RESOURCES

Polar Express

The book Polar Express was made into the movie Polar Express.

Which one did you like better, the book or the movie?  There are 8 votes for the book, and 8 votes for the movie.

Book details for Polar Express

Polar Express was written by Chris Van Allsburg. The book was published in 1985 by Houghton Mifflin. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

Chris Van Allsburg also wrote Jumanji (1988) and Zathura: A Space Adventure (2002).

 

Read More About This Book

Movie details for Polar Express

The movie was released in 2004 and directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also directed Romancing the Stone (1984), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) and Contact (1997). Polar Express was produced by Warner Home Video. More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com.

Actors on this movie include Tom Hanks, Leslie Harter Zemeckis, Eddie Deezen, Nona Gaye, Peter Scolari, Brendan King, Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak, Andy Pellick, Josh Eli, Mark Mendonca, Rolandas Hendricks, Mark Goodman (VI), Jon Scott (VI), Gregory Gast, Sean Scott, Gordon Hart (II), Michael Jeter, Chris Coppola, Julene Renee and Charles Fleischer.

 

Read More About This Movie

Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innoc... Read More
Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"--to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters--was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. --Jeff Shannon

The World of The Polar Express


The book by Chris Van Allsburg

The Soundtrack

The Magic Journey (Polar Express the Movie) (book)

Stills from Polar Express (click for larger image)