
- "You may start your descent at any time now, at your convenience of course."
— The Elf Lieutenant telling the other elves to begin descending.
The zeppelins are a form of transportation which the elves use to fly across the North Pole.
Role in the Film[]
In the film, the zeppelins are used to carry Santa's bag of presents, along with Hero Boy, Hero Girl, Billy and Know-It-All, who were in the bag, to the North Pole Square. As they arrive, the Elf Lieutenant tells the other elves to begin descending, so they open and stretch the nozzles (which comically resembles a rubber balloon's mouth) to let some air out, but they descend too much. Some of the elves jump off and parachute to reduce the weight, but this does not help enough to avoid knocking the star off the tree. Fortunately, the Acrobatic Elves bungee jump off the zeppelins, catch the falling star before it hits the ground and put it back on top of the tree. The zeppelins then drop the bag onto Santa's sleigh and the children are helped out by the elves.
Other appearances[]
The Polar Express: The Video Game[]
In the last level of the game, while the zeppelins carry the bag to the Square, the children are taken onboard and Hero Boy is asked to take over flying the zeppelins while the Elf General helps the other elves. The player controls the zeppelins and has to avoid hitting various objects along the way, including buildings and other vehicles, in order to arrive at the Square safely and on time. When they arrive, the Elf General takes back control of the zeppelin while the children return to the bag.