The movie where Tom Hanks lends his voice to several characters is finding streaming success once again. Twenty years ago, the Here actor starred in The Polar Express. The film cemented itself as a holiday classic near instantly, making it an annual watch for families across the globe. Oddly enough though, the Robert Zemeckis Christmas tale only garnered a low 55% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score also only reaching 64%. The logline for the film is as follows.

“When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary 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.”

The cozy Christmas film, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, takes audiences on the journey to the North Pole with the would-be believer. With its 3D animation style, the audience is treated to the incredible sights of the North Pole complete with the Aurora Borealis (aka, The Northern Lights) as well as catchy songs like “Hot Chocolate.” Towards the end, there’s also an (albeit random) scene in which an elf resembling famed musician Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) puts on a concert for the other elves at the North Pole, and the elf is in fact voiced by Tyler himself.

‘The Polar Express’ Carries a Timeless Lesson
Image via Warner Bros. 

Part of the making of a classic is a certain air of timelessness. While Robert Zemeckis’ film may be a little too new to be minted a classic, it evokes a message best summed up in the quote: “The bell still rings for those who truly believe.” The film’s theme of belief is beautifully captured by the boy’s confusion until he literally comes face-to-face with Santa Claus. For a long while, he believes he’s on the train by mistake because he doesn’t believe in Christmas and Santa the same way that the other kids do. At the beginning of the film, in fact, he’s looking up theories and conspiracies that disprove Santa’s existence.

By the time the boy has reached the North Pole and has a kind of “duh” moment – like, of course, to not believe in all of this would be real insanity! When he’s deposited back home in the safety of his life, he wakes the next morning to find that a bell that fell off Santa’s sleigh – a bell that has a jingle only true believers can hear – is one of his gifts. The narrator, who is also voiced by Tom Hanks, is meant to represent an adult version of the character, and concludes by saying that the bell never stopped ringing for him.

You can celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Polar Express now by streaming it on Max. Stay tuned to Collider for the latest updates.

Your changes have been saved The Polar Express On Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.Release Date November 10, 2004 Cast Tom Hanks , Daryl Sabara , Nona Gaye , Jimmy Bennett , Eddie Deezen , Peter Scolari , Michael Jeter Runtime 100 Minutes Tagline Budget $165 Million Studio(s) Castle Rock Entertainment , Shangri-La Entertainment , Playtone , ImageMovers , Golden Mean Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Expand

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