Summary

• The Polar Express was the first feature film made entirely with motion-capture animation, which was a groundbreaking technology in 2004.
• The movie expands on the key elements of the original book, adding depth and complexity to the story.
• Tom Hanks plays multiple characters in The Polar Express and provided his own motion capture, bringing unique qualities to each role.

As it continues to become a Christmas favorite enjoyed year after year, The Polar Express Easter eggs enrich the experience of revisiting it for the holidays. Based on the 1985 children's book of the same name, 2004's The Polar Express is the story of a young boy who sets out on a Christmas Eve adventure to regain his belief in Santa while aboard a train to the North Pole. The movie is often talked about for its animation style and boundary-pushing technology, which earned it some heavy criticism upon release, there are also many hidden details behind the movie that make it more interesting.

Director Robert Zemeckis reteamed with Tom Hanks following their success with Forrest Gump and Cast Away to deliver an ambitious yet charming Christmas movie. The result received a mixed reaction upon release, but even though the technology of the movie has only grown more outdated, the movie itself has continued to earn a reputation as a magical treat to enjoy for all ages during the festive season. While it's an endearing and magical tale in its own right, the many The Polar Express Easter eggs show both that the film's history is incredibly interesting in its own right and that it's much deeper than it first appears.

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15 The Polar Express Is The First Motion-Capture Movie

The Movie's Look Was One Of Its Most Divisive Elements

Before audiences got the likes of Monster House, Beowulf, or even Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Polar Express was the first feature film made entirely with motion-capture animation. While the feat might not seem like much with today's modern filmmaking and animation techniques, it was a pretty impressive feat in 2004. Robert Zemeckis's creative, yet uncanny, style of movie-making was novel for the time but it just couldn't stick around long enough to properly evolve. Many critics remarked that the lifeless expressions of the characters were one of the major flaws of the movie while others praised the things that could be done with the new style.

14 The Boy In The Polar Express Has No Name

The Lack Of A Name Mirrors The Book

The protagonist at the center of The Polar Express is a young boy who is invited along on a train ride to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. He is the audience surrogate as he is introduced to the magical world of Christmas and the audience also gets to see him gradually become a hero throughout the movie as he looks out for the other kids on the train and tries to do the right thing. However, despite his prominence in the story, the main character is never given a name. Instead, the end credits in The Polar Express simply list him as "Hero Boy."

13 Elements From the Book are Expanded On In The Polar Express

The Movie Covers Most Elements Of The Original Story

There is always an interesting exploration to be had with any movie based on or inspired by a book and how close it sticks to the source material. In the case of the Children's book written by Chris Van Allsburg, the key events of The Polar Express book do happen in the movie, though with some serious expansion on the part of the writers and director.

The train's sudden appearance, the wolves, the hot chocolate, and the massive gathering of elves at the top of the world all occur in the book. However, each of these moments and many more are expanded upon in the same way the feature-length adaptations of How the Grinch Stole Christmas need to add a lot to the relatively short children's story.

12 The Train In The Polar Express Is Powered by a Flux Capacitor

Robert Zemeckis Pays Homage To Back To The Future

While Robert Zemeckis' collaborations with Tom Hanks have certainly been memorable, many would point to Back to the Future as his best movie. Interestingly, Zemeckis included a wonderful nod to his time travel adventure in The Polar Express. During the descent down Glacier Gulch, just before the engineer pulls the bobby pin from his mass of red hair, a small Flux Capacitor can briefly be seen amongst the gauges and knobs that make up the train's inner workings.

While it may simply be included as a fun gag, it also explains how the Polar Express can travel around the world and back again throughout a single night. It doesn't just run on tracks, but on time as well.

11 The Polar Express Version Of Santa Is Somewhat Spiritual

The Theme Of Belief Can Be Interpreted In Other Ways

For someone who doesn't appear until the last act of the film, Santa has a strange and almost supernatural presence spread throughout The Polar Express. The belief in Santa is presented as a test of faith and plays as a constant theme throughout, and Santa Claus himself is even given a big and almost angelic reveal when he finally does step out on screen. Although Santa is a character targeted mainly at children, the message of having faith is a very mature storytelling choice. Whether that's seeing Santa as a real entity or the meaning of Christmas itself, a certain amount of belief is very much required to understand on a deeper level.

10 Bells Both Start And End The Polar Express Story

The Bells Tie Into The Theme Of Belief

A single silver sleigh bell is a powerful Christmas image and one that The Polar Express makes use of to tie the end of the story to its start. The use of bells is a prominent feature both in the first and final acts, acting as both the catalyst to the story that unfolds and residual proof of Santa's existence. The film opens with the boy waiting to hear Santa's sleigh bells on Christmas Eve, but not hearing a sound until the Polar Express appears right in his front lawn. Later in The Polar Express, he's unable to hear them until he comes to grips and finds his belief, putting his faith to the test and showing the power of belief.

