Credit: Castle Rock Entertainment / Warner Bros. PicturesThe Polar Express (2004) is one of the most magical Christmas movies ever. But while there are no spinoffs, sequels, or prequels, the classic film by director Robert Zemeckis may share its universe with three other iconic franchises, including Back to the Future.
Based on the 1986 children’s picture book by Chris Van Allsburg, who also wrote Jumanji (1981), The Polar Express is a relatively simple story (which serves the overall charm). And though fans of the book will recognize where things have been padded out, like an honest passenger, the film never outstays its welcome.
Upon release, The Polar Express grossed $286 million against its $165–170 million budget, however, subsequent re-releases helped the film reach $314 million worldwide. Though reviews were mixed at the time, the film has since amassed a huge following and is widely loved by many.
There are many unexplained things throughout the 2004 film, from a train that can defy the laws of physics to the nature of some of the characters themselves. To quote the book and the film, “Seeing is believing,” and if you look closely enough, you’ll see that The Polar Express may be connected to three other franchises.
You might want to curl up with some “hot-hot-hot-hot chocolate” for this.
Now… All aboooooard!
Back to the Future
If there are any franchises on this list The Polar Express is likely to share its universe with, it’s Back to the Future. This may come as no surprise, though, seeing as Robert Zemeckis, who helmed all three films in the beloved trilogy, also directed the 2004 Christmas classic.
During the scene in which the two engine room workers Smokey and Steamer (both of whom are voiced by the late Michael Jeter) are trying to catch the train’s cotter pin, you can see a Flux Capacitor on the wall in the background just before the pin falls through a hole in the floor!
This will probably require plenty of rewinding, pausing, and zooming in, but you’ll see that the titular locomotive is powered by the same technology that allows the DeLorean to travel through time in the Back to the Future movies.
But this isn’t the first time a Flux Capacitor has powered a steam train in film — that honor goes to Back to the Future Part III (1990). There’s even a line in The Polar Express in which Hero Boy says, “I’ve wanted to do this my whole life!” when he pulls the train’s whistle, an obvious reference to the line “I’ve wanted to do that all my life!” in Back to the Future Part III, when Doc Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) does the same thing after hijacking a locomotive.
Could The Polar Express be a time-traveling train like the one we see Doc Brown and his family using at the end of that film? It would make perfect sense considering it must travel from North America to the North Pole in less than an hour!
It’s also worth noting that Santa’s sleigh leaves two trails of fireworks when it leaves the North Pole at the end of the film, which look just like the two trails of fire the DeLorean leaves in its wake before also disappearing into thin air!
Related: ‘Harry Potter’: The Wizarding World’s Santa Claus Explained
Toy Story
Filming an entire children’s movie using motion-capture performances was a major gamble, but that’s exactly what the filmmakers did with the 2004 film.
Fortunately, The Polar Express became a widely loved film, and though many viewers still think it has that “uncanny valley” look due to the imperfect CG rendering of its digitally crafted human characters, consequently the animation has become a huge part of the film’s charm (Zemeckis would also give Disney’s A Christmas Carol the same treatment in 2009).
Adding to that charm is Alan Silvestri’s spellbinding score, along with all the performances by Tom Hanks, who provides the motion capture and voice work for adult Hero Boy, Hero Boy’s father, Conductor, Santa Claus, Hobo, and the Ebenezer Scrooge puppet.
Of course, The Polar Express isn’t the only CG-animated film Tom Hanks appears in — he also voices the iconic Disney character Woody in the Toy Story film series. But the A-list Hollywood actor is far from the only thing these two franchises have in common.
There’s a scene in which Hero Boy discovers a carriage full of abandoned toys, a recurring concept in the Toy Story films. And though it’s revealed that Hobo (Tom Hanks) is controlling the puppet, this scene lends to the possibility that the toys in The Polar Express universe are magical. After all, they’re made by Santa Claus’s elves, which may explain why the toys in the Toy Story films are alive (and why one sounds like Tom Hanks)!
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Harry Potter
It’s hardly a huge revelation that The Polar Express looks just like the Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter universe — after all, they’re both steam trains. The real parallel is that they’re magical trains whose sole purpose is to transport children to magical locations.
In The Polar Express, the titular train magically appears outside Hero Boy’s house on Christmas Eve. Oddly enough, this scene also feels reminiscent of the Knight Bus scene from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
It’s also worth noting that The Polar Express is likely invisible to “ordinary folk,” just like the Knight Bus in Harry Potter. As for the Hogwarts Express, another parallel is that both trains operate along a magical track that’s also invisible to the rest of the world.
The Hogwarts Express travels on its own special track through the British countryside. The same applies to The Polar Express, which tears along dangerous ice fields and up impossibly steep mountains — it seems only caribou can see the locomotive!
But there are many other things throughout The Polar Express that suggest it may share its universe with Harry Potter, namely all things magic. Let’s look at Hobo, for instance, the mysterious figure who seemingly lives atop the magical steam train.
Hobo literally disappears a few times throughout the film — is this Disapparition? Or maybe he’s a Ghost like Nearly Headless Nick. Then there are the magical train tickets which can find their way back to their passenger, a bit like a Howler!
Check out the official trailer for The Polar Express below, per Warner Bros. Entertainment:
Related: The 5 Best ‘Harry Potter’ Movies to Watch During the Holidays
Per Warner Bros., here’s the synopsis for the film:
Get up, get on, and get ready for the ride of your life! It’s Christmas Eve, and you’re about to roller-coaster up and down mountains, slip-slide over ice fields, teeter across mile-high bridges and be served hot chocolate by singing waiters more astonishing than any you can imagine.
You’re on The Polar Express! Tom Hanks stars in and Robert Zemeckis directs this instant holiday classic filmed in dazzling performance capture animation that makes every moment magical. “Seeing is believing,” says a mysterious hobo who rides the rails with you. You’ll see wonders. And you’ll believe. All aboooooard!
Are you a fan of The Polar Express? Do you think it shares its universe with any of these franchises? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!