The Hidden Messages In The Polar Express

Since its release in 2004, The Polar Express has become one of the most beloved Christmas movies. Every December, it graces the screens of televisions all over the world. It’s even inspired a real-life Polar Express experience that stops by various towns throughout the United States every Christmas. Though it might be a Christmas classic, The Polar Express has always felt more complex than most light-hearted Christmas movies.

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

Though it might seem like an adventurous film about a mysterious, late-night train ride, there is more than meets the eye. From the nameless characters to the mysterious ghost on the roof, there are many messages hidden in this children’s film that distinguish it from all the holiday films that came before it. The Polar Express explores more than Christmas spirit but also taps into the power of belief. It takes us on a dream-like experience that becomes possible only when you truly believe.

What is The Polar Express About?

The Polar Express is a film that follows a young, cynical boy who finds himself struggling to believe in Santa Claus. On Christmas Eve, a large train comes charging through his small town, stopping in front of his house. Strangely, no one else in his household is awoken by the loud train. The conductor tells him the train is called The Polar Express, and it is on its way to the North Pole where everyone aboard will get to see Santa Claus. Initially, the boy is doubtful and doesn’t get on the train, yet he jumps on once it starts pulling away. Throughout the train ride, he is determined to find out if there really is a Santa Claus.

The Nameless Characters

Throughout the film, we only learn the names of two characters, Sarah, the main character’s younger sister, and Billy, one of the boys on the train. Even in the film’s credits, they are only listed as “Hero Boy” or “Hero Girl.” It is never made clear why the majority of the characters are nameless. Did the screenwriter feel names were unimportant and would distract from the film’s message, or is there a reason behind it?

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

The nameless characters definitely add to some of the eeriness of the Christmas classic. As the train is incredibly mysterious and dream-like, so are the characters. It makes it clear that this is a one night only train ride, a once in a lifetime experience, and the characters are never going to meet again. They will never have proof that any of them ever existed, which makes the goodbyes at the end so emotional. If the main characters are nameless, why name Hero Boy’s younger sister or Billy? There’s no clear answer why but it sure adds to the enigma of The Polar Express.

Why Does Tom Hanks Play So Many Characters?

A film produced by Warner Brothers with a budget of 150 million US dollars surely could afford a full cast. However, instead of hiring a full cast, Tom Hanks did the voices for five of the film’s characters. Tom Hanks voices The Conductor, Hero Boy, Hero Boy’s Father, Santa Claus, and the mysterious Hobo. Tom Hanks is a talented actor who can play a vast range of film roles, and though that may be reason enough for him to voice five of the film’s characters, there seems to be another reason.

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

There’s a connection between all of the characters in the film, and Hero Boy can potentially grow up to be like any of them. If he continues to be doubtful, he’ll end up like the cynical Hobo character or his father, who can’t hear the sound of the sleigh bell at the end of the film. If he chooses to believe, he’s more inclined to end up like the more positive train conductor or Santa Claus himself. Also, for someone who believes the whole train ride was a dream, the other characters could be people the boy made up in his mind. They all represent his contradicting thoughts about whether or not he should believe.

The Mysterious “Hobo”

One of the strangest yet most intriguing characters in the film is Hobo, who rides on top of the Polar Express and only ever interacts with the main character. The only other possible mention of him comes from a story the conductor tells to Hero Boy and Hero Girl. The conductor tells of a time when he almost fell off the train but never did. The boy asks if “someone” pulled him back up, hinting that he believes the conductor may have seen Hobo too; the conductor responds, “or something.”

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

The existence of him seems very blurred. He often disappears into the wind like a ghost leaving the audience questioning who he is, if he’s real, and what his purpose is in the film. Some online forums claim there is a deleted scene from the film where the train engineers say he is a ghost who was killed after hitting his head on Flat Top Tunnel. Unfortunately, this scene can not be found anywhere online.

“Seeing his believing, am I right?”

-Hobo, The Polar Express

The boy first meets this mysterious man when he’s trying to return Hero Girl’s ticket to her. The man is sitting on top of the train by a bonfire playing the hurdy-gurdy. He has a cynical personality, which seems to reflect all of Hero Boy’s doubts. He mocks, laughs at, and persuades Hero Boy to be a non-believer like himself. Hobo refers to himself as the King of The Polar Express and The King of The North Pole. He asks the boy his “persuasion” on Santa Claus. Hero Boy tells him he wants to believe, then, before he can finish his sentence, Hobo interrupts. He suggests Hero Boy is afraid of being “bamboozled” or let down.

