The Polar Express

Year:

2004

Duration:

100 min

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

IMDB rate:

6.6

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 16 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 2004-11-10

Filming Locations: Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Earnings

Budget: $165,000,000

Opening Weekend: $40,428 (USA) (23 November 2008)

Gross: $451,442 (USA) (16 December 2012)

Cast

Actor

Character

André Sogliuzzo

The Polar Express

Jimmy Bennett

The Polar Express

Tom Hanks

Hero Boy

Leslie Zemeckis

Sister Sarah

Eddie Deezen

Know-It-All

Nona Gaye

Hero Girl

Peter Scolari

Billy - Lonely Boy

Brendan King

Pastry Chef

Andy Pellick

Pastry Chef

Josh Eli

Waiter

Mark Mendonca

Waiter

Rolandas Hendricks

Waiter

Mark Goodman

Waiter

Jon Scott

Waiter

Gregory Gast

Waiter

Sean Scott

Waiter

Gordon Hart

Waiter

Michael Jeter

Smokey

Chris Coppola

Toothless Boy

Julene Renee

Red Head Girl

Charles Fleischer

Elf General

Steven Tyler

Elf Lieutenant / Elf Singer

Phil Fondacaro

Elf

Debbie Lee Carrington

Elf

Mark Povinelli

Elf

Ed Gale

Elf

Dante Pastula

Little Boy

Daryl Sabara

Hero Boy

Isabella Peregrina

Sister Sarah

Eric Newton

Acrobatic Elf

Aidan O'Shea

Acrobatic Elf

Aaron Hendry

Acrobatic Elf

Kevin C. Carr

Acrobatic Elf

Bee Jay Joyer

Acrobatic Elf

Jena Carpenter

Acrobatic Elf

Karine Mauffrey

Acrobatic Elf

Elisabeth P. Carpenter

Acrobatic Elf (as Beth Carpenter)

Bill Forchion

Acrobatic Elf

Devin Henderson

Acrobatic Elf

Sagiv Ben-Binyamin

Acrobatic Elf

Josh Hutcherson

Hero Boy

Ashly Holloway

Sister Sarah

Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak

Know-It-All

Chantel Valdivieso

Hero Girl

Hayden McFarland

Lonely Boy

Connor Matheus

Toothless Boy

Evan Sabara

Young Boy

Dylan Cash

Boy

Patrick Stogner

Cody Klop

Additional voices (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

The appearance of the Ebenezer Scrooge marionette that frightens Hero Boy is the basis for the Ebenezer Scrooge that appears in Robert Zemeckis's next Christmas-themed film, A Christmas Carol (2009).

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The train set seen at the end is a recreation of the new Lionel Polar Express train set combined with the older Lionel Berkshire and the older tubular track.

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Michael Jeter's last movie.

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Goofs

As the train is being pulled up the mountain with the track that curls around it tightly, just before the train enters the bridge that leads to the North Pole and as the Conductor is relating the story of the time he nearly fell off the train, the cars curve and bend to match the track as though they are made of rubber. This was done because the curve is much too tight for the cars to manage without scraping into the mountain.

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Whenever the engineer opens the throttle on the locomotive, he pushes it away from him, the further away he pushes it the faster the train will go. In reality, the engineer must pull the throttle lever towards him to accelerate while pushing it away from him closes the throttle valve.

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When the elves are first seen, there is an elf that is moving (translating) left to right in front of the train with all the others, but the elf's body is rigid and lifeless, like a toy being slid across the floor. Possibly the computer animation for moving the elf from left to right was correct, but the algorithm for animating the body motion (walking, swinging arms, etc.) was stopped.

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Quotes

Hobo: What exactly is... is your persuasion on the Big Man, since you brought him up?

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The Conductor: Well, ya comin'?

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Santa Claus: [holding up the silver sleigh bell] The first gift of Chrstmas!

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Faq

Q

Why are there two actors for each of the major children's parts?

A

The film was done in all Digital Capture so they had one actor/actress who acted out their character for the Digital Capture and then one actor/actress who voiced the character.

Q

What is the name of the instrument the Hobo is playing on the roof of the train?

A

The name of the instrument is called a Hurdy Gurdy.

Q

What are the various formats on DVD?

A

The Polar Express was released on November 22nd, 2005 nearly a year after its theatrical release. It was available on a single-disc DVD (widescreen and full screen) , & 2-disc special edition DVD. On October 28th, 2008, it was re-released in 3-D on both standard & Blu-ray Disc. Both 3-D versions include 2 pairs (4 each) of glasses. There is also a regular 2-D version of the movie on Blu-ray Disc.

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