72) The Polar Express

[00:00:28] Hello, welcome back to Casabloga. In this episode, I am covering The Polar Express, which is a 2004 Christmas movie directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Nona Gay, and Jimmy Bennett. It is based on The Polar Express by Chris Van Alsberg.

[00:00:48] This is another Christmas classic, but it has kind of a reputation. I always liked it. So it has kind of an uncanny valley thing going on for it. And while a lot of people don't like that, I don't mind it. It kind of adds to it.

[00:01:13] Like, it's not meant to be... Hmm. They were going for a realistic feel for the movie. I get that. But they were also, uh, not ever going to do that. Not at that time.

[00:01:35] I think now they might be able to do it, kind of. But now it does look kind of disturbing. But to me, I think it kind of adds to the film.

[00:01:47] Because it does have several creepy moments. It's not meant to be, like, fully wholesome.

[00:01:54] And so it's meant to have those creepy moments. And then the whole uncanny valley-ness kind of adds to the creepiness in a good way.

[00:02:05] And so I've always loved this movie. And despite all the criticisms, everyone has the same things to say about it.

[00:02:12] Like, oh, it has the uncanny valley and the people look so weird and it looks creepy.

[00:02:17] And... Yeah. Another criticism I hear, and I don't know why people criticize this, is it's unrealistic.

[00:02:25] It's about a train that goes to the North Pole where Santa lives.

[00:02:29] It's not realistic that, like, they're talking about, like, the tracks that go, like, really steep.

[00:02:36] And it's like a roller coaster. And it goes up and down and twist and turn and that.

[00:02:40] And especially the scene where they're, like, on the ice.

[00:02:44] And, like, the train, like, derails and, like, slides around.

[00:02:48] And then they get it back on track. Literally.

[00:02:54] I've heard a lot of people criticizing that.

[00:02:55] Like, that's so unrealistic.

[00:02:59] Uh, yeah. There's the know-it-all kid.

[00:03:03] And you're acting like him.

[00:03:07] A train would never actually do that, you know?

[00:03:09] No.

[00:03:10] That's...

[00:03:11] Ugh.

[00:03:12] Speaking of that kid, you know, nobody in here has names.

[00:03:15] Except for Billy.

[00:03:16] Billy, the... is, like, a loner kid.

[00:03:18] He's the only person in here who has a name.

[00:03:20] And Santa, of course.

[00:03:23] The...

[00:03:24] If you look on Wikipedia or on the credits,

[00:03:26] they're called, like, Hero Kid

[00:03:28] and, like, Hero Girl.

[00:03:32] And then...

[00:03:33] Like, The Conductor.

[00:03:35] Or, like, Hero Kid Sister or something.

[00:03:38] Like, like...

[00:03:39] They have, like...

[00:03:40] They don't have actual names.

[00:03:41] Like, it's kind of weird.

[00:03:43] And I never noticed that until now.

[00:03:44] Like, for some reason, I thought his name was Walter.

[00:03:47] I don't know.

[00:03:48] But, um...

[00:03:53] The Know-It-All Kid is actually called Know-It-All Kid.

[00:03:56] And so that's kind of funny.

[00:03:58] Um...

[00:03:59] The funny thing about him, other than, you know, everything,

[00:04:02] is...

[00:04:03] I had a co-worker once

[00:04:05] who actually looked exactly like him.

[00:04:08] And it was eerie.

[00:04:09] And people would regularly be like,

[00:04:11] You kind of look like that kid from the Polar Express.

[00:04:14] And he'd be like,

[00:04:15] Yes, I know.

[00:04:16] People tell me that all the time.

[00:04:18] But he, like...

[00:04:18] He kind of thought it was funny.

[00:04:23] So...

[00:04:24] Yeah!

[00:04:25] Uh...

[00:04:30] I never read the book.

[00:04:31] I probably should.

