The Polar Express (2004)

“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see.”

            I remember the day I asked my mom if Santa Clause was real. I was in third grade. I remember I cried and when Christmas came around it became pretty cool to see all the gifts set up and what my parents’ and grandparents’ process was with the gifts. Even though I did not believe Santa was real I did and still believe in the spirit of Santa. I like the story of Santa Clause and I like to see little kids get all excited for Santa, it is adorable. If I hear a kid under the age of eight does not believe in Santa or that their parents are cruel and ruined their childhood by telling them Santa is not real. I even feel bad when the kids start to doubt there is a Santa. It hurts to see some innocence is gone in little kids who do not believe in or have doubt about Santa.

            For the past eleven years I have gone without seeing The Polar Express. My family is obsessed with The Polar Express as a story and as an actual model train (my dad has a pretty awesome train display at Christmas time. He has the model of the Polar Express and several cars for it). Every Christmas they watch The Polar Express at least four times. In all the times my family has watched the movie I never sat down to watch it. This Christmas I decided to finally watch The Polar Express and I loved it.

            A little boy on does not know if he believes in Santa anymore. He does not really believe in adventure anymore either. On Christmas night he hears a sound from outside. When he goes to investigate he sees a train pull up in front of his house. The train is the magical Polar Express traveling to the North Pole to see Santa before he leaves to deliver presents.

            On the Pole Express the boy comes into unimaginable adventures such as the train falling onto a frozen body of water and not falling in, the train getting out of control and almost crashing, and walking across the roof of the trains with a homeless man.

            Once they reach the North Pole the boy and another boy and a girl happen to by accident get into Santa’s workshop. All the elves are gone out of the workshop and the remnants of their hard work is evident. At the end of their journey through the workshop the three children come into the town square where everyone is waiting for Santa. A few of the elves come out with strands of bells for the reindeers to wear on their nights’ journey. The entire crowd goes crazy when the bells come out including the girl. She keeps asking the boy if he can hear the bells. Since the boy has his doubts about Santa and does not really believe in him the boy cannot hear the bells.

            Santa comes out to his sleigh. Every year Santa picks one of the children who have traveled on the Polar Express to be the first child to receive the first gift of Christmas. Santa chooses the boy. When Santa asks the boy he wants he whispers a bell. The boy can now hear the bell because he has seen the real Santa.

            Back home on the Polar Express the boy realizes he has lost his bell due to a hole in his robe pocket. Fortunately, he wakes up the next morning to find the bell under his tree. Him and his younger sister can hear the bell but their parents cannot because they do not believe in Santa.

            I loved The Polar Express. I felt so bad for the boy that he was not sure if Santa was real but I was so happy that he did believe and still believed even when he was older.  I think it was a movie I needed to see. For the past few years I had either been in school or in a job I totally hate or both and I was miserable. I actually felt depressed around Christmas time. I forgot that Christmas was supposed to be fun and warm and about feeling like a little kid in a way. I felt so much better after watching The Polar Express. I feel more in the Christmas spirit and mood. And I definitely believe in the spirit of Santa a lot more!