The Polar Express. This is the story of a young boy on Christmas Eve who boards a magical train that's headed to the North Pole. What unfolds is an an adventure which follows a doubting boy, who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole; during this ride, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery which shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. Billy the Lonely Boy is the tetartagonist of the The Polar Express film. He is an eight-year-old who thinks Christmas does not work out for him. He is mo-capped by Peter Scolari and Hayden McFarland and his speaking voice is provided by Jimmy Bennett who also voiced Roo from Winnie the Pooh, while his singing voice is provided by Matthew Hall.

Running time100 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$165 millionBox office$286 million(original release)$313.5 million(all releases)The Polar Express is a 2004 American based on the by, who also served as one of the on the film. Co-written, co-produced and directed by, the film features human characters animated using live-action animation. The film tells the story of a young boy who, on, sees a mysterious train bound for the stop outside his window and is invited aboard by its conductor. The boy joins several other children as they embark on a journey to visit Santa Claus preparing for Christmas. The film stars, who was also one of the film's executive producers, in multiple distinct roles, with, and in supporting roles. The film also includes a performance by at age 9, as the model for the female protagonist.produced the film in association with, and Golden Mean Productions for, as Castle Rock's first animated film.

The visual effects and performance capture were done at. The film was made with a production budget of $165 million, a record-breaking sum for an animated feature at the time.The Polar Express was released in both conventional and theaters on November 10, 2004. The film grossed $311.3 million worldwide, and was later listed in the 2006 as the first all-digital capture film. It also marks 's last acting role before his death, and the film was thus dedicated to his memory. Contents.Plot In, on the night of Christmas Eve, a boy becomes skeptical of the existence of Santa Claus. Struggling to fall asleep, he witnesses a steam locomotive arrive on the street, and goes outside to examine it.

The conductor introduces the train as the Polar Express, bound for the North Pole. Initially reluctant, the boy jumps aboard as the train departs.In a passenger car, he meets a spirited girl and a know-it-all boy. The train picks up a boy named Billy, who also declines to board, but changes his mind, and the boy applies the brakes to allow Billy to board, which is noticed by the conductor. As Billy sits alone in the train's, hot chocolate is served in the passenger car, and the girl stows away a cup for Billy. As she and the conductor cross to the dining car, the boy notices that she left her unpunched ticket, but loses hold of the ticket between the cars when he attempts to return it.

The ticket reenters the passenger car, but not before the conductor notices its absence and escorts the girl back to the rear car.When the know-it-all claims the conductor will throw the girl from the train, the boy recovers the ticket and dashes to the dining car in search of the conductor, climbing onto the roof. He meets a hobo camping on the roof, who offers him coffee and discusses the existence of Santa Claus and ghosts. The hobo skis with the boy along the tops of the cars toward the, where the hobo disappears right at Flat Top Tunnel.In the locomotive's cab, the boy discovers that the girl has been made to supervise driving the train while the engineers Steamer and Smokey replace the headlight.The boy applies the brakes and the train stops coming across a herd of blocking the tracks. The conductor pulls Smokey's beard, causing him to let out animal-like noises, and the caribou herd strolls away.The train continues on at extreme speed, and the throttle's (cotter pin) shears off, causing the train to accelerate uncontrollably down a 179-degree grade and onto a frozen lake. Pere Marquette locomotive 1225, the basis for the Polar Express.The locomotive featured in the film is an American Berkshire type steam locomotive, with a, modeled after the, which had spent many years on static display near in on the campus of Michigan State University, where recalled playing on the engine when attending football games as a child.In July 2002, approached the engine's owner, the, to study the engine. The engine in the film is modeled from the PM #1225's drawings and the sounds from recordings made of the 1225 operating under steam. The whistle, however, was taken from.

Soundtrack. Main article:The soundtrack of the film was released on November 2, 2004, through. Release IMAX 3D version In addition to standard theatrical 35mm format, a version for was also released, generated from the same 3D digital models used for the standard version. Home media The film was released on as separated and full-screen versions in single and two-disc special editions (with bonus features) and on on November 22, 2005, one year after the film came out.

It was released on with bonus features in 2006 and on with bonus features on October 30, 2007, both presented in the original widescreen.Reception Box office The film opened at #2 and earned $23,323,463 from approximately 7,000 screens at 3,650 theaters, for a per-theater average of $6,390 and a per-screen average of $3,332 in its opening weekend. It also brought in a total of $30,629,146 since its Wednesday launch.