[00:04:33] Every time I watch this movie and it says,

[00:04:35] Based on the book,

[00:04:36] I should probably read that.

[00:04:39] And I never do.

[00:04:40] I don't know how many book-to-movie adaptations I watch

[00:04:44] and then that pops up.

[00:04:45] I'm like, I need to watch that.

[00:04:46] I mean, I need to read that.

[00:04:47] And then I never do.

[00:04:50] This time, I won't.

[00:04:52] I know I won't.

[00:04:54] I'll say I will and then I won't.

[00:04:58] I'll have the intention to.

[00:04:59] I am fully intentioned to someday maybe read this book, possibly.

[00:05:03] And then...

[00:05:03] And then never actually do it.

[00:05:07] I put it on my maybe list.

[00:05:09] And then forget the password.

[00:05:11] And...

[00:05:11] Yeah.

[00:05:12] Anyway.

[00:05:14] Polar Express is currently streaming on Hulu and Macs.

[00:05:19] Like I said in the previous episode about Elf.

[00:05:22] This is the other movie.

[00:05:24] I watched the two back-to-back.

[00:05:25] I watched them on Elf.

[00:05:26] Had to turn the volume up.

[00:05:27] You know, all of that.

[00:05:28] You've heard it.

[00:05:29] Maybe.

[00:05:29] I don't know.

[00:05:31] I...

[00:05:32] If this is...

[00:05:34] All the episodes are standalone.

[00:05:36] This is like the first time ever in any of my podcasts that there is any kind of overlap.

[00:05:42] Or like, hey, I'm referencing the previous episode.

[00:05:46] Hey, yeah.

[00:05:46] This is...

[00:05:48] You're not going to get this reference unless you listen to the previous one.

[00:05:52] That's the first time.

[00:05:53] There's like...

[00:05:54] All my episodes are standalone.

[00:05:56] Anyway.

[00:05:58] That's how I'm going to say it.

[00:06:01] Polar Express is a classic.

[00:06:05] And I know I said Elf is like one of the best Christmas classics.

[00:06:10] But...

[00:06:11] Personally, I like this one more.

[00:06:14] It just has more of that child-like nostalgia whimsy to it.

[00:06:20] But...

[00:06:21] Elf is...

[00:06:23] While it is like a really good movie, it just has like those...

[00:06:27] It's...

[00:06:27] Okay.

[00:06:28] So you know how I said that Polar Express is creepy?

[00:06:31] It's intended to be a little creepy.

[00:06:33] And then Uncanny Valley kind of adds to the creepiness thing.

[00:06:36] And those like...

[00:06:37] Like the ghosts...

[00:06:38] Like the...

[00:06:38] The ghosts on the train.

[00:06:40] Like that's really creepy to me.

[00:06:41] And there's like moments in here that I always thought was a little weird.

[00:06:46] Elf has creepy moments that wasn't intended to be creepy.

[00:06:49] And didn't age well.

[00:06:52] And so...

[00:06:57] For...

[00:06:57] Well, not...

[00:06:58] I was going to say...

[00:06:58] For that reason alone.

[00:06:59] Not for that reason alone.

[00:07:01] For that and many other reasons.

[00:07:03] I think Polar Express is the better of the two films.

[00:07:08] And again, it does go back to like the whole nostalgia thing.

[00:07:11] And like...

[00:07:12] The child like Wonder and Lindsay.

[00:07:15] And it's talking about how...

[00:07:18] Like the hero.

[00:07:19] Like the kid.

[00:07:20] I'm just going to call him Walter.

[00:07:21] Because I thought he was Walter for some reason.

[00:07:22] All these years.

[00:07:23] And I always thought his name was Walter.

[00:07:25] And then like you look at the credits.

[00:07:27] And look at Wikipedia.

[00:07:28] It says Hero Kid.

[00:07:29] And I'm like...

[00:07:29] Oh.

[00:07:30] Okay.

[00:07:31] That's uh...

