The Polar Express [Includes Digital Copy] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Overview

Directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on children's author Chris Van Allsburg's modern holiday classic of the same name, The Polar Express revolves around Billy (Hayden McFarland), who longs to believe in Santa Claus but finds it quite difficult to do so, what with his family's dogged insistence that all of it, from the North Pole, to the elves, to the man himself, is all just a myth. This all changes, however, on Christmas Eve, when a mysterious train visits Billy in the middle of the night, promising to take him and a group of other lucky children to the North Pole for a visit with Santa. The train's conductor (Tom Hanks) along with the other passengers help turn Billy's crisis in faith into a journey of self-discovery. A long-time fan of Van Allsburg's book, Hanks also helped produce the film.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/01/2022
UPC:	0883929788415
Original Release:	2004
Source:	Warner Home Video
Language:	English
Format:	Blu-ray

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Hanks	Hero Boy/Father/Conductor/Hobo/Scrooge/Santa,Voices
Nona Gaye	Hero Girl,Actor,l'héroïne
Peter Scolari	Lonely Boy,Voices
Leslie Zemeckis	Sister Sarah/Mother,Actor,Voices
Michael Jeter	Smokey/Steamer,Voices
Eddie Deezen	Know-It-All,Voices
Daryl Sabara	Hero Boy,Young Boy
Brendan King	Pastry Chef,Voices
Andy Pellick	Pastry Chef,Voices
Josh Eli	Waiter,Voices
Mark Mendonca	Waiter,Voices
Rolandas Hendricks	Waiter,Voices
Mark Goodman	Waiter,Voices
Jon Scott	Actor,Waiter,Voices,Voices
Arne Elsholtz	Voices
Roland Hemmo	Voices
Tobias Meister	Voices
Hannes Maurer	Voices
Josh Hutcherson	le garçon
André Sogliuzzo	Steamer
Jimmy Bennett	Lonely Boy
Steven Tyler Sahlein	Actor
Isabella Peregrina	Sister Sarah
Gregory Gast	Voices
Gordon Hart	Voices
Chris Coppola	Voices
Julene Renee	Voices
Charles Fleischer	Voices
Debbie Lee Carrington	Voices,Elf
Phil Fondacaro	Voices,Elf
Mark Povinelli	Voices,Elf
Ed Gale	Voices,Elf
Eric Newton	Voices
Dante Pastula	Voices,Little Boy
Julian Christian	Voices
Tim Schwarzmaier	Voices
Niels Olsen	Voices
Sophie Larsen	Voices
Allan Hyde	Voices
Nis Bank-Mikkelsen	Voices
Andreas Jessen	Voices
Tom Jensen	Voices
Niels Ellegaard	Voices
Sherry Lynn	Wolves
Kurt Ravn	Voices
Mickie McGowan	Wolves
Phil Proctor	Wolves
Patrick Pinney	Wolves
Patrick Stogner	Actor
Steven Tyler	Elf Singer
Anders Hatlo	Actor
Eddie Dezen	Actor
Christoffer Staib	Actor
Erik Skøld	Actor
Stinius Maurstad	Actor,Actor
Majken Kolle Riskild	Actor
Helge Winther-Larsen	Actor
Hayden McFarland	Lonely Boy
Connor Matheus	Toothless
Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak	Know-it-All
Chantel Valdivieso	Hero Girl
Gordon Hart	Waiter
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
Beth Carpenter	Acrobatic Elf
Bill Forchion	Acrobatic Elf
Devin Henderson	Acrobatic Elf
Sagiv Ben-Binyamin	Acrobatic Elf
Ashly Holloway	Sister Sarah
Alan Silvestri	Composer
Glen Ballard	Composer

Technical Credits

Robert Zemeckis

William Broyles Jr.

Chris Van Allsburg

Robert Zemeckis	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
William Broyles Jr.	Screenwriter
Randy Thom	Sound/Sound Designer,Sound Mixer
Tom Johnson	Sound Mixer
Dennis Sands	Sound Mixer
William B. Kaplan	Sound Mixer
Gary Goetzman	Producer
Steve Starkey	Producer
William Teitler	Producer
Jack Rapke	Executive Producer,Producer
Tom Hanks	Executive Producer
Chris Van Allsburg	Executive Producer,Screenwriter,Producer
Steven J. Boyd	Producer
Oscar G. Castillo	Special Effects
Jena Carpenter	Stunts
Michelle Murdocca	Producer
Chris Juen	Producer
Mark P. Coo	Key Grip
Matthew Rugetti	Stunts
Joel Mitchell	Special Effects
Scott Boland	Casting
Jeff Evans	Stunts
Shane Habberstad	Stunts
Ralph Peterson	Special Effects
Dane Farwell	Stunts
Larry Aube	Key Grip
Victoria Burrows	Casting
Mark Chadwick	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

The Polar Express was slow to pull out of the station in its theatrical run, but it gathered steam and continued to draw audiences throughout the 2004 holiday season, defying the typical pattern. It would be inaccurate to call it a “little engine that could,” though, as director Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of the Chris Van Allsburg book is pretty much a roaring locomotive thrill ride. Zemeckis, who pushed the visual effects envelope with such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Forrest Gump, employs a process called "performance capture," digitally translating the movements of human actors into hyper-realistic animation. What the film lacks in personality, it more than makes up for with breathtakingly beautiful snowscapes. However, it threatens to derail in the time-padding action sequences that would be more at home in a video game, as the Express careers up and down mountains and skids across a frozen lake en route to its rendezvous with St. Nick. Keeping the film on track is Tom Hanks, who provides the human host for several characters, including the young boy (voiced by Daryl Sabara), the conductor, and a mysterious hobo who inexplicably camps on top of the train. Further powering The Polar Express are a heart-melting, Oscar-nominated ballad ("Believe"), a rollicking showstopper complete with dancing waiters ("Hot Chocolate"), and the instantly recognizable Jerry Lewis tones of prolific voice-over artist Eddie Deezen as Know-It-All, who has a lot to learn when it comes to Santa Claus.