The weekend total also included $2,100,000 from 59 theaters, for an IMAX theater average of $35,593, and had a $3,000,000 take since Wednesday. In its second weekend, the film dropped 33%, and grossing $15,668,101, averaging $4,293 from 3,650 venues and boosting the 12-day cumulative gross to $51,463,282. In its third weekend, which was Thanksgiving weekend, the film increased by 24%, earning $19,389,927, averaging $5,312 from 3,650 venues and raising the 19-day cumulative gross to $81,479,861. The film has made $187,224,490 domestically, and $126,275,943 overseas for a total worldwide gross of $313,500,433 (including all re-releases). It appeared at No.

3 in the '25 Highest-Grossing Christmas Movies of All Time at the U.S. Box Office' list by, placed after and.The film had its network television premiere on on December 1, 2006. The airing brought in 13.2 million viewers, winning its timeslot and ranking 20th in the Nielsen ratings that week, according to TVTango.com.Critical response On, the film has a score of 61 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'. On, the film has an of 56% based on 207 reviews, with an average score of 6.42/10.

The site's critical consensus reads, 'Though the movie is visually stunning overall, the animation for the human characters isn't lifelike enough, and the story is padded.' Reported in 2011 that the film 'is now seen by many as a classic'. Reported that audiences gave the film a rare 'A+' grade.gave the film his highest rating of four stars, saying: 'There's a deeper, shivery tone, instead of the mindless jolliness of the usual Christmas movie', and 'it has a haunting, magical quality'.

Acknowledging comments by other reviewers, Ebert said, 'It's a little creepy. Not creepy in an unpleasant way, but in that sneaky, teasing way that lets you know eerie things could happen.' And also gave highly positive reviews to the film, saying that it 'remains true to the book, right down to the bittersweet final image' and 'an enchanting, beautiful and brilliantly imagined film that constitutes a technological breakthrough.' Gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, stating that it is 'a delightful tale guaranteed to enthrall viewers of all ages', and ranked it as the 10th best film of 2004, tying with. Ian Nathan of gave the film three out of five stars, and said: 'For all the fairy-lit wonder, some will rail at the idea of 's director dabbling with such a schmaltzy tale.

Cynics will sneeze in shock; children will cuddle up and dream along.' Of also gave the film three out of five stars, saying: 'After a promising and distinctive start, a railway adventure to meet Santa runs off the rails.' The character design and animation were criticized for dipping into the. Of gave the film one out of four stars, and called it 'a failed and lifeless experiment in which everything goes wrong'. Stephanie Zacharek of gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5 and said: 'I could probably have tolerated the incessant jitteriness of The Polar Express if the look of it didn't give me the creeps.'

Of the stated: 'If I were a child, I'd have nightmares. Come to think of it, I did anyway.' From called it 'at best disconcerting, and at worst, a wee bit horrifying'.

Accolades. This section needs expansion. You can help. ( January 2020)In 2008, the nominated The Polar Express for its. The film was nominated at the the categories of ( and ), (Randy Thom, and ) and for ' (music and lyrics by and ). The film was nominated at the in the category of 'Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture.' AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef(s)andNominatedRandy Thom, andNominatedand for ' byNominatedGlen Ballard and Alan Silvestri for 'Believe' by Josh GrobanNominatedGlen Ballard and Alan Silvestri for 'Believe' by Josh GrobanWon, Renato Dos Anjos, Roger Vizard for SteamerNominatedTrain trips.

Polar Express train on the in 2019.The film has also spawned multiple real-world holiday train-travel experiences based loosely on the film's train journey all over America and the United Kingdom under licence from Rail Events Inc.These include the Polar Express train ride held at the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel, and the Polar Express Train Ride of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, The Polar Express Train Ride at Aspen Crossing.The UK's first Polar Express train rides were hosted on the and the which were both owned by the company. These services were all diesel hauled, however in 2016, became the first UK line to run the Polar Express with steam which ended in 2017. The Polar Express Experience In November 2007, debuted the Polar Express Experience, a ride based on the film. Resonance music festival. The attraction was a temporary replacement for the 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 was available until January 1, 2008, and was open annually during the Christmas season. 2015 was the final year of operation for the Polar Express Experience and Wild Arctic has since operated on a year-round schedule.The, distributed by, has been shown at other amusement parks around the world including, (during the annual Smoky Mountain Christmas event), (2009—2010), and (during the in 2010 and 2011).Video game. From the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2016.

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Cotta Vaz, Mark; Starky, Steve (2004). The Art of the Polar Express (1st ed.).

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