[00:07:32] That's weird.

[00:07:33] So he doesn't believe in Santa.

[00:07:35] He wants to believe in Santa.

[00:07:38] But he doesn't.

[00:07:39] And there's several times in the movie.

[00:07:41] Where he's...

[00:07:42] Like whenever...

[00:07:43] He first gets on the Polar Express.

[00:07:46] And he sees like...

[00:07:48] He sees Santa.

[00:07:49] Handing out toys to kids.

[00:07:52] Like bending down.

[00:07:52] And like...

[00:07:53] Like looking at kids.

[00:07:54] Waving at them.

[00:07:55] He's like...

[00:07:56] He gets excited.

[00:07:57] And then like the Santa turns.

[00:07:58] And he sees like a cog in the back.

[00:08:00] It's like a robot.

[00:08:00] It's a very advanced robot.

[00:08:03] And he gives like this smirk.

[00:08:04] Like...

[00:08:05] Yeah, that's fake.

[00:08:06] And he does that several times in the movie.

[00:08:09] And I always thought that was kind of interesting.

[00:08:10] It really shows like...

[00:08:11] He doesn't...

[00:08:12] He never once actually says like...

[00:08:15] I don't believe in Santa.

[00:08:16] And I want to.

[00:08:17] He never says it.

[00:08:18] At least I don't think he does.

[00:08:19] I don't remember it.

[00:08:20] I was waiting for it.

[00:08:22] And it didn't happen that I remember.

[00:08:24] But you know that by his facial expressions.

[00:08:28] And the way he acts.

[00:08:29] And like the opening scene.

[00:08:31] It shows him looking...

[00:08:35] Like...

[00:08:35] He has like an encyclopedia.

[00:08:37] He just wakes up.

[00:08:38] In the middle of the night.

[00:08:40] Around midnight.

[00:08:41] I think it says.

[00:08:43] And he just looks...

[00:08:45] He has like an encyclopedia in his room.

[00:08:47] And he chooses now.

[00:08:49] To look it up.

[00:08:51] And...

[00:08:52] Yeah.

[00:08:54] It does kind of imply...

[00:08:56] That the whole thing is a dream.

[00:09:00] But then at the same time...

[00:09:02] The way the movie ends.

[00:09:04] It's like...

[00:09:04] Well, this is true.

[00:09:05] This is a real...

[00:09:06] This is real.

[00:09:07] It's not a dream.

[00:09:08] So it's like...

[00:09:09] Is it a dream?

[00:09:10] Is it real?

[00:09:10] I don't know.

[00:09:11] It's a movie.

[00:09:11] It's all fake.

[00:09:13] I'm gonna go the...

[00:09:14] The...

[00:09:15] James Gunn route.

[00:09:16] Someone asked him about...

[00:09:18] Is the DCU canon with the DCEU?

[00:09:22] And what's canon?

[00:09:23] What's not canon?

[00:09:24] And he says...

[00:09:25] Hey.

[00:09:25] It's all fiction.

[00:09:28] Whatever's canon was...

[00:09:30] I forget the way he said it.

[00:09:32] He said...

[00:09:32] I love what he said.

[00:09:33] I wish other people took this view.

[00:09:36] He said something like...

[00:09:39] It's...

[00:09:40] Whatever is canon is whatever you decide is canon.

[00:09:44] Or whatever.

[00:09:45] Something like that.

[00:09:47] And...

[00:09:49] Is...

[00:09:49] Was the Polar Express a dream?

[00:09:51] Or did it really happen?

[00:09:53] I don't know.

[00:09:54] It's left for...

[00:09:56] Up for interpretation.

[00:09:57] But again, that last scene shows...

[00:10:00] That it kind of happened.

[00:10:02] I mean, obviously not in real life.

[00:10:04] Like...

[00:10:05] In the context of the movie...

[00:10:07] Was it a dream?

