A Visit to Disney's Christmas Carol Train Tour

Scrooge Bust

October's end is near, and you know what that means...Christmas! C'mon, Halloween was in August, get with the times.

And what better way to celebrate the joyous occasion with a ride on the Christmas Carol Train Tour, Disney's four-car locomotive decked out with movie artwork, costumes, interactive displays, and holiday decoration, all to promote its upcoming motion-capture animated film. Since May, the train has traveled to 40 cities and 16,000 miles, pulling in for the last time at New York's Grand Central Station, where director Robert Zemeckis and Jim Carrey were ready to greet it.

The morning kicked off with Victorian-era performers juggling, ribbon dancing, and plate spinning their way through the presentation room while a chipper group of a capella singers belted out Christmas standards. At 6:30 in the morning, this turned out to be a bit more like a Terry Gilliam nightmare than Christmas with the Ringling Bros, but hey, it's the thought that counts during the holidays.

The rest of my Christmas adventure after the jump (including Jim Carrey's Cast Away beard)!

After the eighth verse of Jingle Bells, Zemeckis and Carrey finally made their way for the ribbon cutting ceremony (at the end of the tour?). It's the usual spiel: timeless story, revolutionary visuals, "Jim Carrey's the best", "No, you're the best Bob, you're the best." Carrey made a hilarious crack at what we're all thinking, "I wanted to open this movie in May, but apparently Disney wanted to react to the 'research'..." I guess two months in advance was fair trade.

A few hugs and kisses later came the ceremonious cutting of the ribbon, accompanied by explosions of streamers and the falling of fake snow throughout the room. Yes, it was snowing in Grand Central Station. Using surprise and happiness as a diversion, Carrey jumped a security guard and piggybacked out of the room. It would have been the perfect photo op if it hadn't been for a mess of red and green paper tangling up my arms. Curse you again Christmas, you mischievous devil!

Next, the audience (an eclectic mix of press, executives, and screaming children) were herded into a private screening room for the preview footage. I hate exaggerating, but it's fair to say that the trailer for A Christmas Carol has been playing in theaters everywhere for at least the last eight years, so I was more than anxious to dive into some new footage. Glasses on.

The first clip was the scene in which Scrooge's nephew Fred (Colin Firth) interrupts his uncle on Christmas Eve to invite him to a holiday party. Strange choice, considering it's a story we've seen countless times and hardly a scene to represent dazzling visuals. It's apparent the animators have taken their time with Scrooge. He's expressive, detailed, and full of life, while Firth's Fred and Bob Cratchit act like wooden puppets, yanked straight from Polar Experess. No wonder Uncle Scrooge doesn't want to go to your party Fred, you keep looking at him with your lazy eye!

They followed that scene with...the trailer. The trailer!?!? It was like finding coal in my stocking. So nothing new to report here, except the film may consist only of images from the trailer. Disappointing, I really thought I was on the good list this year.

Finally, it was time to board the train. The interior matched the aesthetic of the film with its old timey wood and wallpaper finish, elegant picture frames, and glowing light fixtures. Scattered along the walls were props and costumes from Christmas Carol, along with video montages of production art and interviews with the cast. It's all about technology and design with Zemeckis' film. They production team used photography and source material to recreate 19^th century London, which they digitally manipulate to fit their gothic design. It'll look pretty.

For a film that's entirely animated, they sure do build a whole lot of crap. For the animators, maquettes and life-size busts of all the characters are meticulously produced, along with scaled models of famous locations such as Big Ben. The sets aren't as blank as I imagined either. Instead they go to the trouble of building rooms and props for the actors to interact with while all suited up in the complex mo-cap leotards. Now you know why these movies cost $100 million.

While it wasn't the most enlightening experience, I'll always remember the time I spent on the Christmas Carol Train Tour. Drinking nog with my dear friend Fuzzywig... dancing the night away with Belle...my good partner...wait, that never happened, that was just the trailer. The trailer!?!?

Humbug.

Check out more pictures below and remember to read more details at our spoiler page!