Episode 497: The Polar Express (2003)

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Our second holiday film for 2025 was, at the time it was released, an example of the pinnacle of computer animation! Directed by Robert Zemeckis, 2004's "The Polar Express" tells a tale of that time in a child's life where they begin to question the existence of Santa Claus. A young boy (voiced by Tom Hanks) is headed to bed on Christmas Eve after having told his little sister that he didn't think Santa was real anymore. He awakens to the sound of a locomotive thundering to a stop in the street outside his house, where he's invited to board "The Polar Express", non-stop to the North Pole, by the Conductor (Hanks). Upon reluctantly climbing on board, our hero meets both a loud-mouthed redheaded kid (Eddie Deezen) and a soft-spoken but confident African-American girl (Nona Gaye). After the train stops briefly to pick up one more child, named Billy (Peter Scolari) from 'across the tracks,' the train continues on its way. After being served hot chocolate, the girl takes a cup to Billy, who is riding by himself in another car. Our hero notices her un-stamped ticket laying on her seat, goes to take it to her, and loses it in the wind. It eventually makes its way back to the train but our hero doesn't know that, so he climbs up on the room to try to find the girl and the conductor. There, he meets a hobo (Hanks) who is traveling on top of the train. The hobo helps the boy make his way to the engine, where he discovers the girl is now driving the train while the driver and engineer are out replacing the headlight on the front of the train. They end up surviving several moments of peril and arriving at the North Pole, but mischance has our hero, the girl, and Billy separated from the rest of the group! Will they get back in time for Santa's arrival? Will our hero learn the truth about Santa's existence? This holiday tale has a happy ending, but we won't spoil it here! Plus, the trio reveal which OG monster movies they're reviewing for the last pairing before the 500th!

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