[00:10:08] Or did it really happen?

[00:10:10] And...

[00:10:11] I would lean more towards...

[00:10:12] It was a dream.

[00:10:15] But then that last scene happens...

[00:10:17] And it's like...

[00:10:18] Well...

[00:10:22] It does kind of contradict itself though.

[00:10:24] Because if it really happened...

[00:10:26] Because like...

[00:10:27] When he first...

[00:10:28] Wakes up.

[00:10:29] And he like...

[00:10:29] Grabs his robe.

[00:10:30] And he like...

[00:10:31] Yanks it...

[00:10:32] Off the bed post.

[00:10:34] It...

[00:10:34] Pocket rips.

[00:10:35] And that becomes a plot point later.

[00:10:37] And he goes on the Polar Express.

[00:10:39] Goes through the adventure.

[00:10:40] And then he wakes up in his bed.

[00:10:43] And...

[00:10:43] He grabs his robe off...

[00:10:45] The bed post.

[00:10:46] And the pocket rips.

[00:10:48] It's like...

[00:10:49] If it was a dream...

[00:10:51] That makes sense.

[00:10:52] Because the pocket wasn't ripped.

[00:10:54] And he ripped it in the dream.

[00:10:55] It wasn't ripped in real life.

[00:10:56] And then he ripped it for real.

[00:10:58] But then there's a thing that happens.

[00:11:01] He gets a gift.

[00:11:02] I don't want to spoil it.

[00:11:05] Because like...

[00:11:06] I am kind of spoiling it.

[00:11:08] Because I talked about the pocket.

[00:11:09] But that's not like...

[00:11:10] A major thing.

[00:11:12] And the fact that it was a...

[00:11:14] The character on the train as a ghost...

[00:11:17] Also might be a spoiler.

[00:11:18] I don't know.

[00:11:19] I'm not going to spoil the gift he gets...

[00:11:22] Christmas morning.

[00:11:24] That's the one thing that I'm like...

[00:11:26] Did it happen?

[00:11:29] I don't know.

[00:11:32] It doesn't really matter in the end.

[00:11:34] It's just a fun story.

[00:11:35] It's kind of like Inception.

[00:11:36] Where it's like...

[00:11:37] Did it happen?

[00:11:38] Is it a dream?

[00:11:40] Maybe.

[00:11:41] Even though in that case...

[00:11:43] There is a definitive answer.

[00:11:44] Christopher Nolan knows it.

[00:11:45] And he won't tell us.

[00:11:47] But you know...

[00:11:48] If you've watched a bunch of YouTube videos...

[00:11:50] On the subject...

[00:11:52] You know the answer.

[00:11:55] You know the answer.

[00:11:56] I think I saw something...

[00:11:58] Where they filmed...

[00:12:01] Like a definitive ending.

[00:12:03] But then...

[00:12:04] They were like...

[00:12:05] Yeah let's not go this route.

[00:12:06] I think.

[00:12:07] I didn't see a deleted scene.

[00:12:10] I didn't see Christopher Nolan say that.

[00:12:12] I heard someone say that that was a thing.

[00:12:15] So I could be wrong.

[00:12:17] Don't quote me on it.

[00:12:25] But anyway...

[00:12:26] Back to not spoiling the Polar Express.

[00:12:34] I do really like this movie.

[00:12:36] I know I pointed that out.

[00:12:37] I just want to stress it again.

[00:12:39] This one should be watched every year.

[00:12:42] Preferably...

[00:12:43] At night.

[00:12:43] While it's cold.

[00:12:44] While you're bundled up.

[00:12:45] Drinking hot chocolate.

[00:12:48] This is one of those...

[00:12:50] Kind of Christmas movies.

[00:12:52] One last thing before the episode.

[00:12:54] For some reason...

[00:12:55] I remembered Tom Hanks...

[00:12:57] Voicing all the characters.

[00:12:59] But then like...

