When It Comes to the Polar Express, Van Allsburg Beats Zemeckis Hands-Down

Last month, I finally watched The Polar Express, the innovative film based on the Christmas classic I'd never read. I wasn't as impressed with the movie as I'd hoped, but I resolved I would soon get my hands on the book to see if it was a little more satisfying. And though there was a whole lot less going on in the book than in the movie, I really have no complaints about it. I can't decide if it makes me more or less sympathetic to the filmmakers. On the one hand, they practically had to start from scratch in order to come up with an hour and a half worth of material; on the other, the fundamental direction of the story was somewhat changed, though ultimately it did wind up in the same place...

The Polar Express is an enchanting book by Chris Van Allsburg, whose other lauded efforts include Jumanji, which also turned into a movie that drastically expands upon its source material. Because I saw the movie first, all throughout the book I kept thinking how much was missing. No saintly girl or lonely little boy for the protagonist to befriend! No nerdy know-it-all to drive him crazy! There are other kids on the train, but no specific characters. No bumbling engineers or mysterious transients, either. While we hear the words of the sage conductor, we only catch a tiny glimpse of him.

More important than the near-lack of characters is the near-lack of conflict. The movie turns the train ride into something startlingly perilous, perhaps a trial by fire for those whose faith in Santa is uncertain. In the book, that doesn't seem to be the reason for the train ride at all. Instead, it would seem that everyone on board, and certainly the protagonist, is there because of a deep conviction that Santa Claus is real, despite what their sophisticated peers say.

The book is filled with joy and wonder, but not danger. The only real crisis comes when the boy loses the very special gift Santa gives him. And that is certainly a sad thing, but it's not exactly on a par with nearly falling into a vast chasm or almost winding up fighting for his life in the angry waves of a recently frozen lake. The Polar Express, as written, wouldn't have made much of a movie, except perhaps something along the lines of the short but lovely video of The Snowman.

But it's a perfectly wonderful book, with its soft, haunting illustrations that were deemed worthy of a Caldecott Medal. I especially love the glimpse we get of a pack of wolves in the forest gazing at the train as it rumbles past. I can picture that very scene from the film, but while this is serene, with a silent, almost sacred air about it, the movie turned it into chaotic frenzy of snapping teeth and whipping winds.

Read the book. Savor the artwork, and imagine yourself on board the Polar Express. Let the silver jingle bells ring out loud and clear in your mind. Van Allsburg's world is vivid enough on its own; you don't need Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks to guide you on your journey.