If the “Christmas Carol” train comes to your town, try to get to see it. Robert Zemeckis, who made “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Forrest Gump,” and “Back to the Future,” loves to push the technology envelope, and this time he has gone well into WOW category with an animated 3D experience that is so immersive you will try to catch the snowflakes with your tongue.
The train has a tantalizing array of exhibits including handwritten pages from author Charles Dickens, costumes, drawings, and behind-the scenes footage showing the amazing technology behind the film, scheduled for release in November. You can see actors, including Jim Carrey (who plays seven roles), Gary Oldham, Robin Wright Penn, and Colin Firth, their faces covered with what look like black chicken pox so that motion capture cameras will pick up every detail of their expressions and movements. You can even have your own features morph into the characters and have the picture emailed to you. But the best part is the brief footage of the film itself. The 3D effects are stunning and it is a lot of fun to see 21st century technology employed to re-create Victorian London. I am really looking forward to seeing one of my all-time favorite stories produced with such imagination and detail.