Train brings Christmas to Ogden in June

OGDEN — It was snowing on Wall Avenue in Ogden on Tuesday as Disney's "A Christmas Carol" Train Tour pulled into Union Station.

Stopping in Utah for its sixth stop of a nationwide, 40-city tour, the four-car train with snowmaking machines, an inflatable theater and Christmas carolers gave eager visitors a sneak peek at the upcoming Disney film.

"It is definitely Christmas in June in Ogden," said Nicole Rivelli, supervisor of special events for Walt Disney Studios.

The free, one-day tour was expected to draw 10,000 to 20,000 Utahns who wanted to experience the newest feature film from director Robert Zemeckis and starring Jim Carrey as Scrooge.

Each elaborately decorated train car was themed to entertain and inform visitors about the film's production.

The first car featured costumes and artwork that served as the inspiration on which the actors could base their performances.

Zemeckis wanted to stay as true as possible to Dickens' vision of "A Christmas Carol," and the train tour included original copies of the first edition of the book, as well as memorabilia from the Dickens Museum in London.

The film was shot in Disney Digital 3D and was done completely with motion-capture technology. The actors did not wear any makeup or costumes during filming, and the sets were plain white models with no detail. Rivelli said the film was shot in 22 days, but the data received from the actors' performances then had to be created by graphic artists.

"You save time in the performance, but you have to make up for it later," Rivelli said.

The next two cars showed the actual technology involved in producing the images digitally.

The most popular attraction allowed visitors to morph their own faces and be digitally transformed into one of the characters.

Hewlett-Packard sponsored all the technology aboard the train, while Amtrak is taking care of the driving route and engines.

When exiting the train, the smells of a Christmas feast completed the tour.

Roy Powell brought his three grandchildren to experience the train tour. His grandson, Caleb Tesch, 8, said his favorite part was the morphing photo. He was also excited to see the movie.

Visitors were invited to preview two final scenes of the movie in the inflatable 3-D theater. Squeals of excitement were heard from the children inside.

Disney's "A Christmas Carol" will be released nationwide Nov. 6.

It may seem early to be promoting the film so heavily, but Rivelli said that the tour lasts 24 weeks and will conclude Nov. 1 in New York.

E-mail: jnicholls@desnews.com