The Polar Express. This is the story of a young boy on Christmas Eve who boards a magical train that's headed to the North Pole. What unfolds is an an adventure which follows a doubting boy, who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole; during this ride, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery which shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.
When the Hero Boy first meets the Hobo on the roof of the train, he is playing the carol 'Good King Wenceslas.' The story of Saint Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia is that of a king braving the harsh winter to bring alms to the poor on the Feast of Stephan, December 26th. His page finds he can't go on through the harsh conditions and is directed to walk in the footprints that the king has made in the snow. The Hobo directs Hero Boy to follow behind him and ultimately helps him reach the engine before they make it to the tunnel, thus allowing him to find and help his friend. This is also a representation of the Holy Spirit idea of the Hobo, that he guides those who believe in Him to safety, even in perilous times. The Polar Express is another Christmas Carol movie.
Hero Boy is Scrooge and doesn't believe in Santa anymore causing the three ghosts of Christmas (the Hobo, Conductor, and Santa) to change him forever. The Hobo is the Ghost of Christmas Past, and plays the role of Christmas Future. He tries to intimidate Hero Boy into changing his ways using only himself instead of the future. The Conductor is the Ghost Christmas Present and is in charge of keeping order in the present to get Hero Boy to Santa. Finally, Santa is Christmas Future and changes Hero Boy forever, like Scrooge was.
They even pay homage to Dickens' classic by having a Scrooge puppet dance on screen briefly. (Controlled by Christmas Past). At the end when Hero Girl gets her ticket punched, the ticket reads Lead. Hero Girl thinks it reads 'lead,' like 'lead balloon,' but is told by the conductor that he believes it is pronounced 'lead'. As in 'leader,' 'leadership.' 'Lead the way.' 'Follow you anywhere, ma'am.'
This is the same reference to how Led Zeppelin got their name, when Keith Moon said the band would go over like a 'lead balloon.' Jimmy Page remembered this years later when naming the band, knowing they would get mistaken for the word 'lead,' he named it 'Led Zeppelin.'
The Polar ExpressThis is the story of a young hero boy on Christmas Eve who boards on a powerful magical train that’s headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus’s home. What unfolds is an an adventure which follows a doubting boy, who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole; during this ride, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery which shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.Character: Hero BoyRelease Date: 10 November 2004 (USA)Genres: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical.