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The Polar Express
Directed by	Robert Zemeckis
Produced by	Robert Zemeckis Gary Goetzman Steve Starkey William Teitler
Written by	Chris Van Allsburg Robert Zemeckis William Broyles, Jr.
Starring	Tom Hanks Leslie Harter Zemeckis Eddie Deezen Chantel Valdivieso Nona Gaye Jimmy Bennett
Music by	Alan Silvestri Glen Ballard (songs)
Cinematography	Don Burgess
Distributed by	Warner Brothers Family Entertainment ImageMovers
Release date(s)	November 10, 2004 (USA)
Running time	99 min
Language	English
Budget	$150,000,000
IMDb profile

The Polar Express is a 2004 feature film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg.

The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is entirely live-action using performance capture technology, which incorporates the movements of live actors into animated characters. It stars actor Tom Hanks in five distinct roles, including the role of Santa Claus.

Contents 1 The story 1.1 Story to film 1.2 Summary 1.3 Detailed plot 2 Characters 3 1225 4 The IMAX 3D version 5 Polar Express Experience 6 Reaction 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

The film expands a story that can be read in under three minutes into a ninety-nine-minute movie, while remaining true to the visual style of the original. The "Hot Chocolate" production number was derived from a single sentence and a single illustration. The "Hobo," "Lonely Boy," and "Know-it-All" characters, the scenes on rooftops and on the locomotive, and the runaway observation car sequence were all new to the film.

The Polar Express tells the story of a young boy on Christmas Eve who is hoping for belief in the true spirit of Christmas. After he falls asleep, a magical train called the Polar Express pulls up in front of his house and he is invited to journey to the North Pole. After reaching the North Pole, the boy is handpicked by Santa Claus to receive the first present of Christmas. He chooses a bright silver bell from Santa's sleigh which makes a beautiful sound. As the years go by, people around him notice that they can no longer hear the beautiful sound, even his parents and sister. But there are those who still can, those who still truly believe.

The plot summary in this section is too long compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

While he is is supposed to be sleeping on Christmas Eve, an eight year-old boy (known only as "Hero Boy") is still awake, waiting and listening to hear Santa Claus downstairs. All year, scientific fact (Santa would have to move at the speed of light, the North Pole is barren, etc.) and news of fake Santas has been reported, whether in malls or on the streets, and the boy is beginning to wonder whether his faith in Santa is worthwhile. After falling asleep, he hears a loud noise outside as a bright light floods his room. He goes outside (ripping the right pocket of his bathrobe in the process), and to his astonishment sees a giant train. A conductor tells him it is the "Polar Express" and its destination is the North Pole. According to the Conductor Santa is aware of the boy's dwindling faith and this is his "crucial year," as it may be the last year he believes in Santa. The Boy is hesitant at first, but eventually boards the train at the last moment.

Inside, he meets two other characters, identified in the credits as "Hero Girl" played by Chantel Valdivieso and "Know-It-All". The Conductor comes to mark their tickets, but "Hero Boy" voiced by Daryl Sabaraand played by Josh Hutcherson realizes that he was never given one. However, to his amazement, he reaches into his left pocket and finds a beautiful golden ticket. The Conductor takes it and punches the letter "B" on one end, and "E" on the other. The train continues on and crosses the tracks to the poor side of town, stopping in front of a small broken house as a little boy curiously walks out (in a manner very similar to "Hero Boy" earlier). "Lonely Boy" is unsure as well, and his indecision nearly costs him his chance to board the "Polar Express". Like "Hero Boy", he attempts to board after the train starts to pull away, with "Hero Boy" shouting that he can do it. Just as "Lonely Boy" reaches out to grab hold of a rail, he trips in the snow. Thinking quickly, "Hero Boy" swiftly pulls the emergency brake lever, bringing the train to a screaching halt. "Lonely Boy" warily gets on, but shy and insecure, he stays alone in the rear compartment.

"Hero Boy" explains what happened to the Conductor, who reminds him that they are on a tight schedule. After the young passengers have found their seats again, the Conductor asks if anyone needs refreshments. All the children raise their hands and to the amazement of the passengers, a group of dancing and singing waiters appear with mugs of hot chocolate. "Hero Girl" starts to take a cup of hot chocolate to "Lonely Boy" in the back, and is caught by The Conductor. He agrees that he should get some hot chocolate, and they head to the rear compartment. "Hero Boy" notices that "Hero Girl" left her ticket, which has not yet been punched, on her seat. "Hero Boy" attempts to take it to her, but in between cars it flies out of his hand and takes a miraculous journey (flying through the air, getting trampled by wolves, and picked and chewed by a baby bird) back to the train. Even after "Hero Boy" admits to losing the ticket, the Conductor takes "Hero Girl" away when she can't produce it. When "Hero Boy" suddenly spots her ticket, he attempts to follow them, worried that she will get thrown off the train.

