Even though Christmas Day has come and gone (Mine was great, and I hope all of yours' were, too), I feel I should post this second Christmas- related entry for this year. After all, A) The spirit of Christmas should stay with us year- round, and B) The holiday season can last even beyond Dec. 25th. After all, in the classic Christmas song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," Christmas Day was actually the first day (Day 12 was January 5th)! This entry's going to be a slightly shorter one than usual, but hopefully you'll get something good out of it.
So, to finish off this Christmas season AND 2020 in style, let's take a look at the yuletide gem 'The Polar Express.'
(Credit for this image goes to the user alexthegeneralarteaga on the Polar Express Wiki at https://polarexpress.fandom.com/wiki/The_Polar_Express_(film)?file=The-polar-express.jpg)
This 2004 film, based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, was directed by Robert Zemeckis and Stars Tom Hanks in several different roles.
It starts with the main character, a young boy who is questioning the existence of Santa Claus, receiving a surprise visit on Christmas Eve from the Polar Express, an enormous train that takes kids to meet the real Santa Claus in the North Pole. The strict yet loving conductor (Voice of Tom Hanks) tells the boy about the train, and after a moment's hesitation, the boy boards it.
When he boards it, he sees it is filled with other kids whose faith in the existence of Santa is also wavering. He particularly gets to know three of them who each have their own reasons for doubting Santa's existence (None actually say the reason for their doubts, but you can kind of tell just from their personalities and observing how they act): A little girl who apparently has general uncertainty problems and difficulty really committing to decisions (Several times early in the movie, when she's about to make a decision, one of the other characters will say "Are you sure?", and she'll noticeably hesitate), a very intelligent though rather arrogant boy who likely has trouble reconciling the many things associated with Santa Claus that would be scientifically impossible, and a little boy named Billy- The only one of the kids on the Polar Express whose name is specifically mentioned- who's very poor and thus has not had a lot of good Christmases and thus has a lot of difficulty trusting anyone, including someone who tells him Santa is real (I guess to kind of address the issue of how Santa can exist when so many good kids who are poor don't get anything). Along the train journey, the kids (Especially the main boy and the girl) have several adventures and close calls, and learn a lot about each other. The main boy also meets a new character; A mysterious, slightly spooky hobo (Voice of Hanks again) who rides atop the train, talks to the boy a bit, and helps him through a couple tight spots.
The train finally arrives at the North Pole (Which is truly enormous in this version; Usually, Santa- themed movies portray the North Pole as being about the size of an amusement park or at most a small town, but here it's the size of a massive city), but before meeting Santa, the four key kids all wander off from the rest of the group to explore some more and find their presents, leading to more adventures through Santa's workshop/ factory and a genuinely touching moment when Billy the poor boy finds a gift addressed to him which is something he really wanted. They all ultimately reunite with the rest of their group just outside the workshop for a ceremony in which Santa will appear and give one of the children the very first gift of that Christmas before setting off on his flight
Even amidst all of this, the main boy apparently STILL has trouble believing in Santa, as shown by the fact that he is unable to really see Santa when the big guy first comes out (He's a good distance away, and a lot of elves are blocking his view), and is unable to hear the jingling of the beautiful sleigh bells attached to the reindeer. Finally, he closes his eyes and sincerely says "I believe"; Just then, he hears the jingling of one sleigh bell that had fallen off, and sees Santa up close and personal, both signs that his faith is truly restored. Santa (Voice of Hanks yet again) addresses each of the four key children personally, and selects one of them to receive the first gift. The children are then brought home, and the main boy on Christmas morning receives a gift which ensures that his faith in Santa Claus not only is restored, but will remain ironclad for the rest of his days.
'The Polar Express' does have some problems. One problem is that it's a bit too serious for a kids' film about Santa. It has a few funny moments (Usually concerning the duo of bumbling rednecks who are the Polar Express's engineers), but could have used a LOT more to help break some of the tension. Also, there's a scene in which a couple of the kids sing a song called 'When Christmas Comes Around.' It's a nice enough song, but a trifle unnecessary, as it doesn't really do much or advance the plot or anything. Lastly, the really smart boy has a VERY irritating voice (For those who are familiar with the old Cartoon Network TV series 'Dexter's Laboratory,' he's voiced by the same actor who voiced Dexter's obnoxious archrival Mandark on that show, Eddie Deezen, and he uses the exact same incredibly shrill, nasal voice here). Not only will that voice get on your nerves, but it also sticks out a lot and doesn't really fit a child character very well, which I guess makes it a good thing that he isn't used as much as the other three main kid characters.
