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The Polar Express

Play trailer 2:22 Poster for The Polar Express G Released Nov 10, 2004 1h 40m Kids & Family Holiday Fantasy Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
56% Tomatometer 210 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
When a doubting young boy takes a train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.
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The Polar Express

The Polar Express

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Critics Consensus

Though the movie is visually stunning overall, the animation for the human characters isn't lifelike enough, and the story is padded.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian The schmaltz content gets higher and higher, as if administered through a drip feed, until by the end we are drowning in sucrose. Rated: 3/5 Dec 4, 2014 Full Review David Germain Associated Press People in Hollywood should never work with children or animals, W.C. Fields once said. Maybe that should be expanded to hyper-realistic computer-generated children and reindeer, too. Dec 9, 2013 Full Review Keith Phipps AV Club As a spectacle, The Polar Express looks remarkable. As a film, however, it's the equivalent of an elaborately wrapped Christmas present containing a nice new pair of socks. Dec 9, 2013 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A “Harry Potter meets Scrooge” hodgepodge enacted on a plateau of plasticity. Rated: 2/4 Feb 15, 2023 Full Review Carson Timar ButteredPopcorn While on paper everything about The Polar Express seems to point towards the feature being a disaster, the final product stays on the rails to become anything but. Rated: A- Aug 28, 2022 Full Review Ruhaan Shah Film Companion Director Robert Zemeckis adds tenderness to this roller-coaster ride of a train, the thrill and adrenaline are constantly offset with unrestrained emotional punches. May 26, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Karen Best movie to bring in the Christmas season Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/17/24 Full Review Trish LOVED WATCHING THIS MOVIE ON THE BIG SCREEN! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/17/24 Full Review Megan my favorite Christmas movie. brings back childhood memories Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/14/24 Full Review Andrew Absolutely love this movie! 11/10 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/22/23 Full Review Cesar A must see movie !! MAGICAL!!!😊 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/19/23 Full Review Jill Beautiful movie and great on big screen Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Polar Express

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis When a doubting young boy takes a train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.
Director
Robert Zemeckis
Producer
Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Jack Rapke
Screenwriter
Robert Zemeckis, William Broyles Jr.
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures, Castle Rock
Production Co
Universal CGI, Playtone Productions, ImageMovers, Warner Brothers, Castle Rock Entertainment, Golden Mean
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Holiday, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 10, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 12, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$125.9M
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Surround, DTS, Dolby SRD, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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