Watching The Polar Express every December is among my favorite holiday movie traditions. While some can’t stand to watch the motion-capture animation style of the film, those who can are treated to a magical quasi-musical journey that captures that magical Christmas feeling. 

The film is relatively simple, as it follows our main protagonist, a boy with doubt that Santa exists, who makes new friends and learns to believe after a train ride to the north pole. However, on my most recent viewings, it has become clear to me that the film adaptation of the famous book of the same name, borrows many aspects from the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol.

This connection between the two stories can be derived from several major aspects of the film. First, the story follows a boy regaining his belief in Santa, similar to Scrooge, who regains his Christmas spirit after a life-changing journey. However, this is a common theme in Christmas movies, so more evidence is needed to connect the film to A Christmas Carol. 

More convincingly, the film features three figures that act as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. The ghost of Christmas past is represented by the hobo that rides on top of the train. He is old and worn, clearly having spent many years making many journeys to the north pole. He asks our main protagonist if he believes in ghosts, and makes a habit of spontaneously appearing and disappearing in the film, confirming that he himself is a ghost. The ghost of the Christmas present is represented by the train’s conductor, who is constantly worried about being on-time, fitting for a ghost dedicated to the present. Lastly, the ghost of Christmas future is represented by Santa, who is responsible for taking off into the night to deliver the presents that the children will find under their trees the next day. Santa also features a ghostly glow in the scenes that he is featured in. Further bringing this theory together is the fact that all three of these featured characters are all played by Tom Hanks. 

In the middle of the film, the hobo scares the protagonist with a Scrooge puppet, who claims that the boy is just like him. Although this might make the connection between the two seem obvious, calling an enthusiastic person a “Scrooge” during the holiday season has become a common practice, so much so to the point where it is largely unnoticeable when it happens. However, when combined with the ghosts and general plot of the film, it can be seen that the film is the most creative reimagining of A Christmas Carol, one that I’ll always enjoy watching for years to come.