Polar Express Worksheets (2024)

FAQs

What is The Polar Express? ›

The Polar Express Experience

The plot for the ride revolves around a trip to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Guests feel the motion of the locomotive as well as the swinging of the train on ice and feeling of ice crumbling beneath them.

Watch The Polar Express | Netflix.

The Polar Express is a 1985 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children.

The movie is trying to convey to the audience that it's not about what you see and how things work, it's about choosing to believe in the magic of the world. The power that choice to believe has is where the magic of childlike wonder comes from and is something people seem to forget when they grow into adulthood.

The animation in The Polar Express has been criticized as creepy, with the characters feeling unsettling and off-putting to many viewers. The movie evokes a nostalgic feeling of Christmas, with its focus on the importance of belief and the magic of the holiday season.

First of all, make sure to ARRIVE EARLY.

I recommend arriving at least an hour or more earlier than your train departure. This will give you a chance to get your tickets from the ticket booth, take photos around the train and museum grounds, and also check out the additional activities that are available to enjoy.

You are on board the train for approximately 1 hour. Once your experience is over you can spend as much time in our gift shop as you wish but we tend to find guests spend around 15min – 30min here before you head back on the shuttle to the car park. Therefore we find guests are with us around 1:30-2 hours.

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Parents need to know that, like the book that inspired it, the The Polar Express has wonderful messages about the importance of believing, the value of friendship, respect for leadership and courage, and the beauty of being kind to others.

The hobo's identity is never revealed in the movie, leaving it open to interpretation as to who he is and what his true purpose is. Some fans have speculated that he is a representation of Santa Claus, while others think he may be a guardian angel sent to look after the children on their journey.

Why does Tom Hanks play everyone in Polar Express? ›

Behind the scenes

Hanks would eventually understand what the director desired and agreed to have the film be motion-captured. Robert Zemeckis initially wanted Hanks to play every character, but this proved to be too exhausting for Hanks, so his roles were cut down to five.

The Polar Express is controversial and “creepy” to some viewers thanks to its animation style, which created a phenomenon known as “Uncanny Valley.” While the filmmakers clearly opted for a more realistic art style, many of The Polar Express' characters look human but not human enough.

Even then, the bell only working for certain people strays back into the fantastic, firmly giving weight to the fact that the train ride actually took place. However, the story wasn't a dream, as the main character tells Billy, and the bell at the end proves it.

The Polar Express was the first feature-length film to be entirely created using motion capture technology. This revolutionary technique allowed the animators to create a highly realistic 3D world without having to draw each frame. The result was a unique and stunning visual style, unlike anything seen before.

Santa and his helpers board the train to greet passengers and each guest is given the first gift of Christmas – a silver sleigh bell. During the trip, characters on each car lead passengers in caroling and onboard entertainment just like in the film!