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The Polar Express

"This holiday season... believe."

2004-11-10 Animation 1hr 40m

When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

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The Polar Express
Amazon Video

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Storyline

When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

  • Released
    2004-11-10
  • Revenue
    $318,432,432
  • Budget
    $165,000,000
  • Runtime
    1hr 40m
  • Genre
    Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    6.6
  • Production
    Golden Mean, Playtone, ImageMovers, Castle Rock Entertainment, Shangri-La Entertainment

Crew

Robert Zemeckis
Director
Robert Zemeckis
Screenplay
Steve Starkey
Producer
Keywords:
faith holiday santa claus nerd bell train beard north pole trestle ticket train travel christmas

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Cast

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks
Hero Boy / Father / Conductor / Hobo / Scrooge / Santa Claus
Leslie Zemeckis

Leslie Zemeckis
Sister Sarah / Mother
Eddie Deezen

Eddie Deezen
Know-It-All
Nona Gaye

Nona Gaye
Hero Girl (voice)
Peter Scolari

Peter Scolari
Billy - Lonely Boy
Michael Jeter

Michael Jeter
Smokey / Steamer
Josh Hutcherson

Josh Hutcherson
Hero Boy (motion capture)
Daryl Sabara

Daryl Sabara
Hero Boy (voice)
Jimmy Bennett

Jimmy Bennett
Lonely Boy (voice)
Tinashe

Tinashe
Hero Girl (motion capture)
Brendan King

Brendan King
Pastry Chef
Andy Pellick

Andy Pellick
Pastry Chef
Josh Eli

Josh Eli
Waiter
Mark Mendonca

Mark Mendonca
Waiter
Rolondas Hendricks

Rolondas Hendricks
Waiter
Mark Goodman

Mark Goodman
Waiter
Jon Scott

Jon Scott
Waiter
Gregory Gast

Gregory Gast
Waiter
Sean Scott

Sean Scott
Waiter
Gordon Hart

Gordon Hart
Waiter
Chris Coppola

Chris Coppola
Toothless Boy / Elf
Julene Renee

Julene Renee
Red Head Girl / Elf
Charles Fleischer

Charles Fleischer
Elf General
Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler
Elf Lieutenant / Elf Singer
Phil Fondacaro

Phil Fondacaro
Elf
Debbie Lee Carrington

Debbie Lee Carrington
Elf
Mark Povinelli

Mark Povinelli
Elf
Ed Gale

Ed Gale
Elf
Dante Pastula

Dante Pastula
Little Boy
André Sogliuzzo

André Sogliuzzo
Smokey / Steamer (voice)
Isabella Peregrina

Isabella Peregrina
Sister Sarah (voice)
Eric Newton

Eric Newton
Acrobatic Elf
Aidan O'Shea

Aidan O'Shea
Acrobatic Elf
Aaron Hendry

Aaron Hendry
Acrobatic Elf
Kevin C. Carr

Kevin C. Carr
Acrobatic Elf
Bee Jay Joyer

Bee Jay Joyer
Acrobatic Elf
Jena Carpenter

Jena Carpenter
Acrobatic Elf
Karine Mauffrey

Karine Mauffrey
Acrobatic Elf
Elisabeth P. Carpenter

Elisabeth P. Carpenter
Acrobatic Elf
Bill Forchion

Bill Forchion
Acrobatic Elf
Devin Henderson

Devin Henderson
Acrobatic Elf
Sagiv Ben-Binyamin

Sagiv Ben-Binyamin
Acrobatic Elf
Ashly Holloway

Ashly Holloway
Sister Sarah
Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak

Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak
Know-It-All
Chantel Valdivieso

Chantel Valdivieso
Hero Girl
Hayden McFarland

Hayden McFarland
Lonely Boy
Connor Matheus

Connor Matheus
Toothless Boy
Evan Sabara

Evan Sabara
Young Boy
Jack Angel

Jack Angel
Wolves (uncredited)
Rodger Bumpass

Rodger Bumpass
Wolves (uncredited)
Dylan Cash

Dylan Cash
Boy (voice) (uncredited)
Cody Klop

Cody Klop
Additional Voices (voice) (uncredited)
Patrick Stogner

Patrick Stogner
(uncredited)

Videos and Photos

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The Polar Express
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Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Polar Express
reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 5

Written by Wuchak on 2018-11-30

***Some kids with creepy dead eyes take a dreamlike trip to the North Pole on The Polar Express*** A boy from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is... read more