Making it to the top of the train, he engages a hobo figure. At first glance "Hobo" appears to be crazy, claiming to be "King of the North Pole". "Hero boy" asks if Santa is the king, but "Hobo" shoves it off and asks him what he thinks of Santa. "Hero Boy" merely says that he wants to believe but isn't sure and doesn't want to be tricked. "Hobo" tells him 'seeing is believing'. "Hero Boy" asks him if this whole experience is nothing more than a dream, but "Hobo" tells him that "Hero Boy" is the one who said it, not he. "Hobo" asks him if he believes in ghosts, but "Hero Boy" answers that he doesn't, to which "Hobo" merely replies 'interesting. ..' "Hobo" disappears as a flurry of snowflakes, and "Hero Boy", convinced he must be dreaming, attempts to wake himself, but to no avail. "Hobo" comes back with skis and they literally slide atop the cars to the engine room, before reaching Flat-Top Tunnel. (There is only one inch of clearance between the roof of the train and the roof of the tunnel). "Hero Boy" makes it inside right before they reach the entrance, but "Hobo" seems to dissolve magically into snow again.

Inside the locomotive's cab is "Hero Girl". Rather than being thrown off, she is actually driving the train while the engineers are fixing the light at the front of the locomotive. The Engineer sees something on the tracks and yells to "Hero Girl" to stop the train. There is a tense moment where "Hero Boy" pulls what "Hero Girl" thinks is the brake lever, stopping the train just in time to avoid hitting a large group of caribou that are blocking the track. It looks like they will be there for hours. However, the Conductor uses a highly amusing method of mimicking the call of the caribou, which promptly clear the track.

As the Polar Express continues it journey and begins to speed up, a cotter pin shears off of the throttle, causing the train to accelerate out of control. "Hero Boy", "Hero Girl", and the Conductor hold on as they fly down Glacier Gulch, the world's steepest downhill track. They eventually slow as they end up on a frozen lake. The cotter pin is knocked out of the engineer's mouth (he had swallowed it) and flies onto the ice. The ice begins to crack and the train races to escape, managing to get back on the tracks just as the ice breaks. At last "Hero Boy" hands the conductor "Hero Girl"'s ticket. On their way back, the Conductor reveals that on his first Christmas run, he nearly fell off the train but was saved by an unknown figure. ("Hero Boy" assumes he is referring to "Hobo"). "Hero Boy" asks what he looks like and the Conductor tells him that sometimes "seeing is believing" and other times "the most real things in this world are the things we can't see." The three prepare to join the others, passing the toy compartment, full of old misused toys, being delivered back to Santa to be repaired and given new homes. A Scrooge marionette apparently comes to life and terrorizes "Hero Boy", telling him that they are similar, as they both think that Santa, and by default Christmas, are nothing but humbug. The puppet is actually being worked by "Hobo".

"Hero Boy" then rejoins "Hero Girl", and they visit "Lonely Boy", who is still by himself in the back of the train. "Hero Girl" and "Lonely Boy" then sing a song about faith. The Northern Lights (aurora borealis) illuminate the sky, and the Conductor informs them that the train has entered the Arctic Circle, and they have at last made it to the North Pole (with five minutes to spare until Christmas arrives!). The Conductor tells them that the elves are in the center of the city and that Santa will pick one of the children to choose the first gift of Christmas. They all get off except "Lonely Boy". "Hero Boy" and "Hero Girl" return to convince him to disembark, but he states that Christmas has never worked out for him. He's lived for years in a poor home and the Christmas spirit does not necessarily reach very high in his family. Alas "Hero Boy" accidentally stepped on the disengagement lever when he boarded the train. When "Lonely Boy" finally agrees to join them, the rear car of the train, containing the three children, disengages and flies back down the tracks. The three jump off and make their way through the city, passing by rooms such as the 'naughty/nice' room, which monitors all the children by their respective behavior.