This scene cements Hobo’s purpose. He is a personification of Hero Boy’s fears and doubts and is meant to test his ability to believe. This scene is crucial because it can relate to real-life struggles people have with believing in themselves. People are so afraid of being let down or disappointed that they’d rather not take a chance. Instead, they stay doubtful and cynical as a way to protect themselves. However, the only way to get anywhere is to take chances; like Hero Boy learns, all the magic lies in when you choose to get on the train.

Character Lessons

Towards the end of the film, it becomes clear that the Polar Express doesn’t stop at random children’s houses asking if they want to go to the north pole. If that were the case, Hero Boy’s younger sister, Sarah, would have joined him on his adventure. But Sarah already believed in Santa Claus at the start of the film and didn’t need to get on the Polar Express. However, her brother did. Whether it’s the importance of believing or the power of leadership, each child aboard the Polar Express is there to learn a valuable life lesson.

Hero Boy

Hero Boy is extremely doubtful. He spends the start of the film looking through newspaper articles and geography textbooks that seem to prove the existence of Santa Claus and his North Pole residency impossible. He listens for sleigh bells he can’t hear and even sneaks downstairs, determined to find out if Santa is down there or if it’s just his parents. When the train first arrives at his house, the conductor reveals that Hero Boy didn’t bother sending in a letter to Santa.

Hero Boy doubts everyone on the train who seems excited about going to the North Pole, and even when he gets there, he’s still suspicious that it all might be one big scheme. In one scene, the train passes a store window. The window is decorated with Christmas decorations, one of the decorations being a mechanical Santa Claus. While the other kids run to the window in excitement, mesmerized by the festive windows, Hero Boy’s eyes are drawn straight to the mechanism on Santa’s back. He shakes his head at the fake Santa, seemingly irritated at the store’s attempt to trick him.

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

However, while aboard the train, he learns from his unexplainable experiences and the people around him that maybe there are things that exist even if he can’t see them. At the North Pole, during Santa’s arrival, Hero Boy struggles to see him. While his friends cheer in excitement, he’s left panicked and wondering why he is the only one who can’t see Santa Claus.

One small sleigh bell falls from the reindeers’ ropes, Hero Boy picks it up and shakes it. Initially, he hears nothing, so he begins to repeat, “I believe” to himself. It is then that he hears the bell ring and meets Santa face to face. It’s at this point in the movie that Hero Boy learns why believing is so important. If he didn’t believe, he would’ve missed out on getting the first present of Christmas from Santa Claus himself.

“Sometimes seeing is believing, and sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”

-Conductor, The Polar Express

As he boards the train ready to leave the North Pole and head back home, the conductor asks for his ticket so he can punch it one last time. When he gets his ticket back, it says, “Believe.” He tries to read it aloud to the conductor, something all the other children ahead of him did; however, the conductor cuts him off, he says, “It’s nothing I need to know.” Hero Boy was the only one who needed to learn about believing, and he is the only one who needs to know what he believes in.

Hero Girl

We’re introduced to Hero Girl at the start of the film when Hero Boy gets on the train. She is sitting in the seat across from his and is the first child he meets. Hero Girl is the opposite of Hero Boy. She fully believes in the magic of Christmas and is ecstatic about going to the North Pole. She’s also incredibly kind, even taking an extra cup of hot chocolate to bring to Billy who is sitting in a separate room. Hero Girl is the first to acknowledge him even though he intentionally isolated himself from the other kids.

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

Hero Girl is also smart. She learns about operating the train from the train engineers and always knows the right way to go or the right thing to do. However, other people don’t always believe in her, especially Hero boy. He doubts her several times throughout the film, constantly asking, “Are you sure?” anytime she tries to make a decision. Each time he asks this question, she is shaken. At the North Pole, Hero Boy, Hero Girl, and Billy get separated from everyone else.

They have to find their way back, and Hero Girl leads the way by following the sound of a sleigh bell that Hero Boy can’t hear. When she tells Billy and Hero Boy, what direction to go in, Hero Boy once again asks, “Are you sure?” She confidently responds, “Absolutely.” When it’s time to get back on the train, she hands her ticket to the conductor. He punches “Lead” into it. Hero Girl’s purpose was to become confident as a leader. She learns this lesson and happily gets back on the train.

