63 'Polar Express' Facts: Go Watch This Animated Christmas Movie

'Polar Express' movie is about the life of a young boy.

A young boy who boards the Polar Express train on Christmas Eve changes his life. This movie teaches important lessons like friendship, not leaving anyone behind, making friends, having patience, and having a festival spirit.

The movie beautifully portrays how important festivals are and that we should always try to make them memorable. The movie is full of warmth and it's a perfect movie for kids to watch as it makes them believe in Santa, even though it was not a great success and people found it creepy because of its graphics.

Characters In 'The Polar Express'

There are many important characters in the Warner Bros distributed movie, and now let's learn something more about the characters in the movie and who voiced them.

Hero Boy: He is the main character of this movie as the whole story revolves around him. Josh Hutcherson does the motion capture of this character.

Hero Girl: She is the second most important character and a good friend of the Hero Boy. She is portrayed as a confident girl with leadership skills. Tinashe does her motion capture.

Hero Boy's Mother: The Mother of Hero Boy has a very small part, but she talks about how kids grow up, and the magic of Santa and Christmas comes to an end. Leslie Zemeckis does motion capture of this character.

Hero Boy's Father: The part of this character is also small, but on his way out from the Hero Boy's room, he states that now no express train will wake him up. Tom Hanks does motion capture of this character.

The Conductor: The Conductor, voiced by Tom Hanks, in the movie is seen as the one in charge of the Polar Express train as he takes care of every child aboard and addresses passengers directly. Tom Hanks does the motion capture of this character.

Hobo: Though he is not a real character in the movie, he has a great impact as he is only visible to the Hero Boy. He is like his inner voice. 

Lonely Boy: Peter Scolari does the motion capture of this character. This character is a shy boy who hesitates to interact, but he makes friends by the movie's end.

Know-it-all boy: The motion capture of this character is done by Eddie Deezen

Toothless Boy: Motion capture of this character is done by Chris Coppola.

The Story Of 'The Polar Express'

This movie is an animated film that teaches you to believe in Santa Claus. Now let's know the story of 'The Polar Express.'

The movie starts, and we see a boy in his bed trying to sleep. He suddenly hears the sound of the bell from Santa's cap. 

He follows the sound and reaches his staircase, As he thinks he is about to see Santa Claus. He sees a shadow, realizing it's his dad. 

He gets disappointed.

The Boy then does some research, and in one of the books, he finds that Santa lives at the North Pole.

He hears his parents approaching. He hops back into his bed and pretends to be asleep.

His parents talk about how he used to stay awake the whole night before Christmas to see Santa and now is fast asleep.

While leaving the room, his father added that an express train wouldn't wake him now. 

After Hero Boy falls asleep, he is woken up by a sound and shaking of the ground.

He wakes up, looks out of the window, and sees something stop in front of his window.

He grabs his robe while running and tears a pocket of the robe and puts it on, and runs out of the house to see what it is.

It stops, and he realizes it is a train. The Conductor steps out of it and says that this is the Polar Express train that goes to the North Pole, and asks the boy to board the train.

He refuses, and the Conductor confirms if he wants to board, and the boy confirms no. But as the train starts moving, he boards it anyways.

When he enters the train, he sees that other children are singing a Christmas carol.

He takes a seat and sits down, and on the opposite seat, he sees a girl looking at him peculiarly. He hesitates and turns away.

The train then takes a halt to pick up another boy named Billy. 

He takes too long in boarding the train, and Hero Boy pulls the emergency brakes to help him board the train.

Then, the children are served hot chocolate. They enjoy it, but the Hero Girl saves a bowl for Billy as he is seated in the back of the train. 

Then the Hero Girl, accompanied by the Conductor, goes to Billy and offers him hot chocolate.

Hero Boy notices that Hero Girl left her ticket on her seat, not punched. He thinks of taking the ticket to Hero Girl but losses the ticket.

When the Conductor finds out that Hero Boy lost Hero Girl's ticket, he takes Hero Girl with him and goes away.

Then Hero Boy finds the ticket. He wants to take the ticket to Hero Girl, so he finds her but learns from Billy that they went on top of the train, so Hero Boy goes after them.

Here he meets Hobo, who helps him find the girl and conductor.

He finds Hero Girl who is now driving the train as the driver is gone to check the lights.

Train trips through a dessert of ice and almost sinks in an iced lake but manages to come out fine.

