Have you ever looked at something and thought, «Something is wrong, I just can’t quite put my finger on it?» Perhaps you thought this while watching The Polar Express. The characters just look a little unsettling, though you couldn’t fully articulate the reason. Maybe the sensation you were feeling could be explained by «The Uncanny Valley,» a term used to describe the off-putting space between something looking real and human-like and something looking fake or inanimate. Mickey Mouse, for example, lands on the safe side of the uncanny valley because he looks nothing like a real human, so our brains can quickly categorize him as a cartoon. 

But the train conductor in The Polar Express, on the other hand, looks a little too much like Tom Hanks the person, so we’re caught in the middle between cartoon and real. It’s a place best left avoided if you’re in the business of making people feel good.