They sneak into a tube-like machine called the pneumatic which shoots them to a conveyor-belt. There, the three see one final package come down the belt. Reading the tag on the package, they find it is addressed to "Lonely Boy", whose name is revealed to be Billy. Not wanting to lose what might be his only Christmas present ever, Billy grabs hold of it as it is taken through an opening in the wall. "Hero Boy" and "Hero Girl" follow him and end up sliding down a long winding chute, eventually landing in a gigantic funnel, falling through the hole in the middle, and end up atop a gigantic pile of presents being gathered in Santa's enormous red sack. The bag, with the children inside, is lifted up by a giant balloon. Billy is tempted to open his present until he notices it is marked 'do not open till Christmas'. "Hero Boy" confirms that that is the rule. Billy is then grabbed by something inside the pile. "Hero Boy" and "Hero Girl" pull Billy back, discovering that "Know-It-All" has stowed away in the bag as well. "Know-It-All" tried to verify that he was getting all of the presents that he had requested, but so far has only found one present for him, and it contained "stupid underwear". The giant sack, being air-lifted by a blimp, comes in too low, even after losing weight by means of skydiving elves. The bag knocks over the star on the giant Christmas tree, which it is saved by a group of bungee jumping elves.

By now it is time for Santa to appear. The entire crowd cheers as the reindeer are being pulled together, and the bells ring, but "Hero Boy" cannot hear them. Santa himself finally comes, but "Hero Boy" cannot get a good look at him, as the excited crowd of other children and elves block his view. A silver bell from the sleigh rolls to "Hero Boy"'s feet, and he picks it up but it makes no sound. He realizes that only those who truly believe can hear the bells. Finally accepting everything that has been shown to him, he whispers, "I believe", whereupon he is able to hear the bells. Suddenly he see in the bell the reflection of Santa Claus, and realizes that Santa is towering above him. Santa asks him what he just said, and "Hero Boy" replies, "I believe ... that this is yours", handing the bell to Santa. "Know-It-All" interrupts, asking Santa to pick him to receive the first present of Christmas, but Santa tells him to be patient and that some humility might do him some good. He tells "Hero Girl" how brave she has been, confident and full of spirit (including Christmas spirit), and encourages her to continue thusly. He tells Billy how lucky he is and acknowledges how he has made friends this night, and that there is no greater gift than friendship. At last, he gives "Hero Boy" the honor of choosing the first present. "Hero Boy" picks the silver bell, and Santa tells him that the bell represents the spirit of Christmas within him, and that the real spirit of Christmas lies in his heart. With a whip of light, all the bells ring and the sleigh rides into the air and Santa's icy contrail emits beautiful fireworks as he zooms away.

The children prepare to leave, and the Conductor is once again marking their tickets. He marks the remaining letters on their tickets, stamping the words "LEARN" on "Know-It-All"'s ticket. The words "DEPEND ON" are on Billy's ticket. Surprisingly, as he flips it over, the words change to "RELY ON" and then "COUNT ON". The Conductor asks if Billy will "count on" them to get him home safely, to which he agrees. The Conductor marks "LEAD" on "Hero Girl"'s ticket, affirming her leadership skills. Finally, the Conductor writes the remaining letters on "Hero Boy"'s ticket: "BELIEVE". Once inside the train, "Hero Boy" discover to his dismay that the bell from Santa fell through the hole torn in his pocket earlier, and is lost.

When the train reaches "Lonely Boy"'s house, he gets off and thanks "Hero Boy" for having stopped the train earlier. To his astonishment, his house looks beautiful and the present for him is already there. The train reaches "Hero Boy"'s house, and he says goodbye to "Know-It-All" and embraces "Hero Girl". Disembarking, he thanks the Conductor, who merely returns the thanks and tells him, "The thing about trains - it doesn't matter where you're going; what matters is deciding to get on," finishing with a wink. With a final Merry Christmas, the train departs. As it departs, "Hero Boy" sees "Hobo" atop the train, and as he waves goodbye, he disappears in a swirl of snowflakes. "Hero Boy" returns to his bed and drifts off to sleep, having noticed that Santa had not yet been to his house.

Waking up Christmas morning, "Hero Boy" is perplexed as to whether the nighttime events were a dream or reality. As he gets out of bed he rips the same pocket that was torn earlier, exactly as had happened earlier. Going downstairs, he finds an assortment of toys under the Christmas tree, including a toy train that was similar to the Polar Express train itself. A small present is addressed to "Hero Boy"; opening it he finds the silver bell. With it is a small message from Santa, indicating that "Mr. C" had found the bell in his sleigh, and reminding "Hero Boy" to fix that hole in his pocket. He rings the bell, but although his younger sister and he can hear the sound, his parents cannot. As the movie ends, he offers a final message:

At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.

Other than Santa Claus, Sarah and Billy, the names of the characters are not revealed. The names below are taken from the credits.