That being said, there is also a lot to like about 'The Polar Express.' The story is quite compelling, and as a Christian, I can definitely get behind the film's message of keeping faith even when it seems silly to keep believing. The 4 main kids' problems believing in Santa Claus can all be easily seen as mirroring problems some people in real life have with believing in God. However, their issues are all resolved by the climax, often even before meeting Santa (i.e. while exploring the factory and trying to get back to the group, the girl learns to be more decisive and more of a leader, and the poor boy Billy learns to have more trust in his new friends).
The songs that are used in the movie are mostly very good. My favorite is 'Hot Chocolate,' performed early in the film. Let's just say that a song about kids on a train being served hot chocolate turns out to be a LOT more jazzy and energetic than it sounds.
The animation is very interesting. Some people say it's creepy, but I disagree. The only times it's creepy are the scenes that are MEANT to be so (i.e. the first scene with the hobo, and a scene where they go through a railroad car filled with broken or abandoned toys in need of repair). It puts a lot of detail into everything, from the characters to the sets, and I think it looks great. A few years later, the same style was used to make a wonderful CGI version of 'A Christmas Carol' featuring the voice talents of Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman among others. Maybe I'll look at that one next Christmas.
The characters are all a lot of fun. Tom Hanks does a very good job turning in three extremely different performances: The fussy yet kind conductor, the strange hobo (Who doesn't even sound like Hanks a lot of the time), and Santa himself (Strong yet friendly and warm- hearted) are all quite enjoyable to watch. The kids are also well- developed, as you see the changes in each of them as the story progresses. The boy Billy in particular is a kid who'll tug at every last heart- string you have, especially in the aforementioned scenes involving his discovering the present addressed to him. Without him saying it (Out of the four kids, he has the fewest lines), you can still tell that this child has already had a really hard life that makes it hard to believe in Santa or even reach out to people, so seeing HIS faith restored and rewarded is almost more enjoyable than seeing it happen for the main boy.
As you can probably guess, 'The Polar Express' definitely has some Biblical messages associated with it.
The first, as I said earlier, involves keeping faith even when it seems like we shouldn't. At one point, the conductor is relaying a time on a much earlier Christmas Eve run, when he nearly fell off the train, but was saved by someone or something catching him (Presumably the ghostly hobo, as just a few minutes earlier, he similarly saved the main boy from falling). The main boy asks the conductor if he saw the person who saved him, and the conductor responds, "Sometimes seeing is believing, and sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we CAN'T see." That is an incredibly true statement relating to faith. Consider the wind, for example. It can't be seen, but we know it's there. Its effects can be seen. In much the same way, while we can't see God on this side of eternity, we can see the effects of His presence on the world every day, if we know where and how to look. The conductor's quote can be seen as a paraphrase of Hebrews 11:1, which says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." It also calls to mind 2 Corinthians 5:7, which says "For we walk by faith, not by sight." True faith is trusting in God even when you face doubts. It may not always be clear that God is there, but He always is.
Another message, relating to the first, involves actually stepping out in faith. On my most recent viewing of the movie, a line that really stuck out for me was in the very end, when the main boy has returned home and is disembarking the train. The conductor (He really is a strong source of wisdom in this movie) tells him, "One thing about trains; It doesn't matter where they're going, what matters is deciding to get on." It calls to mind something that I once heard in a sermon relating to the story of Jesus, Peter, and walking on water in Matthew 14:22- 32: Even though Peter, after stepping onto the water with Jesus, doubted and began to sink, he at least had enough courage and faith to step out of the boat and try when none of the other disciples would. He stepped out in faith. Not just having faith, but ACTING ON IT, is what separates a good Christian from a great one.
So, there we have 'The Polar Express,' a modern Christmas classic and a great examination of faith.
That does it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience, and for 2020! I have a couple entries almost finished for the next month or two. Until then, here's wishing everyone a safe, healthy and happy New Year, and may God bless you all!
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