The Polar Express has been chugging along our Christmas watchlists since 2004 and though its motion-capture animation strikes us a bit strange nowadays, it still continues to be one of the most beloved films of the holiday season. For some, their Christmas isn’t complete until they’ve taken a ride with Tom Hanks to the North Pole.
The movie has been watched and rewatched almost every Christmas since it premiered, but in spite of that fact, we’ve picked up a few interesting tidbits upon our latest viewing. There’s more than Christmas spirit powering this terrific train, and we’re here to share the secrets and surprises of The Polar Express.
It’s The First Motion Capture Movie
Not exactly a hidden detail, but one that absolutely has to be mentioned. Before audiences got the likes of Monster House, Beowulf, or even Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Polar Express was the first feature film made entirely with motion-capture animation.
While the feat might not seem like much with today’s modern filmmaking and animation techniques, it was a pretty impressive feat in 2004. Robert Zemeckis’s creative, yet uncanny, style of movie-making was novel for the time but it just couldn’t stick around long enough to properly evolve. It was impressive while it lasted, though.
The Boy Has No Name
Honestly, it’s a wonder most viewers didn’t catch this little detail, or lack thereof, sooner. While they might be a little too caught up in the story to notice it on the first viewing, watchers might pick up that the boy who leads the story has no name.
That’s right, the main character, the heroic protagonist, the one who goes on this life-changing, magical, and momentous journey to the North Pole and back has absolutely no name. Even in the film’s end credits, the character is only credited as “Hero Boy,” as if the filmmakers themselves even skipped on that little detail. Maybe Santa should bring him one next Christmas?
Elements From the Book are Expanded On
Cynics and stickler’s alike are always quick to criticize any movie based on or inspired by a book by how close it sticks to the source material. In the case of the Children’s book written by Chris Van Allsburg, the events of the book actually do happen in the movie, though with some serious expansion on the part of the writers and director.
The train’s sudden appearance, the wolves, the hot chocolate, and the massive gathering of elves at the top of the world all occur in the book. So, technically, the movie interpretation leaves almost nothing out from the source material.
The Train is Powered by a Flux Capacitor
That title might sound like a ludicrous statement but not only can Doc Brown’s Flux Capacitor be seen in the engine’s cab, it also explains how the Polar Express is able to travel around the world and back again over the course of a single night. It doesn’t just run on tracks, but on time as well.
During the descent down Glacier Gulch, just before the engineer pulls the bobby pin from his mass of red hair, a small Flux Capacitor can briefly be seen amongst the gauges and knobs that make up the train’s inner workings. But the true question is can it really go 1.21 gigawatts?
Santa is Somewhat Spiritual
For someone who doesn’t appear until the last act of the film, Santa has a strange and almost supernatural presence spread throughout the film. The belief in Santa is presented as a test of faith and plays as a constant theme throughout the film, and Santa Claus himself is even given a big and almost angelic reveal when he finally does step out on screen.
Although Santa is a character targeted mainly at children, the message of having faith is a very mature storytelling choice. Whether that’s seeing Santa as a real entity or the meaning of Christmas itself, a certain amount of belief is very much required to understand on a deeper level.
Bells Both Start and End the Story
A single silver sleighbell has become a powerful Christmas image thanks to this film and the book on which it’s based. The use of the bells becomes a prominent feature both in the first and final acts. They act as both the catalyst to the story that unfolds and residual proof of Santa’s existence.
The film opens with the boy waiting to hear Santa’s sleighbells on Christmas eve, but not hearing a sound until the Polar Express appears right in his front lawn. Later in the film, he’s unable to hear them until he comes to grips and finds his belief, putting his faith to the test and showing the power of belief.
Tom Hanks Voices Multiple Characters
Tom Hanks is definitely a film icon - and that’s the understatement of the year. He’s played a lost castaway, a cowboy, and even Mr. Rogers and Walt Disney. But in this festive feature, he plays not one, not two, but six different roles! That’s a huge chunk of the main cast when you think about it.
Hanks not only plays the conductor of the Polar Express but the narrator, the boy’s father, the hobo, the Scrooge puppet, and even Santa Claus himself. Granted, Hank’s natural voice can be felt in those first two, but we’re really impressed by his wide range for these different characters.
