Tom Hanks' divisive Christmas adventure film finds renewed streaming success just in time for its 20th anniversary. Though his most frequent collaborator is Steven Spielberg,Hanks is also well knownfor his various collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, starting with 1994’sForrest Gump, for which he won his second Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2000, Hanks reunited with Zemeckis forCast Awayand earned another Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Some of Hanks' latest movies have also been directed by Zemeckis, including 2022’s live-actionPinnochio, in which he played Geppetto, and 2024’sHere, in which the actor was digitally de-aged. In addition to his onscreen roles that have made him one of the most recognizable movie stars, Hanks has also lent his voice to a few animated characters throughout his career, most famously Woody in theToy Storymovies.Tom Hanks' collaborations with Robert Zemeckisalso extend to the animated realmwith the 2004 Christmas film,The Polar Express.
The Polar Express Finds Renewed Streaming Success
Tom Hanks' Divisive Christmas Film Is Celebrating Its 20th Anniversary
The Polar Express, Tom Hanks' divisive Christmas film, finds renewed streaming success just in time for its 20th anniversary. Co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis based on the 1985 children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg,the 2004 animated film follows a young boy who, on Christmas Eve, embarks on a magical adventure to the North Poleaboard the titular train to visit Santa Claus.The Polar Expressvoice castincludes Tom Hanks in multiple roles alongside Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, and Eddie Deezen.
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Now, just in time for its 20th anniversary, Tom Hanks' divisive Christmas film has found renewed streaming success.The Polar Expressranks No. 3 on Disney+ and No. 6 on Huluas of December 23. It ranks among fellow Christmas films such asHome Alone,Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,The Santa Clause,Elf, andNational Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
What The Polar Express' Streaming Success Means For The Movie
It Continues To Find Success Despite Its Divisiveness
As it celebrates its 20th anniversary,The Polar Expressremains divisivefor its depiction of its human characters, which used a combination of live-action and motion-capture animation. While the movie is visually impressive during some parts, the animation for its human characters doesn’t look realistic enough, partially because it was the first movie made entirely with motion capture. Others felt the story seemed stretched into feature-length from the original children’s book.
However,The Polar Expresshas managed to find success over the years, originally earning $286 million at the box office against a $165–170 million budget, the highest ever for an animated film at the time, with subsequent re-releases pushing its total worldwide gross to over $318 million. Its renewed streaming success is just the latest example of how, despite its divisive animation style,The Polar Expresscontinues to captivate audiences with its whimsical Christmas adventure.
The Polar Express
Cast
Based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express is an animated holiday-fantasy film by director Robert Zemeckis. A young boy is spirited away on Christmas Eve aboard the magical Polar Express, where he meets new friends on a journey to rediscover their belief in Christmas.
