The Polar Express poster & wallpaper

Andrew Ableson, Chantel Valdivieso, Chris Coppola

A young boy lies awake in his room one snowy Christmas Eve, excited and alert. Breathing silently. Hardly moving. Waiting. He's listening for a sound he's afraid that he might never hear--the ringing ...( read more  read more... )bells of Santa's sleigh. The time is five minutes to midnight. Suddenly, a thunderous roar startles the boy. Clearing the mist from his window he sees the most amazing sight--a gleaming black train rumbles to a stop right in front of his house, the steam from its powerful engine hissing through the night sky and the softly falling snowflakes. The boy rushes outside, clad only in his pajamas and slippers, and is met by the train's conductor who seems to be waiting just for him. "Well, are you coming?" the conductor inquires. "Where?" the boy asks. "Why, to the North Pole--of course. This is the Polar Express!" What unfolds is an adventure that follows a doubting young boy, who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole; during this ride, 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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65% liked it

213,841 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

185 critics

G, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

Release Date: November 10, 2004

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DVD Release Date: November 22, 2005

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Stats: 8,631 reviews

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The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) Josh Hutcherson as Additional child performer - Hero Boy in The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004) The Polar Express (2004)
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Flixster Reviews (8,631)

  • Darksome
    May 23, 2009
    Darksome
    Dull dull dull.
  • ironclad1609
    December 27, 2008
    ironclad1609
    If Christmas was a company this movie would be the most blunt and straight-out commercial for it that ever existed. While the kids not believing in Santa are not forced to change their mind as they step on the polar express to the north, it feels a bit like the movie is pushing t...( read more)he message down the audience's throat. The story isn't really much to write home about, the animation of humans, even when "played" by Tom Hanks, still not entirely convincing. Surely kids will find more pleasure in some of the rollercoaster rides and adventures the train takes, and maybe I am being too hard on it after a really tiresome day that made me almost fall asleep through parts, but I still can't shake off the feeling that this movie did not entirely work.
  • thmtsang
    December 24, 2008
    thmtsang
    Christmas animation about an adventure to the North pole. The train conductor is voiced by Tom Hanks.
  • gilbertgumphrey
    December 19, 2008
    gilbertgumphrey
    It's hard to explain in words exactly how, and why, I love Polar Express so much. It's not the kind of movie you'll find on many aspiring 20 year old male filmmakers top 20 of all time list. It's my favourite hardcore Christmas movie (because while technically It's a Wonderful ...( read more)Life is better, it also only has about 15 minutes to do with Christmas). It's my favourite animated film. It's one of the best movies period I've ever seen. A lot of people throughout my life have had trouble believing that, because admittedly, it does seem like an odd choice. But I can't lie about my feelings, and there isn't an atom of my being that doesn't want to hug Pol-Ex every time I watch it. Even just thinking about it, I get goosebumps and tingles all over, and there are several moments in the flick that still make me misty.

    Again, it's difficult to describe. This is one of those movies that haunts you in a good way - it gets under your skin, in your mind, and just melts your cold little heart. I felt like the Grinch post-Christmas the first time I watched it...I could practically feel my heart growing three sizes that day. I remember only seeing it because I wanted to impress a girl I liked. I remember being alone in the theatre when it started. And I remember giggling and laughing like a little kid the whole damn way through. Easily the best theatre experience I've ever had (and I didn't even get to see it in 3D, like so many other lucky bastards did). All of my friends and family (except the girl of course, who I'm still dating now), didn't believe me. When the movie was released on DVD a year later, I finally convinced all of them to watch it with me, if only to shut me up. And they were all floored - I still remember their faces of disbelief when I told them it's actually an action/adventure film, and then how stunned and entertained they were when it turned out I was right (I think this is how it worked with audiences too - if memory serves, the movie opened at #5 at the box office and disappointed financially, but then the strangest thing happened; the movie stayed there. Week after week, it never left the top 5 at the B.O, and that's not something that happens, ever, considering it stayed there for about a month. Of course, after Christmas, it dropped out of the top 10 immediately - but the word of mouth was quite clearly a powerhouse).