Billy

Billy is the last child to board the train and the only main character whose name is revealed. Like Hero Boy, he hesitates to get on the train. He only gets on after it pulls away. He chases it down and nearly misses it, but Hero boy pulls the emergency brake so Billy can get on.

Billy immediately isolates himself from all the other children. While everyone else sits in the main train car, he sits in an abandoned car alone. He tells the other children that Christmas doesn’t work out for him, and he struggles to relate to the other children. Billy isn’t cynical like Hero Boy. Instead, he is sad. He, too, wants to believe, but it doesn’t seem possible for him.

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

Billy is also credited as “Lonely Boy.” This is because he doesn’t seem to make friends as easily as the other kids. However, after spending time with Hero Boy and Hero Girl, he learns what the conductor refers to as the true meaning of Christmas. He learns how to trust and depend on his friends and that spending all that time alone isn’t helpful. When he gets his ticket punched, he receives three different messages. Billy’s ticket reads, “Depend On. Rely On. Count On.” The conductor then asks if he can count on them to get him home safely. He responds, “Absolutely, me and my friends.”

Know It All

Know It All is one of the most comical characters in the film and seems to exist only to make the audience laugh. However, even he has a purpose for being on the train. From the moment he’s introduced, Know It All has already educated other children on the train about topics they didn’t ask about. Know It All offers unsolicited opinions and advice about everything and seems to talk every chance he gets without listening to anyone else.

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

He’s extremely self-centered and thrives off of attention. When he meets Santa Claus, he loudly announces that he wants to be the one to receive the first gift of Christmas by yelling, “Pick me!” Know It All even sneaks into Santa’s toy bag to make sure he gets all the presents on his list. To his disappointment, all he finds is “a bunch of stupid underwear.”

Santa Claus suggests that Know It All learn some patience and humility. When he gets back on the train, the conductor punches “Learn” onto his ticket. He initially misreads it as “Lean,” ready to correct the conductor. When the conductor corrects him, he accepts it and gets on the train, learning that he doesn’t always have to educate other people because it is just as important to learn from others.

“Young man, patience, and a smidgen of humility.”

-Santa Claus, The Polar Express

Although every character had a crucial lesson to learn, none of the characters were forced onto the train. In fact, both Hero Boy and Billy almost missed it. Each child’s decision was whether or not to get on, meaning they were not destined to learn anything. They had to make the conscious choice to take a risk and get on the train in order to grow.

Is It All A Dream?

It’s unclear if the experience Hero Boy has on the Polar Express was all just a dream, but many things suggest it might have been. During the scene with Hobo, Hero Boy asks, “Are you saying that this is all just a dream?” Hobo responds, “You said it, kid, not me.” Later, as Hero Boy struggles through the snowstorm on top of the train, he tries to force himself to wake up. He pinches his arm, shakes his head, and yells, “Wake up.” Yet, nothing he does seems to wake him from what he perceives as a dream.

“The one thing about trains is, it doesn’t matter where they’re going, what matters is deciding to get on.”

-Conductor, The Polar Express

Another telling sign is the parallel between the two scenes in the film. At the start of the film, when Hero Boy awakes to the sound of the Polar Express, he grabs his robe off of his bed and accidentally rips his pocket. The marbles that were in his pocket fall and scattered around the floor. The following morning, Hero Boy grabs his robe to run downstairs and open his Christmas presents. Again, he rips his pocket, and his marbles fall all over the floor. Could this have happened twice, or was the original scene an illusion?

The Polar Express (2004), Warner Brothers

Perhaps whether it is a dream or not is all up to perspective, or more specifically, one’s ability to believe. After Hero Boy is given the first gift of Christmas, a bell from Santa’s sleigh, he puts it in his robe pocket. Unfortunately, he puts it in the pocket he ripped, and he loses it. The next morning, after he and his sister open all their presents, Sarah finds one last present behind the tree. A note attached reads, “Found this on the seat of my sleigh, better fix that hole in your pocket,” and it is signed, Mr. C. It seems impossible that his parents could have done this as the only ones to know about the bell were Santa, the elves, and the passengers on the train.

“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.”

-Hero Boy, The Polar Express

The Significance Of Believing

Hero Boy and his sister can hear the bell, but his parents can not. This is because his parents don’t believe as he and his sister do. This seems to answer the question of whether or not the Polar Express was all a dream. For those who don’t believe, it could be perceived as a dream or an imaginary experience. For those who do believe, it was real. Like many things in this world, the Polar Express is only as real as someone believes it to be.