[00:13:01] When I watched it this time...

[00:13:02] Like if I could have sworn...

[00:13:04] He voiced the little kid.

[00:13:06] The main character.

[00:13:08] Hero kid.

[00:13:09] I thought he voiced him.

[00:13:11] Just like...

[00:13:12] I thought they like pitched his voice up.

[00:13:13] Nope.

[00:13:14] The kid was voiced by...

[00:13:17] Daryl Sabera.

[00:13:20] And...

[00:13:21] Apparently...

[00:13:22] Josh Hutcherson...

[00:13:23] Did motion capture.

[00:13:25] Which...

[00:13:25] Was really shocking...

[00:13:27] Considering that I...

[00:13:28] Didn't realize...

[00:13:29] He...

[00:13:30] Was...

[00:13:31] Uh...

[00:13:33] Around...

[00:13:34] Like...

[00:13:34] I mean I knew he was alive back then.

[00:13:35] But like...

[00:13:38] You know what I mean?

[00:13:39] He was really young.

[00:13:40] And...

[00:13:41] He did motion capture for...

[00:13:43] The main character...

[00:13:44] On Polar Express.

[00:13:46] Tom Hanks did not voice everyone.

[00:13:48] Tom Hanks voiced...

[00:13:51] The adult...

[00:13:52] Hero kid.

[00:13:53] He...

[00:13:54] Uh...

[00:13:54] He was the narrator basically.

[00:13:59] He voiced the father...

[00:14:01] At the beginning.

[00:14:02] He voiced the conductor...

[00:14:03] The hobo...

[00:14:04] Santa Claus...

[00:14:06] And...

[00:14:06] The Ebenezer Scrooge puppet.

[00:14:11] Which...

[00:14:12] Granted that is a lot of characters.

[00:14:13] But...

[00:14:14] For some reason I thought he voiced...

[00:14:16] Every single character.

[00:14:17] Except for the...

[00:14:18] The hero girl.

[00:14:19] Who is voiced by...

[00:14:22] Nona Gay.

[00:14:24] But yeah...

[00:14:26] Uh...

[00:14:28] Should this get a sequel?

[00:14:30] This one should have a whole...

[00:14:33] Franchise...

[00:14:34] Uh...

[00:14:34] Based around...

[00:14:36] That train.

[00:14:37] The different adventures it goes on.

[00:14:40] And...

[00:14:41] I don't know...

[00:14:42] Every year it's a different group of kids.

[00:14:44] And it gets into different shenanigans.

[00:14:47] And sometimes...

[00:14:48] Like the track's out...

[00:14:49] So they have to go a different route.

[00:14:51] I'm totally kidding.

[00:14:52] They should...

[00:14:53] This should be a standalone.

[00:14:55] I...

[00:14:56] I heard people talking...

[00:14:58] In another video once.

[00:15:00] They were like...

[00:15:01] Yeah...

[00:15:02] The Wyrus and Discoxed is sequel.

[00:15:03] Because there's not a sequel book...

[00:15:06] That I...

[00:15:06] Know of.

[00:15:07] And...

[00:15:08] Why would you make a sequel to this?

[00:15:09] It's a standalone story.

[00:15:15] And...

[00:15:15] What they definitely don't need to do...

[00:15:19] Is do a live action remake of this.

[00:15:22] It works perfectly fine...

[00:15:24] As a motion capture movie.

[00:15:29] Yeah...

[00:15:29] It does have some...

[00:15:32] Uncanny valley issues.

[00:15:35] But we've addressed that already.

[00:15:37] It works in the movie's favor...

[00:15:39] In my opinion.

[00:15:40] I know a lot of people disagree.

[00:15:44] And again...

[00:15:45] I've addressed this.

[00:15:53] And finally...

[00:15:55] Like I said...

[00:15:56] It is available to stream on Macs and Hulu.

[00:16:01] And...

[00:16:02] Cut.