The film is a modern adaptation of The Polar Express (1999), a children's book by Chris Van Allsburg about a boy who takes a magical train ride on Christmas Eve and meets the spirit of Christmas. It is the first of three films based on The Polar Express - the second being - and the sixth and final animated film based on the franchise. The film stars Michael Keaton, Tom Hanks, Billy Bob Thornton, Sandra Bullock, Malin Åkerman, John Goodman, Glenn Close, Fredric Lehne, Rene Auberjonois and John Cleese as The Mad Hatter. It was released in North America on November 8, 2004, by Walt Disney Pictures.
The screenplay of The Polar Express was written by Robert Zemeckis and John D. Hancock. It is a modernization of the 1999 book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg and tells a similar story but from a contemporary viewpoint, with the main setting being shown to be a replica of a small-town train station. A cast of real-life actors portray the story's characters from the past, while Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock play the story's protagonists. The Polar Express was produced by Zemeckis and Paul Marcovitz; the studio also financed the film. Walt Disney Pictures was the film's distributor and international distributor, Walt Disney Animation Studios handled the North American release. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $316.6 million worldwide.
Following its premiere at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, The Polar Express received generally positive reviews, and became the highest-grossing film of 2004. Although it was not financially successful, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three, including Best Original Song for "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". It was nominated for the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, and won a 2004 GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Film – Family". A sequel, titled The Magic Christmas Tree, was released in 2010.
Plot
In 1912 on Christmas Eve, five children at the fictitious, small town of Thidwick, Wisconsin, board a Polar Express train that appears to be a toy train as it travels. A mysterious boy, who claims to be a spirit in the form of the Wise Man, explains that the train, which he called the Polar Express, is going to the North Pole. He tells the children to look for the name of the station on the ceiling, with
Related links: