The Polar Express (2004)
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A young boy travels to the North Pole on a magical train on Christmas Eve.
The story
On Christmas Eve in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Polar Express, a magical train bound for the North Pole, stops outside the house of a boy who is beginning to doubt the existence of Santa Claus. He boards the train after being invited by the Conductor, befriending a spirited girl and a know-it-all boy in the passenger car. The train's journey serves as a magical voyage toward the North Pole, where the boy must face his doubts about the holiday's magic while traveling alongside his new companions on the enchanted locomotive.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Zemeckis
- Writers
- Robert Zemeckis · screenplay; William Broyles Jr. · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Tom Hanks · multiple roles; Daryl Sabara · not specified; Nona Gaye · not specified; Jimmy Bennett · not specified; Eddie Deezen · not specified
- Genres
- animated; musical; Christmas adventure
- Themes
- belief; faith; Christmas magic
- Tone and mood
- magical; whimsical; eerie
- Setting
- Grand Rapids, Michigan and the North Pole during Christmas Eve.
- Premise and plot tags
- fantasy; holiday; adventure; train journey
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1985 children's book by Chris Van Allsburg
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some calling it an 'instant Christmas classic' and others criticizing the characters as 'lifeless zombies'. It received a rare 'A+' grade from audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 61 · scale: 100 · review count: 36
- Production trivia
- The film's motion capture process cost $1 million per minute of footage.; The film's engine was modeled after the Pere Marquette 1225.; The character of the Hobo was added during the rewrite by Zemeckis and Broyles.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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