The Polar Express - Comparison of the Book and the Feature Film

The Polar Express was written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, was published in 1985, and was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1986. In 2005 Castle Rock Entertainment produced a feature film based on this beloved children's book. I often do not enjoy full-length movies produced from short children's books such as these since so much extra plot is added, but this movie actually impressed me. The producers did a good job of keeping the basic plot of the movie the same, and used exact quotes from the book for the most part. The animation of the main character of the book was well done; the little boy in the story very closely resembles the animated boy in the movie. The boy's little sister, however, did not look the same in the book and the movie. There were also many more characters in the movie than in the book. In the movie, the little girl who rides next to the boy on the train and plays one of the major roles is not a character in the book at all. The boys' parents, the conductor, a "ghost" on the top of the train, an annoying little boy who chatters excessively, and a little boy named Billy are all new characters in the movie version.

All of the pages of the book are depicted almost exactly at their appropriate spots in the movie. I had the book laying next to me as I viewed the film and I was amazed at how closely the pages matched the movie during those particular scenes. The Polar Express train itself when it first appears in the movie looks identical to the one in the book. The wolves in the snowy woods running past the train and the train climbing the mountains were also depicted well, as were the points where the Express reached the North Pole and the hundreds of elves crowded in the streets.

As is expected, an entire plot is added to make the story long enough for a movie. A wonderful example of foreshadowing occurs when the conductor asks everyone for their tickets and the little boy reaches into his pocket and finds a hole in it. Later the bell from Santa's sleigh falls out of this same pocket when the boy puts it in there. The additional characters - the girl, Billy, and the ghost - all play key roles in shaping the boy's belief in Santa Claus and the spirit of Christmas. He is a doubter in the beginning of the book but his adventures on the Polar Express and at the North Pole make him a true believer. The tickets, again, are cleverly used at the end of the movie when the conductor punches the word "believe" in the boy's ticket as he boards the train for home.

"Faster and faster we ran along, rolling over peaks and through valleys like a car on a roller coaster." This quote from the book was effectively displayed during the movie when the train approaches Glacier Gulch and the engineers accidentally lose the pin that pulls the brake; I felt like I was on a roller coaster myself during this part. Also, the line "We crossed a barren desert of ice - the Great Polar Ice Cap," is illustrated in the movie when the Express slides across the frozen stretch of land before getting to the North Pole.

As the Polar Express arrives at the North Pole, the elves line the streets, and the children witness the reindeer in front of Santa's sleigh prancing and ringing the silver sleigh bells that hung from their harnesses, the narrator (little boy) in the book says "It was a magical sound, like nothing I'd ever heard." But in the movie during this scene, the little boy cannot hear the bells; just the little girl does. This is a key difference in the book and the movie. I think the movie producers did this to prolong the doubting of the boy, whereas at this point in the book it is clear that he is believing now. I think the movie tries to make you think a little longer that he is not going to believe. I don't think this was necessary and that they should have stuck to the way the book read.

There were other little details that may or may not have been necessary to change. For example, when the boy goes to Santa's sleigh, the book says the conductor helped him into the sleigh but in the movie he just climbs up there alone. But I do think what Santa tells the boy as he hands him the first gift of Christmas effectively reiterates the point to the story: "Remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart." Even though that line was not in the book it makes the point.

At the end of the book when the little boy arrives back at home, "the Polar Express let out a loud blast from its whistle and sped away." But in the movie the train leaves quietly and slowly chugs away as the boy waves goodbye.

The last package under the tree with the sleigh bell is wrapped in the same wrapping paper in the book and the movie. The toy train going around the Christmas tree in the boy's house in the movie provides a nice touch since it looks like a miniature Polar Express.

I really enjoyed the movie version of The Polar Express, and I think the producers did a good job of keeping the main point to the story without digressing too much and adding too much "fluff" to the plot. My children also really enjoyed the book and the movie as well.