After a long adventure, Hero Boy hands Hero Girl her ticket. Returning to their seats, they come across a coach on a train filled with old toys. 

At one point, Hero Boy finds himself alone on that coach, and one toy, the scrooge puppet, starts talking to him and tells him he's a doubter. 

When Hero Boy looks up, he sees that Hobo is puppeteering the scrooge.

They go back to the Lonely Boy, talk to him, become friends with him, and see the North Pole at a distance as they are approaching it.

After reaching the North Pole, the Conductor tells them that Santa will choose one kid and give the first gift. 

Everyone gets out of the train except the Lonely Boy. Therefore, Hero Boy and Hero Girl stay back to convince him to come.

But while climbing the train, Hero Boy detaches the coach by mistake, and their coach speeds up. They cannot stop it; Hero Boy sees Hobo, who helps him.

They somehow reach the city's center, where everyone is waiting for Santa in front of a large Christmas tree, and gifts are being prepared to load in his sleigh.

When finally Santa makes an entrance, the crowd is suddenly excited, and Hero Boy cannot see Santa.

Hero Boy sees a bell from Santa's sleigh, which falls out and reaches near him.

He picks up the bell and shakes it, but cannot listen to it and only listens to the words of Hobo, 'doubter doubter doubter.'

Then Hero Boy says to himself, 'I believe,' and shakes the bell this time, and he can listen to the sound of the ringing bell.

He sees the reflection of Santa on the surface of the bell and turns around. Santa asks him 'what did you say?' He stutters and tells him. 

The know-it-all kid asks Santa to pick him for the first gift, and Santa asks him to be patient and then appreciates Hero Girl for her considerate behavior and confidence, and talks to Billy. 

Santa picks Hero Boy to present his first gift.

Hero Boy says something in Santa's ear, and Santa gifts the bell from his sleigh to him when they get back to the train. 

Everyone asks him to show them his bell, and he reaches into the torn pocket of his robe and realizes he lost it and gets very sad.

The train drops HeroBoy back at his house.

Hero Girl bids her goodbye to him, and he enters his house hoping to find a gift, but nothing is there.

On Christmas morning, he is woken up by his sister, and both of them run downstairs and find their gifts there. 

One of the gifts is a toy Polar Express train, and there is another box with Hero Boy's name on it.

He opens it to find the bell from Santa's sleigh, that he lost, and a note from Santa.

Hero Boy gives the bell a shake, and he and his sister can listen to the sweet sound, but when their parents shake the bell, they don't hear anything.

In the end, you can hear Hero Boy say that 'only the people who believe in Santa and Christmas spirit can hear the sound of the bell.'

Art Direction Of 'The Polar Express'

The movie starts on Christmas Eve and ends on Christmas morning and shows how a simple decision changes the life of a young boy. The following people did the art direction of 'The Polar Express.'

James Hegedus

Norman Newberry

Tony Fanning

Alicia Maccarone

Reviews Of 'The Polar Express'

Reviews on this movie contradict each other; some people like the movie, but some find it scary. Some of the reviews are mentioned below.

Some people thought that the movie was a little creepy.

People said in their reviews that they did not like the movie's graphics.

People claimed that kids found the movie scary.

Some people also said that it was 'the best Christmas movie.'

'The Polar Express' is a movie based on Christmas Eve and how a young boy learns to believe in Santa.

It is based on a story written by Chris Van, 'The Polar Express.' Chris Van Allsburg writes children's books and is also an American illustrator.

FAQs

Is Tom Hanks the boy in 'Polar Express?'

Yes, Tom Hanks voiced the adult voice of the boy in the 'Polar Express,' and he is the actor who has voiced the character in the movie.

Is the mom pregnant in 'The Polar Express?'

Yes, the mom of the Hero Boy is pregnant.

Is 'The Polar Express' real or a dream?

'The Polar Express' can be real or a dream, depending on your perspective. However, the movie showcases it as true and tells us to believe in Santa Claus and to have a Christmas spirit.

What happened at the end of 'The Polar Express?'

At the end of the movie, Hero Boy is gifted a bell by Santa and the bell is magical as it can only be heard by people who believe in Santa, which is mostly children.

Where does Hero Boy live in 'The Polar Express?'

It is not specified exactly where Hero Boy lives.

How many roles did Tom Hanks have in Polar Express?

Tom Hanks plays six roles in the movie: Hero Boy, Conductor, Hero Boy's Gather, Hobo, Santa Claus, and the Scrooge puppet.