***Some kids with creepy dead eyes take a dreamlike trip to the North Pole on The Polar Express*** A boy from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is at the age where he no longer believes in Christmas, as far as Santa, his elves and flying reindeer go, but a magical train appears in front of his home on Christmas Eve and whisks him away on an adventurous trip to the North Pole with several other kids. “The Polar Express” (2004) was based on the 1985 Christmas book and was the first mainline movie to use motion capture animation for all its characters beginning to end (think Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy). Some people think the animation is weak, but I feel it creates its own world and has its own charm. It holds up as long as you can adapt to those creepy dead eyes of the characters. Some people love this movie while others think it’s weird, like a Twilight Zone Christmas flick. Roger Ebert, for instance, loved it and gave it a perfect grade. I’m sorta in the middle. I see its good points and appreciate them, like the haunting winter ambiance, parts of the trip to the North Pole (e.g. the quasi-rollercoaster ride) and the kids’ investigation of the Christmas factory. But there are some meh parts and dubious sections like the whole last act with the multitude of elves and the towering Santa who looked like he was modeled after 6’5” Christopher Lee with a pillow strapped to his mid-section. The movie’s interesting in some ways but also quaint in a cheesy way, as well as peculiar and lifeless. The film runs 1 hour, 40 minutes. GRADE: C

reviewer avatar

A Review by Peter89Spencer 10

Written by Peter89Spencer on 2020-12-13

No matter how many times I watch this, it always brought me to tears! I only wish that I got to see it in 3D at the cinema.... read more

No matter how many times I watch this, it always brought me to tears! I only wish that I got to see it in 3D at the cinema.

reviewer avatar

A Review by narrator56 8

Written by narrator56 on 2020-12-19

Watching The Polar Express is not an annual event for me, but I believe I have seen it three times and would not nix the idea if someone wer... read more

Watching The Polar Express is not an annual event for me, but I believe I have seen it three times and would not nix the idea if someone were to suggest watching it again. I feel a connection to it for an odd reason: my wife and I volunteered one Christmas season to be elves serving cocoa and dancing for an actual Polar Express narrow gauge train ride when we lived in Maine. (Though I can assure you our dancing was not as acrobatic as what you see in this movie.) The animation feels a little odd at first, but I stop noticing it each time I watch it. The story turns the train trip to the North Pole into a real thrill ride for the children on board, especially for our hero boy, voiced by Tom Hanks. In fact, if you are a Hanks fan, settle in, because he does multiple voices here, including one that sounds remarkably like Gilbert Godfrey to me. I try to avoid punching holes in the plots of Christmas movies. Half the point is that they will include unlikely events all leading to the miracle of Christmas ending. You want logic; pull out the old algebra textbook!

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 6

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-12-24

A young man is all excited as he heads to bed on Christmas eve. His sleep is disturbed though, when his house starts to shake. He bounds to ... read more

A young man is all excited as he heads to bed on Christmas eve. His sleep is disturbed though, when his house starts to shake. He bounds to the window whereupon he sees the arrival of a great train, one he quickly discovers is heading on to the North Pole. Safely aboard he encounters other children and adventure beckons as they learn that one child will get to meet Santa Claus himself before he embarks on his global deliveries! I didn't love this film. I found the rather sharp, linear, facial animations a bit too sterile and there is way too much chatter with not enough going on. I can play chase the ticket once, but after a while that became little better than a clunky conduit for the rather episodic nature of the narrative. I'm sure that technically it is a masterpiece of CGI and human interaction, but somehow it all just left me feeling that the cheesy sentiment overwhelmed it with it's messages of teamwork and the Christmas spirit well and truly over-egged. Alan Silvestri has provided a nice score, and when the animation scenes focus on the actual train then it does liven up a bit, but sorry - for the most part I wasn't sold.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by Wuchak

***Some kids with creepy dead eyes take a dreamlike trip to the North Pole on The Polar Express*** A boy from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is at the age where he no longer believes in Christmas, as far as Santa, his elves and flying reindeer...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 5

Written by Wuchak on 2018-11-30

***Some kids with creepy dead eyes take a dreamlike trip to the North Pole on The Polar Express*** A boy from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is at the age where he no longer believes in Christmas, as far...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by Peter89Spencer 10

Written by Peter89Spencer on 2020-12-13

No matter how many times I watch this, it always brought me to tears! I only wish that I got to see it in 3D at the cinema....

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by narrator56 8

Written by narrator56 on 2020-12-19

Watching The Polar Express is not an annual event for me, but I believe I have seen it three times and would not nix the idea if someone were to suggest watching it again. I feel a connection to it f...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 6

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-12-24

A young man is all excited as he heads to bed on Christmas eve. His sleep is disturbed though, when his house starts to shake. He bounds to the window whereupon he sees the arrival of a great train, o...

read more