9 Tom Hanks Voices Multiple Characters In The Polar Express

Hanks Plays Seven Characters

Tom Hanks is an iconic actor who has created some of the most beloved movie characters of all time as well as played daunting real-life figures like Mr. Rogers and Walt Disney. However, in this festive feature, Tom Hanks continues to stretch his versatility by playing seven different characters. Hanks not only plays the conductor of the Polar Express but the narrator, the boy's father, the hobo, the Scrooge puppet, and even Santa Claus himself. The motion-capture technology captures Hanks' famous face in many of those roles, but he is able to infuse each of them with unique elements that make them their own characters.

8 Tom Hanks Provided His Own Motion Capture For The Polar Express

Hanks' Movements And Facial Expressions Brought The Characters To Life

Not only did Tom Hanks voice several characters in The Polar Express, but he provided the motion capture for a certain few as well, including the facial structure of the boy. Given that this is the first full-length motion-capture movie, it is interesting to see such an iconic actor like Hanks as one of the first actors to take on the challenge. Many actors have discussed the benefits and challenges of the technology with Hugh Grant recently expressing his dislike for the process on Wonka. However, Hanks fully commits to the job and is a big part of what makes The Polar Express work.

7 The Girl In The Polar Express Hides The Hot Chocolate Twice

A Possible Mistake Slipped Into The Movie

Throughout cinema history, there have been many "mistakes" that create debate over whether they were intentional or not, and The Polar Express has one of these moments of its own. During the jazzy "Hot Chocolate" musical number, the girl takes a cup of hot chocolate for Billy in the back car. First, she is seen sneaking a mug and hiding it under the table, but when she's given another, she hides it under the chair. It is unclear if this was an accident or if this was the same cup of cocoa just moved to a different spot, but it presents a confusing moment in the movie.

6 The Lost Ticket In The Polar Express Makes A Loop

The Sequence Has Been Called A Needless Inclusion And A Visually Stunning Experience

One of the most inventive and extended sequences in the movie is when the girl loses her ticket which goes floating out into the wintery landscape. The ticket is then trampled by wolves, snatched by an eagle, regurgitated by its chick, only to make its way back to the train and land right next to the little girl. Some critics point to the scene of not extending the plot and simply extending the bare story of the source material. However, it is also a great visual display of the animation style as well as a way of showing the true magic of these tickets.

5 The Hobo is A Ghost Killed By Flat-Top Tunnel

A Deleted Scene Confirms The Character's Origins

The Hobo is perhaps the most interesting character aboard the Polar Express, the self-proclaimed king of the North Pole. He's fun, but also mysterious and cryptic in his ways. Given the way that the character can appear and disappear while also seeming unbothered by riding on top of the speeding train, many theories suggest he is a spirit of some kind. A deleted scene from The Polar Express confirms that the Hobo is in fact a ghost who was killed while riding on the top of the train. It introduces a darker and more frightening element to the story that might be better removed from the family-friendly movie.

4 Steven Tyler Cameos In The Polar Express Twice

The Aerosmith Frontman Also Contributes To The Soundtrack

While Tom Hanks makes up the large majority of the cast, there are also some notable additions to the ensemble, including some surprises. One of the most unexpected actors in The Polar Express is Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. Tyler sings the jamming North Pole finale, "Rockin' on Top of the World" but he also appears in the film as two characters as well. The most obvious of the two cameos is Tyler as the leader of the elves' rock band which fits into his rockstar persona. However, Tyler also appears as one of the head elves in the Naughty and Nice department seen as the lieutenant elf assisting in surveillance.

3 Scrooge Might Have Hinted at a Shared Universe

The Polar Express May Exist In The Same World As Zemeckis' Version Of A Christmas Carol

The most chilling scene in The Polar Express has to be the boy's encounter with Scrooge in the toy car. At first glance, it might be a representation of the boy's doubts and fears, but he might play a bigger part than just a brief cameo. Using the same motion-capture animation, Robert Zemeckis made A Christmas Carol for Disney. While Hanks provides the voice of the Scrooge puppet, it does bear a resemblance to Jim Carrey's version in the Zemeckis movie. With The Polar Express being another movie about learning a Christmas message and even having its own ghost, both may exist in the same universe.

2 Santa Appears in the Bell

The Spiritual Aspect Of Santa Is Further Hinted At

The Polar Express comes to a heartwarming conclusion with the Hero Boy embracing his belief in the holiday season and Santa Claus himself. This is signified by the bell under the tree on Christmas Day. However, along with that symbol, the movie provides a final magical moment as just before the screen cuts to the credits, a faint reflection of Santa Claus can be seen in the bell. This not only serves as a whimsical note to end on but also the confirmation that Santa does indeed exist, at least to those who just believe.

1 Reality Is Kept Ambiguous Throughout The Polar Express

Was It All A Dream?

Many Christmas adventures are written off as just a dream before the credits roll, but The Polar Express blurs the lines between dream and reality so much that at times it is easy to get lost in the flight of fantasy ourselves. Most of the trip to the North Pole could be considered a dream, such as a train being on a gigantic rollercoaster track, but it could also be billed as Christmas magic. The sleigh bell is definitely a sign that the events of The Polar Express did happen, but it's also brilliantly left up to whether the audience believes or not.