by the titular rock, is an allegorical tale about the negative impact of television .
Other literary themes include dreams, the environment, and items with lives of their own (like the board games in Jumanji and Zathura).
Every book features Fritz, a bull terrier that is based on a real-life dog owned by Chris Van Allsburg's brother-in-law. He appears in every book and even on his website, sometimes as a real dog, or a toy, or other things as a tribute to the dog's life.
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