Last night I finally got to watch it, and convinced my best friend, her boyfriend, and her sister to watch it with me. We had our Christmas gift exchange and it just happened to coincide with one of the best Christmas movies ever, how could we not watch it? I was the only one who stayed awake for all of it, but that's besides the point :)
I think I tend to forget every year why I adore this movie. It's not really for the animation (though it is really spectacular). What I love is the way it takes me back to when I was a kid and still believed in Santa. Although some of the details are a little fuzzy now, I remember my sister and I picking out the cookies for Santa and making sure there was a carrot out for the reindeer. We didn't have a fireplace, and since Santa could only come in through a fireplace, we created one out of these awesome brick blocks that we had (anyone else remember those?) Every Christmas Eve we would hang our stockings on the blocks and in the morning we would rush into the living room and our stockings would be stuffed full and placed beside the "fireplace." Life was good.
These days, our stockings are still pretty stuffed (yes, my sister and I are totally spoiled by our mom and Grandma) and we actually have a real fireplace. The thing that's missing? That unwavering childhood belief in Santa Claus. And that, I think, is why I love to watch The Polar Express. For a couple of hours I'm able to sit back and watch as a little boy is able to go from doubting Santa's existence to believing in him for the rest of his life. It's kind of nice, and I almost wish that I could still believe myself. Does that make me a little crazy? Maybe. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.
The last lines in the movie are simple and so very sweet.
"At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe."If any of you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it. The book's been a classic for years, and I think that the movie has already established itself as a classic as well. The story is timeless and that is what makes it so great. I actually love it so much that I actually bought it today! :)
Well, that is it for me tonight. I've got a Christmas card to make! Also, some packing to do. But that is slightly less fun.
Have a very merry Christmas everyone, and listen for those bells!
I remember it was my best friend when I was a kid who first suggested to me that Santa wasn't real. This came as quite a blow, and I went home from his house that day and immediately started questioning my parents about the validity of this outrageous claim!
ReplyDeleteMy mother was evasive, she didn't really want to give a straight answer it was clear. I remember when I pressed her on whether she believed in Santa, she answered that she believed in the spirit of Santa Claus. At the time (I must have been six or seven maybe?) this was a very unsatisfactory answer. But now I can see what she meant by it.
I look forward to a time when I don't work in retail over the holidays, so I can actually entertain the thought of listening to Christmas music at home instead of being thoroughly sick of it (if I have to listen to the Christmas albums of the Barenaked Ladies...or Buble!...or ye gods, Celine Dion!...much more I may go crazy lol)