Robert Zemeckis left his cultural footprint with films like “Forrest Gump” and the “Back to the Future” series. Now, it seems, he wants to pay homage to stories that have done the same. 

Beginning with “The Polar Express” and followed by “Beowulf,” Zemeckis brought these classic stories to the big screen, using cutting-edge technology and a power-studded cast of voice actors and composers.  

His production and release of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” was clearly a labor of love. 

“Film is a great form to introduce classic stories to a new generation of moviegoers,” Zemeckis said during a radio interview in which he fielded questions from college journalism students from across the country. 

“It’s a familiar title, and it’s a really great story to be told,” he said.

But his love of Dickens’ does not begin and end with “A Christmas Carol.”

Zemeckis said he considers Dickens “the greatest writer in the English language.”  He went on to comment about his love for “A Tale of Two Cities,” “Great Expectations,” and “Oliver Twist.”

 “A Christmas Carol” is shot in what is called “performance capture,” which relies heavily on computers to capture the motions of the actors, thereby making the animated characters seem more lifelike.  

This is a favorite Zemeckis technique, one he has used twice before. Instead of traditional cameras, everything is recorded by sensors in special suits the actors wear as they perform the scene.  

Zemeckis said putting on the leotard “weirds out” the actors at first, but then they really get into it.

While he hopes the movie entertains and satisfies, Zemeckis said he also hopes it piques peoples’ curiosity.

“Maybe you would want to go back and read [the book] after you watch it,” he said, “Which would be a good thing.”