Overview
See production notesOn Christmas Eve in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Polar Express, a magical train bound for the North Pole, stops outside the house of a boy who is beginning to doubt the existence of Santa Claus. He boards the train after being invited by the Conductor, befriending a spirited girl and a know-it-all boy in the passenger car. The train stops to pick up a lonely boy named Billy, whom the Hero Boy saves from missing its departure by pulling the emergency brake. Billy chooses to sit alone in the observation car. The children are served hot chocolate, and the girl leaves with the Conductor to deliver Billy a cup. The boy notices her unstamped ticket and attempts to return it to her. The ticket blows through the wilderness and eventually finds its way back onto the train. When the girl discovers that her ticket is missing, the Conductor escorts her out of the passenger car. Fearing that she will be disembarked, the boy travels across the roof to find her, aided by a ghostly Hobo. Upon reaching the engine, he finds the girl driving the train, as the engineer and fireman repair the headlamp. Following a near miss with a herd of caribou, a throttle malfunction causes the train to speed down a steep hill onto a frozen lake. The lost throttle pin nearly causes a disaster before the engineer regains control. The train arrives at the North Pole on schedule, where the Conductor announces that one of the children will be chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas from Santa. While trying to convince Billy to join in the festivities, the boy and girl accidentally unhitch the observation car from the train, causing it to roll along a track into Santa's workshop, where Billy finds a present addressed to him. They are dumped into Santa's sack, where they also find the know-it-all boy. After it is loaded onto Santa's sleigh, the elves escort them out. The Conductor, the children, and elves assemble with a large Christmas tree at the center of the city, moments before Santa arrives. During the celebration, a bell comes loose from the galloping reindeer's reins and lands at the boy's feet; he cannot hear it ring until he wills himself to believe. Santa lets him keep it as the first gift of Christmas. Santa departs, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. The children board the train to return home as the elves re-hitch the observation car, and the boy discovers that he lost the bell through a hole in his robe pocket. The train takes the children home, and the Conductor personally wishes the boy a Merry Christmas. On Christmas morning, the boy finds a present containing his lost bell with a note from Santa. He and his younger sister, Sarah, joyfully ring it, but their parents can't hear it due to their disbelief in Santa. The boy (as an adult) recalls that while Sarah and his friends fell deaf to the bell as they got older, he can still hear it, as do "all who truly believe".
Plot from The Polar Express (film)CC BY-SA 4.0
- Countries
- United States, Canada
- Original language
- English
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Quotes
See all quotesFather: He's gotta be asleep by now. Mother: He used to stay awake all night, waiting for Santa. Father: I think those days are just about over. Mother: [sadly] That would be sad if that were true. Father: Yeah, an end of the magic. Mother: [whispering] Merry Christmas, sweetheart. [gives him a kiss as she and her husband turn to leave] Father: See, he's out like a light. An express train wouldn't wake him up now. Hero Boy: [thinking] "End of the magic"?
The Polar Express, CC BY-SA 4.0
Conductor: Well? You coming? Hero Boy: [confused] Where? Conductor: Why, to the North Pole, of course! This is the Polar Express! Hero Boy: [unsure] The North Pole? Conductor: I see. Hold this, please. Thank you. Is this you? Hero Boy: Yeah? Conductor: Well, it says here: No photo with a department-store Santa this year, no letter to Santa. And you made your sister put out the milk and cookies. Mm-mm. Sounds to me like this is your crucial year. If I were you... I would think about climbing onboard.
The Polar Express, CC BY-SA 4.0
Know-It-All: Hey! Hey, you. Yeah, you! Do you know what kind of train this is? Hero Boy: Huh? Know-It-All: Train, do you know what kind of train this is? Well, do you? Hero Boy: Uh... Hero Girl: Of course! It's a magic train. We're going to the North Pole. Know-It-All: Ah, I know it's a magic train. Actually, it's a Baldwin 2-8-4 S-3 class Berkshire type steam locomotive, built in 1931 at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. It weighs 456,100 pounds and has a tractive force of 83,450 pounds. Its top speed is-- Hero Boy: [overlapping] Are we really going to the North Pole? Hero Girl: Mm-hmm. Know-It-All: Hey, look, everybody! Hero Girl: Isn't that wonderful? Know-It-All: Herpolsheimer's! Herpolsheimer's! [the Polar Express went slowly past the Herpolsheimer's store outside] Wow, look at all those presents! I want ALL of 'em! Hero Girl: It's so Christmassy, cozy and beautiful.
The Polar Express, CC BY-SA 4.0
Conductor: [angrily storms in] WHO IN THE BLAZES APPLIED THAT EMERGENCY BRAKE?! Know-It-All: [points to Hero Boy] He did! Conductor: [sternly] You! [approaches Hero Boy] In case you didn't know, that cord is for emergency purposes only! And in case you weren't aware, tonight [waves his hand out the window to signal the engineer to get moving] is Christmas Eve! [closes the window] And in case you hadn't noticed, this train is on a very tight schedule. Now, young man, Christmas may not be important to some people, but it is very important to the [points to a number of the kids, and then to his own face] rest of us! Hero Boy: [appalled] But-But-But I... Hero Girl: [points to the next car] He was just trying to stop the train so that kid could get on. Conductor: [calms down] Hmm. I see. Young man, is that what happened? [Hero Boy and Hero Girl nod] Well... let me remind you, we are on a very tight schedule. [checks watch; urgently yet sternly] A-And I've never been late before, and I'm cer
The Polar Express, CC BY-SA 4.0
Conductor: [to Hero Girl; incredulous] You mean, you have lost your ticket? Hero Boy: [shamefully] She didn't lose her ticket. I did. I was trying to return it to you, [lowly] but the wind blew it out of my hand. [The conductor sighs. Hero Boy offers Hero Girl his ticket,] You can have my ticket. Conductor: [exclaims and snatches the ticket] These tickets... are not... transferable. [gives Hero Boy back his ticket] Young lady, you will just have to come along with me. Know-It-All: You know what's going to happen now, don't you? He’s gonna throw her off the train. [the others gasp and murmur in horror at this very thought] Yeah, he's gonna probably throw her right off the rear platform. It’s standard procedure. [Hero Boy looks through the window and sees the conductor escorting Hero Girl to the very back of the train] That way, she won’t get sucked down under the wheels. They may slow the train down a little, but they're never gonna stop it. Hero Boy: "Stop it"? [realizes] That's it! I
The Polar Express, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hobo: KID! KID! Kid, get your head out of the clouds! Wake up, kid! There's no sleepwalking on the Polar Express! We gotta jump them knuckles! Come on, kid! Flip my shoulders! Grab my Lily! [Hero Boy hops on his back] That skirt you're chasing must've moved on ahead. We got to hightail it to the hog, pronto! Hero Boy: [confused] To the hog? Hobo: The engine. The engine, you tenderfoot. We got to make the engine before we hit Flat Top Tunnel. Hero Boy: [still confused] How come? Hobo: [exasperated] So many questions. There is but one inch of clearance between the roof of this rattler and the roof of Flat Top Tunnel. Savvy? It's just a run up to the hump, kid! This'll be interesting! [slides backward and uses his muck stick on the handle, but Hero Boy slips off him] Get back on, kid! Hurry! Grab my muck stick! [Hero Boy does so, and he swings him back on the roof and the sled down to the engine] There's only one trick to this, kid! When I say "jump"... [Flat-Top Tunnel's eyes and teeth e
The Polar Express, CC BY-SA 4.0
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