Tom Hanks Did Motion Capture Too
Not only did Tom Hanks voice several characters in the film, but he provided the motion capture for a certain few as well, including the facial structure for the boy. Say what you want about Robert Zemekis’s use of the animation technology, we gotta give him credit for utilizing Hank’s talent.
Motion capture is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but we tip our hats to the actors involved who give such a wide display of emotions to bring the various characters to life. It might venture into the uncanny valley at times, but we still got an enjoyable movie out of it.
The Girl Hides the Hot Chocolate Twice
We caught this on our first viewing too, but we can’t for the life of us figure out what its purpose was. During the jazzy “Hot Chocolate” musical number, the girl takes a cup of hot chocolate for Billy in the back car.
First, we see her sneak a mug and hide it under the table, but when she’s given another she hides it under the chair. We don’t know if this was an accident or if this was the same cup of cocoa just moved to a different spot, but it certainly stuck out to us on our last viewing.
The Lost Ticket Makes a Needless Loop
We’re calling out the filmmakers on this one, but it was an interesting way to show us what the animation was capable of doing. When the girl loses her ticket and it’s sent fluttering out the window, it goes on a brief adventure around the snowy forest. Visually impressive, but does it further the plot?
The ticket might have been trampled by wolves, snatched by an eagle, regurgitated by its chick, and sent back into the train, but aside from showing us some creative techniques, it’s needless except for the eye candy. The characters are still in the same place they were before and nothing develops.
The Hobo is a Ghost Killed by Flat-Top Tunnel
Do you believe in ghosts? The Hobo is perhaps the most interesting character aboard the Polar Express, the self-proclaimed king of the North Pole. He’s fun, but also mysterious and cryptic in his ways. Is he an angel, a holiday entity, or a ghost? Well, we may have figured out the answer.
How is the hobo able to vanish and reappear, and how did he know about the clearance in Flat-Top Tunnel? A deleted scene confirms it, but we can guess by his dialogue that the character is indeed a ghost, supposedly crushed by the roof of the cave. And you thought Halloween was the time for ghosts.
Steven Tyler Cameos Twice
One member of the cast we definitely didn’t expect to see in this flick was Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. We know he sings the jamming North Pole finale, “Rockin’ on Top of the World” but he also appears in the film as two actual characters as well.
The second time we see him is more obvious than the first, as the leader of the elves’ rock band. Come on, they didn’t even try to hide him on that one. But Tyler also appears as one of the head elves in the Naughty and Nice department. It’s hard to notice at first but look for the lieutenant elf assisting in surveillance.
Scrooge Might Have Hinted at a Shared Universe
We might be a little crazy on this one, but there’s definitely evidence to support our claims. The most chilling scene in the film has to be the boy’s encounter with Scrooge in the toy car. At first glance, it might be a representation of the boy’s doubts and fears, but he might play a bigger part than we first knew.
Using the same motion-capture animation, Zemekis made A Christmas Carol for Disney. Jim Carrey’s Scrooge is great but somewhat familiar. With its own ghost and Christmas message, could the Polar Express and Ebeneezer Scrooge exist in the same universe? Or is it just an Easter egg?
Santa Appears in the Bell
Once again, we find the bell returns as a prominent symbol of the film. The collective sigh of relief when the boy finds the bell under the Christmas tree the morning after his adventure is delectably palpable, but it’s right before the film ends where we get a little extra surprise.
Just before the screen cuts to credits, we can see a faint reflection of Santa Claus in the bell before the film ends. This not only serves as a whimsical note to end on but the confirmation that Santa does indeed exist, at least to those who just believe.
Reality is Kept Ambiguous
This is definitely our favorite feature of this film, the vagueness of reality. So many Christmas adventures are written off as just a dream before the credits roll, but The Polar Express blurs the lines between dream and reality so much that at times we get lost in the flight of fantasy ourselves.
If we’re being honest, most of the trip to the North Pole could be considered a dream, such as a train being on a gigantic rollercoaster track, but it could also be billed as Christmas magic. The sleighbell is definitely a sign that all things did come to pass, but that’s also brilliantly left up to whether the audience believes or not.
