In the 1950's, a young boy from Grand Rapids, Michigan is hoping for a true belief in the Christmas spirit, but it seems every encyclopedia and source of information denies the existence of Santa at the North Pole. On Christmas Eve night a large train called the Polar Express pulls up outside the boy's house and the conductor tells him to board for a trip to the North Pole. The boy soon finds himself on the train along with an African-American girl, a nerdy and smart-alecky boy, and a shy boy. Upon arriving at the North Pole, all the children prepare to witness a true miracle, Santa delivering the first gift of Christmas before taking off, and letting children know that Christmas spirit only exists to those who believe.
Tom Hanks leads in six different roles, opposite the late Michael Jeter as Smokey and Steamer. Robert Zemeckis directs from the screenplay by Zemeckis & William Broyles, Jr.; Based on the 1985 illustrated Houghton Mifflin book by Chris Van Allsburg. Produced by Steve Starkey, Zemeckis, Gary Goetzman and William Teitler; Executive Producers: Hanks, Jack Rapke and Van Allsburg. featuring six Original Songs written and produced by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri; featuring Steven Tyler in "Rockin' On Top of the World" and Josh Groban with the Oscar®-nominated "Believe"; Score Composed and Conducted by Silvestri. A Playtone/ImageMovers/Golden Mean production for Castle Rock Entertainment, with Shangri-La Entertainment. The first CGI film all motion-captured for a Guinness World Record - Imagery and Animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. Dedicated to the memory of Michael Jeter.