    The Polar Express is a masterful entertainment; powerful, moving, action packed, mysterious, incredibly Christmas-y, and a rollar coaster ride of fun. I'm stunned that so many people dislike the movie, considering I've yet to meet anyone personally who doesn't love it. Yes, the film is a little creepy - the characters, because of the motion capture CGI used, do seem a little ethereal and otherworldy, and there are a couple scenes (like the ones with the screaming puppets), that could be unsettling to really younger viewers. But that's what makes this movie so special. It doesn't regurgitate the usual blah Christmas cheer in every kid movie. It tells a dramatic, operatic story, filled with danger and creepiness, and when the train skids off the tracks, a kid almost falls off to her death. The very best children movies over the years have all realized how important this level of seriousness is, and Pol-Ex shines with it.

    I watch it every Christmas, usually several times, and it never fails to give me a warm, tingly glow inside afterwards, where the Christmas spirit really sticks right into me. This is the kind of movie that the term "warm fuzzy feelings" was made for. Some dislike how it's all about Santa and presents and therefore, they think it must be about the cold commercialism of Christmas. Wrong. The film is about faith, and believing in things you can't see or touch or hear. In a way, can't this supplant to Christianity, or Judaism, or even Scientology? The flick is the perfect allegory of religious belief - indeed, even Santa Claus himself in the film admits that he is only a "symbol" of the true spirit of Christmas. But I'm probably scaring off people by talking theologically about a kid's movie (when was the last time a children's animated film made you think?). Pol-Ex, as I mentioned before, is an action/adventure film of startling excitement and energy. The first half is admittedly much better than the last half, where magical and suspenseful action scenes come one right after the other, where the Hero Boy must race on the skii's of a ghost on the top of the train, to the train zooming down steep angles without a brake, to racing along breaking ice to get to the other side of the lake before they drown. These scenes are expertly filmed and paced, and still manage to get my blood pumping.

    The last half is dominated by the North Pole itself, where the elves have a New York accent and seem a little gruff and unpleasant, and where Santa himself is a less jolly, more business-like version of what we're used to. The special effects, by the way, still hold up to this day (yes, I know it's only 5 years old, but often special effects don't look good for very long - try watching the original Spider-Man today and you'll see what I mean). The motion capture gives everything a slightly unreal or "off" element to it, but even then, we accept this in the terms of the world and the story we're watching. And still, we can see a warmth and humanity to the character's expressions (especially Hero Boy's), that are usually lacking in CGI films. The main reason I think Zemekis chose this route, though, is because of the freedom it gives him with his camera. He zooms the camera everywhere, flying through walls and out across the sky, showing us angles and movements that would be completely impossible in live action (plus, can you imagine how chintzy this movie would look if the characters were real actors surrounded by greenscreen environments? It'd look like Attack of the Clones). There's a long take early in the film where Zemekis follows a golden ticket blown away by the wind, showing it's journey across the countryside until it magically arrives back in the train car it left, and the sequence is nothing short of amazing - and would've been impossible without the animation technology used.

    Lets see, what else can I gush about. The screenplay, while essentially just a Go There-Come Back journey, is exciting, dense, and surprisingly literate, with some really great lines tossed in for good measure (my favourite being, "That's the thing about trains. Doesn't matter where they're going - what matters is deciding wether or not to get on"). The music, by Alan Silvestri, is some of the best of recent years, juggling haunting themes and a wonderful Christmas type theme that blasts you back in your seat whenever it's often played. I dunno, I guess technically speaking, the flick has some flaws. I might've liked to see Santa a little jollier. The Know It All Kid and pansy Billy kid kinda get on my nerves. The story starts treading it's wheels after a while, like I mentioned earlier - the stuff in the North Pole, for the most part, isn't as interesting as the journey there. But pish posh it all to hell, this flick is great. Damn rights, it's a bloody masterpiece, and anyone who doesn't realize this is a fool - or at least, to be more fair, a Scrooge.

