Santa Claus' reindeer are characters who appear in the 1985 book, The Polar Express and the 2004 film adaptation. They are a group of eight reindeer who, every year on Christmas Eve, fly Santa Claus in his sleigh to deliver the Christmas presents around the world. Their names are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.
Role in the book[]
When the Polar Express arrives at the North Pole Square, the reindeer are excitedly waiting for Santa's arrival. The silver bells from their harness shake, creating a ringing sound Hero Boy finds beautiful. When Hero Boy asks Santa for one of the bells as the first gift of Christmas, an elf to cut one of the bells off and tosses it to Santa, who gives it to Hero Boy. At that moment, the clock strikes midnight and the reindeer pull Santa's sleigh up into the air and circle once around the Square before flying away to deliver the presents.
Role in the film[]
After Hero Boy, Hero Girl, Billy, and Know-It-All get rescued from the present bag, the reindeer show up at the North Pole Square, being carried by the elves and getting lined up to get ready for pulling Santa's sleigh. Next, another group of elves bring the silver bells, which Hero Boy initially cannot hear, and attach them to the reindeer's harness. Later, Santa Claus shows up and everyone cheers, including the reindeer, which causes one of their bells to fall off and land in front of Hero Boy.
Later, after Santa gives Hero Boy the bell as the first gift of Christmas and the clock strikes midnight, the reindeer pull Santa's sleigh up into the air and fly away to deliver the presents, leaving a trail of sparkle.
Trivia[]
- Like Smokey and Steamer, the Scrooge puppet, and other animals in the film, the reindeer were keyframe-animated as opposed to motion-captured.[1]
- A statue of a reindeer appears at the North Pole with a glowing red nose, making it resemble Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
References[]
- ↑ Schaub, David (November 23, 2004). "'The Polar Express' Diary: Part 1 -- Testing and Prepping". Animation World Network.
External links[]
| Characters | |
| Children | Hero Boy (Chris) • Hero Girl (Holly) • Know-It-All • Billy the Lonely Boy • Sister Sarah • Gus the Toothless Boy • Boy on Train • Blonde Girl (Heather) • Little Boy • Young Boy • Steven • Other children |
| Adults | Conductor • Hobo • Smokey and Steamer • Santa Claus • Pastry Chefs • Waiters • Hero Boy's parents |
| Elves | Elves • Acrobatic Elves • Elf General • Elf Lieutenant • Elf Singer |
| Animals | Caribou • Santa Claus' reindeer • Wolves • Other animals |
| Toys | Ebenezer Scrooge puppet • Scrooge's friends |