Hero Boy is the protagonist, an eight-year-old boy who is searching for the true meaning of Christmas. He gets a trip on the Polar Express, avoiding danger and all the while having his faith tested, whether by the Hobo or one of the children. He quickly makes friends with Hero Girl and Lonely Boy. Eventually his faith is restored when he meets Santa, who selects him to receive the first gift -- he picks the silver bell. His ticket has the word 'BELIEVE" on it, and since that trip, his faith in Santa and the true spirit of Christmas never fails. Acted (through motion capture) by Tom Hanks, but voiced by Daryl Sabara.

Hero Girl is a girl who quickly becomes friends with Hero Boy. After her ticket is misplaced, she gets to drive the train. She has exceptional leadership abilities and bravery, acknowledged by both Santa and the Conductor. She also helps and comforts her friends in lifting up their spirits, such as Hero Boy and Lonely Boy. Her ticket was marked "LEAD," which she first mis-interprets as lead the metal. Played by child actor Chantel Valdivieso.Voiced by Nona Gaye. Her singing voice is done by Meagan Moore.

Billy is a small shy boy who grows up on the poor side of the town. Because of his shyness and his lack of trust, he stays in the rear compartment of the train by himself. However, Hero Boy and Hero Girl make friends with him and they travel to the North Pole together. Santa tells him how lucky he is, and that friendship is the greatest gift someone could ask for. His ticket said "DEPEND ON", and as he flips it over, "COUNT ON" and "RELY ON". As he returns home, his house is beautiful and he receives his gift which was the thing he always wanted (this is unknown). It is revealed that his real name is Billy. Acted by Peter Scolari and voiced by Jimmy Bennett. His singing voice is done by Matthew Hall.

Know-it-all is a small nerdy boy with glasses. Although he is smart, he lets his intelligence get the better of him and is very impatient. He stows away on Santa's big red bag in hope of finding out if he was getting all the presents he wanted. He rudely asks Santa if he can get the first present, to which Santa replies 'Patience, and a bit of humility might do you some good'. When his ticket receives the final markings, he snatches it out of the conductor's hand to read it. He accidentally holds the ticket in a way that blocks a letter, taking the word to be "LEAN". The conductor corrects him, saying he punched five letters, but the Know-it-all, still thinking that he is right, takes the ticket back, replying, "Hey, do you think I don't know how to read. ..oh, it says LEARN, my mistake." He is finally dealt "a smidgen of humility" and apologizes, promising to behave better. If there is one thing his knowledge has gotten him, it is that he noticed something important while in the north pole: 'It was five minutes to midnight four minutes ago' to which the Conductor replies 'Exactly!'. Later he says "Don't worry, It's been five minutes to midnight for the last hour!". In fact, for most of the movie it's been that time: An early segment shows the ticking of a clock slowly stopping. Although this strange time delay is confusing, it may explain how Santa gets to all the houses on one night and also gives birth to the theory that most of the movie was a dream (as Hero Boy rips his pocket twice although this may be because Santa fixed it). Voiced by Eddie Deezen.

The Conductor is the conductor of the Polar Express, the magical train that takes all the not-so-faithful children to the North Pole. He takes his job very seriously and, like the Hobo, subtly tests the children's faith. He marks all their tickets ( which they magically find they're already carrying), with a few letters, and at the end of the trip, marks the remaining letters; giving them a message regarding what they should do. He is also strict and does not take it kindly when there is a delay, especially when someone applies the emergency brake. His greatest fear is arriving late at the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Voiced by Tom Hanks. This is the only one of Hanks' characters that can be clearly seen to physically resemble the actor. Towards the end of the movie, Hero Boy's father is seen slightly out of focus from an elevated camera angle, trying to hear the bell that was gifted by Santa Claus. His profile resembles Tom Hanks to quite a degree.

The Hobo is a strange man who calls himself the "King of the North Pole" and appears to live on the top of the train. He apparently doesn't believe in Santa or Christmas, but all his negativity is secretly testing Hero Boy's faith. He actually isn't human, as he manages to appear and disappear into snow. He also helps Hero Boy many times, one time grabbing him from falling off the train, another time tapping the manual brake wheel on the speeding runaway observation car with his cup before disappearing. (Eventually Hero Boy realizes the wheel slows down the car). Voiced by Tom Hanks. At one point, Hobo asks Hero Boy if he "believes in ghosts." When Hero Boy's replies "no," all Hobo says is "interesting." As a result (and from the way he mysteriously vanishes and suddenly appears), it is reasonable to assume that Hobo may be a "ghost." The Conductor also notes that on his first ride of the Polar Express, he was saved from falling off the train by someone. In the DVD "extra song" the engineers tell the kids about Hobo, that he was sitting on the top of the train for free, and the train headed for Flatop. He then collided with the top of Flatop, and was killed. It is also theorized he is the ghost of Scrooge, due to his attitude towards Christmas (which may just be a ruse to test Hero Boy). Also, he uses a Scrooge marionette to scare Hero Boy in one scene.