    Final note: avoid the 3D DVD at all costs. I was so super-pumped to finally be able to see it in 3D that buying the DVD was like an early, unexpected Christmas. But alas, it's the worst 3D presentation I've ever seen. Nothing pops, it's all incredibly dark and muddy, and worst of all, it's like you're watching the movie drunk, with everything having awful double vision. I couldn't even watch five minutes of it before returning the DVD to the store. A sad chapter in an otherwise lovely and wonderful experience.
  • 76Majikat
    December 12, 2008
    76Majikat
    A really impressive film, wonderful graphics and animation, so much so every little movement is emphasised creatively, there are some really great characters here.

    The Polar Express is a truly magical Christmas film, that kids (and adults) will really love.
  • 21rclemente
    November 14, 2009
    21rclemente
    It has three amazing components. Hanks, creative animation, and the Christmas atmosphere. great movie and would love to keep it in the ole' movie collection.
  • johnmitchell77
    November 12, 2009
    johnmitchell77
    Just watching this overly-sweet movie could send you into a diabetic coma.
    It is very Christmassy and there are moments of the utterly inspired, but the animation is only ok, resulting in an inability, somehow, to relate to the characters. I know it sounds silly, but there it is...( read more).
    This has got more padding than a stick insect Pavrotti tribute act. It would have worked better as a short film, I think, as it's obvious that bits were just tacked on to fill time.
  • smartyjones16
    November 7, 2009
    smartyjones16
    I love Tom Hanks character in this movie!
  • ramnchuck05
    November 5, 2009
    ramnchuck05
    I Love this Christmas Film!
  • dfztruesdale
    October 31, 2009
    dfztruesdale
    Very nice story, love the graphics

View All The Polar Express Reviews

Critic Reviews

December 10, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

A failed and lifeless experiment in which everything goes wrong. full review

November 10, 2004
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Simple and evocative, yet teeming with intriguing visual effects. full review

November 10, 2004
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Its heart is in the right place, and its bell should ring for many enchanted children in its audience. full review

November 10, 2004
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

An enchanting, beautiful and brilliantly imagined film that constitutes a technological breakthrough. full review

November 10, 2004
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Visually, taking its cues (mostly) from Van Allsburg's Hopperesque art, The Polar Express is eye-popping. Storywise, however, it can be eyelid-drooping. full review

November 10, 2004
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

I could probably have tolerated the incessant jitteriness of The Polar Express if the look of it didn't give me the creeps. full review

November 10, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

There's a deeper, shivery tone, instead of the mindless jolliness of the usual Christmas movie. full review

November 9, 2004
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

Destined to become a perennial holiday favorite with the young and young at heart. full review

View more The Polar Express reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • reveregirl2012
    December 23, 2008
    reveregirl2012
    who did josh hutcherson play?
  • kellypatpat
    July 26, 2008
    kellypatpat
    its ok but too boring
  • pavacri23
    July 19, 2008
    pavacri23
    i like the song and how the made the characters but nothing else
  • lillian825
    April 2, 2008
    lillian825
    Josh Grobin sings in The Polar Express.
  • c00kie95
    December 10, 2007
    c00kie95
    hey I love this movie I even read the book I want to know who sings that song that they give when the movie is over?please answer I have been dying to know I ALWAYS MISS IT AT THE ENDING it was my graguation song and I forgot and really want to know please answer me!!!!thank you
  • Bellie8891
    January 24, 2007
    Bellie8891
    haha! i watched this with my friend and... yea.. its hiralious. the ticket flies out the window, rolls down a hill in a snow ball, get eaten by a bird who spits it back out(i dont member exactly how it happened) but hen magically ends up back into the train. and we found out that the one kind was jelous when the other kid was by the girl, adn the other was jelous when the other one was by the girl.. it was pretty fun. we just watched carefully and made fun of stuff... yea...
  • minniepc
    October 12, 2006
    minniepc

    A fantastic movie, creative, very magical.
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  • What Actor Voiced Multiple Roles in the Polar Express???  Answer »
  • Which film includes a train and the North Pole?  Answer »
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