One of my favorite Christmas movies, The Polar Express, seems to be getting a lot of
trash-talk lately. I even know of one pastor who talked about it to his congregation and
carried the conversation over onto social media. His thoughts: the Polar Express is the
worst Christmas movie ever! And he’s not the only one who thinks that. A blogger
identifying himself as ronannarbor (2018) writes along these lines, and Audrey Williams
from Showbiz Cheat Sheet (2020), writes that this film is the creepiest Christmas movie.
But is it? It’s a question I’ve started asking myself and here’s what I have found.
My three-year old niece puts her hands over her ears when she hears the theme music for
Polar Express start. Snuggled up to her Nana with a stuffed gingerbread man, she finally
settles down, but finally even her six-year-old brother asks for a different movie. So maybe.
But then I think about the Christmas movie that scared me as a child, and I have to
say it was one of the versions of a Christmas Carol. I am over that fear now, but to this day,
my twenty-four-year-old sister cannot watch even my favorite version, Disney’s Christmas
Carol (2009), with Jim Carrey. I love this version of the story because modern technology
finally made it possible to tell the story the way Dickens wrote it.
Not to make of light of children’s fears at all, but very few of us would blast A
Christmas Carol like The Polar Express has been blasted. After all, A Christmas Carol is a
Dickens classic, “the” Dickens classic, in all its ghostly glory. It’s creepy yes, but it’s
supposed to be creepy.
Maybe that’s the difference. A Christmas Carol is supposed to be creepy. Is the Polar
Express intended to be creepy, or is it creepy by accident?
The truth is that The Polar Express represents a landmark in animation. It was the
first film to be animated completely through motion capture (Debczak, 2018). In Williams’
(2020) article, she relates that many people find the animation awkward and creepy,
especially the faces. The most disconcerting quality identified in The Polar Express
animation is the “uncanny valley,” which is the failure of human-like characters to appear
completely human.
I’ll have to say, I didn’t notice this element, but I will admit that there are parts of
The Polar Express which I find creepy. The first is the person living on top of the train, who
is, by all indication, a ghost. I must say I still haven’t grasped any real meaning in that
element of the film, beyond him saving the boy’s life. The second creepy scene is the one
with the marionette puppets. Who would want a creaky metal arm on their shoulder and a
ghostly voice from above belittling them?
So, in answer to the question is the Polar Express creepy on purpose or by accident; I
think the answer is both. I doubt that anyone would create a ghostly figure such as the one
in Polar Express without intending it to be at least somewhat creepy. Beyond that
intentional creepiness, I believe the general creepiness in the animation is simply the fact
that motion capture was used. In addition to the fact that this technique was still in its
infancy, mo-cap became so infamous for the “uncanny valley” element that Disney’s CGI
company (the company that made the Polar Express and sadly, my favorite version of A
Christmas Carol) was shut down.
When I think about the reasons against the Polar Express, the one that I pay attention
to the most is the plotline. Yes, a man without a name taking a child without a name onto a
train loaded with other children, in the middle of the night, without the parents knowing, is
disturbing, even if the destination is the North Pole. If you don’t want your children to see it
for that reason, I respect that. I also respect it if you allow them to watch it and use this
opportunity to explain why we don’t except train rides from strangers.
Whatever you may think of The Polar Express, there are some good things about it.
Josh Groban singing Believe is considered the highlight of the film, even by the worst
critics, who say it doesn’t fit the rest of the movie. Another cool aspect is that the Polar
Express train is based on a real train in Michigan.
When thinking back to that blogger (ronnanarbor) from 2018, I have my own opinions
about some of those arguments which I would like to share.
The character of Billy: I believe there is a reason Billy is always in the background,
looking around. It’s because he is, in life, on the outside, looking in. He’s the poor kid, the
kid from the other side of the tracks, the kid who says, “Christmas just doesn’t work out for
me.” One of the things I find special about the movie is that this “overlooked” kid is given
something that the other kids are not, a name.
The “good” girl: No one is perfect, including the little girl on the train. But she is
brave and kind. And she has vision. I believe she embodies a strong woman leader. My
favorite part of the movie is when they are in the roundhouse, and she hears the bell and
knows that’s the way they should go. When the little boy repeatedly asks, “are you sure?”
She finally says, “absolutely.” I feel this in my soul. Whether anyone means it to be this way
or not, women often have to make a greater effort to be taken seriously. I agree with the
conductor on this one: “I’d follow you anywhere, ma’am.”
The gift: The little boy could have asked for anything from Santa. But sometimes the
greatest gifts aren’t the ones that cost the most. The reason the boy chose a bell from
Santa’s sleigh is that it symbolized what he wanted the most: to believe.
And the train going over ice, the mysterious waiters and hot chocolate? Come on
people, it’s a kid’s movie. Besides, weren’t you listening? It’s a magic train!
In conclusion, the question of whether The Polar Express is a good movie is not up to
one person to decide. It’s up to you, the viewer. If you decide to hate it, that’s fine with me,
but please don’t ruin it for those of us who choose to enjoy it.
Merry Christmas!