The Engineers are the drivers of the Polar Express. One of them is a bald fat man, the other has ridiculously long red hair, which the Conductor pulls to send away the Caribou blocking the way. They later sing at a party after Santa leaves. The special features section of the DVD reveals their names as Steamer and Smokey, but does not distinguish who is whom (the movie storybook names them Steamer the Engineer and Smokey the Fireman). They were both acted by Michael Jeter who died soon after production; a musical number featuring the Engineers was cut from the film before release but is included as a special feature on the DVD. Voiced by André Sogliuzzo, who also provides the voice of Tony Montana in Vivendi's Scarface: The World is Yours game.

The Elves are the official helpers of Santa. A few of them decide which kids are naughty and which are nice, and because it's Christmas, allow a boy named Steven to have presents that year. They are roughly half the size of most of the children.

Santa Claus himself appears to all at the North Pole. When Hero Boy can finally see him face to face, Santa picks him to have the first present of Christmas. Santa gives him the silver bell and rides off. Later, Santa returns the silver bell to Hero Boy when he notices he dropped it. He appears to prefer being called Mr. C. Voiced by Tom Hanks.

Scrooge makes a brief appearance in the train car of abandoned toys.

The Steam Engine that pulled the Polar Express was modeled after an actual locomotive which resides at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan. The 1225 was part of the Pere Marquette Railway system before being decommissioned to the Michigan State University campus as a display. However, some Steam Age Railroad enthusiasts took it upon themselves to restore the great engine, and, in a few years, it was pulling excursions all around the Owosso area and around Michigan. The steam engine was built at the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, OH.

The engine 1225 was picked for the display at MSU because suppossedly the C&O yardmaster associated its number board with Christmas day 12-25, December 25.

In addition to standard theatrical 35mm format, a 3D version for IMAX was also released, generated from the same 3D digital models used for the standard version. It was the first animated feature not specially made for IMAX to be presented in this format, and the first to open in IMAX 3D at the same time as main flat release. The financial results were stunning. The 3D version out-performed the 2D version by about 14 to 1. The 3D IMAX version was released again for the 2005 Holiday season in 66 IMAX theaters and amazingly made another $7.5 million prior to Christmas. Due to its financial success, the IMAX version was re-released in 2006 and is expected to become an annual Christmas movie.

In November 2007, SeaWorld Orlando debuted the Polar Express Experience, a motion simulator based around the movie. The attraction is a temporary replacement for the Wild Arctic attraction. The building housing the attraction was also temporarily re-themed to a railroad station and ride vehicles painted to resemble Polar Express passenger cars. The plot for the ride revolves around a trip to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Guests feel the motion of the locomotive as well as the swinging of the train on ice and feeling of ice crumbling beneath them. The attraction will be available until 2008-12-01.^[1]

The decision to model the characters so realistically was met with criticism from some reviewers, who felt that the appearances of the characters were "creepy" or "eerie" [1] [2]. This is related to the concept of the Uncanny Valley, which holds that the closer something appears to human, the more its dissimilarities may stand out and create a negative reaction in viewers. Unfortunately, "Express" suffered from a serious problem that's known as "dead eye syndrome," where the eyes do not move, making the characters have a deadened, 'soulless' look as a result of inanimate eyes. Though it was not the first film to use motion capture technology, The Polar Express is generally regarded as the first film where the dead-eye syndrome was most noticeable and most distracting.

Initially, the movie seemed headed towards a box office failure after its opening week, but it was one of the few films to actually improve its gross in the weeks after its premiere. In fact, by New Year's Day, 2005, the Polar Express ended up grossing over $150 million in the United States alone, shocking disbelieving critics. Fully 25% of the world gross came from just 82 IMAX 3D theaters. It has been widely noted, however, that much of this latent revenue was due to its status as the only major motion picture available in the IMAX 3D format.

• The Polar Express (soundtrack)
• Uncanny Valley
• SeaWorld Orlando

• Official US site
• Official UK site
• The Polar Express at the Internet Movie Database
• The Polar Express at Rotten Tomatoes

v • d • e Films directed by Robert Zemeckis
A Field of Honor • I Wanna Hold Your Hand • Used Cars • Romancing the Stone • Back to the Future • Who Framed Roger Rabbit • Back to the Future Part II • Back to the Future Part III • Death Becomes Her • Forrest Gump • Contact • What Lies Beneath • Cast Away • The Polar Express • Beowulf