SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
We want to turn back now to the conversation of holiday movies. It is a thing here on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, and a lot of our staff have strong feelings and opinions about them. But one of our producers, Elena Burnett, might top them all. She has some pretty serious rules about what to watch and when.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
ELENA BURNETT, BYLINE: So the most sacred - on the 24th, Christmas Eve, we watch "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" - the Chuck Jones version, not the Jim Carrey version.
..."Charlie Brown Christmas" - you know, earlier in the season, it's more laid back. We go through "Elf," "Nativity"...
...Claymation Christmas - "Scrooge," "It's A Wonderful Life."
...Some of the more special ones, "A Christmas Story"...
DETROW: So it was very clear we had to continue this conversation in studio. Elena, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
BURNETT: Thank you. Bring it on.
DETROW: So we are here to argue about "The Polar Express," which we will do. But before we get to "The Polar Express," walk me through why it is so important to you and your family to watch specific movies on specific dates in a specific order.
BURNETT: I think it's something that kind of just evolved because for me and our - and my family, Christmas movies are so atmospheric. And so for the really - the ones that feel really Christmasy (ph), we got to wait. We got to wait 'cause otherwise it feels like you're starting the season too early.
DETROW: And before we continue, I do have to point out you're wearing reindeer antlers we talk.
BURNETT: Yeah.
DETROW: Yeah.
BURNETT: Yeah. This is my season. This is - I take this seriously.
DETROW: So "The Polar Express," why do you like it? - because I think it is very likely I am watching "The Polar Express" tonight with my family, but I have a lot of problems with it.
BURNETT: You're definitely in the majority. I've definitely, I think, spent more hours of my life defending "The Polar Express" than I have watching it. I feel sad for y'all. For me, it's a beautiful story about growing up.
DETROW: This really puts me on the offensive to dispute that. OK, so here's what I would say. I would say the book by Chris Van Allsburg, it's a beautiful book, one of my favorite books.
BURNETT: Same.
DETROW: The pictures come to life in this dark and mysterious way, and you could feel the three dimensions. You could feel the backstories of the characters, right? So that's that. And then you watch this movie, and it's early Pixaresque (ph) CGI that just doesn't quite click.
BURNETT: So I would say it's motion capture. It came out in 2004, when I think a bunch of studios were trying to do different things. And I will say, I'm not saying the animation's perfect, but I also think they had a hard task in front of them because you have this gorgeous book that I love very much, and they wanted to capture the themes of that. And it's very flat illustrations, and so what happens when you bring flat illustrations to life? It's going to feel a little uncanny valley.
DETROW: Yeah.
BURNETT: I know that's the phrase a lot of people use.
DETROW: In that it's not quite realistic and you know it.
BURNETT: Exactly. Exactly. But I genuinely think the colors and the snow that falls and the way that the steam goes into the cold air and the warmth of the lights from the North Pole, it's so cozy. And that's what settles me into that Christmas feeling.
DETROW: I do think the best part of the movie is when they're at the North Pole, and there's that early 20th century industrial feeling of it all. Like, I do really love that. Are there other favorite parts in the movie for you?
BURNETT: So I - my favorite scene happens at the North Pole, and here's where we're going to go into the weeds. The main character, who's literally in the credits as Hero Boy - that's canon. Hero Boy really wants to believe. You know, he's looking in encyclopedias, trying to figure out if life can exist at the North Pole. He's being skeptical of everything, but he gets on the train. He's hesitant, but he's curious.
And so my favorite scene is everybody is in the - you know, all the elves, all the kids are in the center of the North Pole. The tree's there. And the whole thing with the movie, if you haven't seen it, is Hero Boy cannot hear the bells of Santa's sleigh, and that represents his doubt. And there's - and they bring out these reins with the bells on them. They put them on the reindeer. He can't hear them. Santa shows up. He can't see Santa. And the scene goes all slow motion, and a bell flies off of the reins. And it thunks (ph) on the frozen ground in front of Hero Boy, and he picks it up in his hands. And he says three times...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE POLAR EXPRESS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As Hero Boy) I believe. I believe?
BURNETT: And the second time's a question, and that's important. And then he whispers, I believe. And he rings the bell, and he can hear it.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)
BURNETT: And for me, that's what he asked Santa for as the first gift of Christmas. And it's not something material. It's a guide post that he's taking with him to be able to hold that belief as he goes on throughout his life. He loses in on the seat of the sleigh, but it doesn't matter. He still has found within himself whatever he needs to be moving on into this scary adult world. And that's why the bell comes back to him at the end. Even though he doesn't need it, it's always going to be there for those who truly believe.
(SOUNDBITE OF GEEK MUSIC'S "THE POLAR EXPRESS (MAIN THEME)")
DETROW: I will let that be the last word.
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: That is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED producer Elena Burnett, Christmas season zealot, I feel like...
BURNETT: Sure. Sure.
DETROW: ...And defender of "The Polar Express." Thank you.
BURNETT: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF GEEK MUSIC'S "THE POLAR EXPRESS (MAIN THEME)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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