History WesternAnimation / ThePolarExpress

* CreatorProvincialism: Both Chris (Hero Boy) and Billy are from Grand Rapids, Michigan, just like Van Allsburg.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The exact time period in which the events of the plot take place is never specified, which contributes to the timeless, otherworldly quality of the story. The eponymous train is modeled on a [[CoolTrain Berkshire 2-8-4]], first built in 1925, but the clothing worn by the characters and the level of technology inside the train suggest anywhere from the early 1930s to the late '50s or early '60s. The only definitive piece of evidence we have as to the setting of the film is that it takes place ''after'' 1931, as the Know-it-All Boy mentions the train was built in that year. (He's wrong – the exact train the Polar Express was based on was built in 1941 – but at the very least the dialogue confirms that 1931 has already come and gone.) Meanwhile, the North Pole is depicted as a sophisticated DieselPunk metropolis with an advanced level of technology bordering on RaygunGothic. But, of course, it ''is'' a magic train which clearly doesn't follow the laws of time and space anyway.

** When an otherwise good kid does one naughty thing at the last minute, the elf in charge of the naughty and nice lists takes pity on him and lets him on the good list anyway, but marks it against him for next year.

--->'''Conductor:''' WHO IN THE BLAZES APPLIED THAT EMERGENCY BRAKE?!!

--->'''Hero Girl:''' They put me in charge!

* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Throughout the movie, Hero Girl wears a pinkish nightgown and Hero Boy wears a blue robe.

->''"At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell. But as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found, one Christmas, that she could no longer hear it's sweet sound. Though I have grown old, the bell still rings for me. As it does for all who truly believe."''

->''At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell. But as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found, one Christmas, that she could no longer hear it's sweet sound. Though I have grown old, the bell still rings for me. As it does for all who truly believe.''

Sometime around the middle of the 20th century, a young boy, straining to hear the silver bells of SantaClaus's sleigh on Christmas Eve, instead hears a train's whistle. He goes outside and finds a magical train, the eponymous Polar Express, which has been sent to pick up the boy along with hundreds of other children and take them to the North Pole, where one of them will receive "the first gift of Christmas" from Santa himself.

Sometime circa the 1950s, a young boy, straining to hear the silver bells of [[SantaClaus Santa's]] sleigh on Christmas Eve, instead hears a train's whistle. He goes outside and discovers a magical train, the eponymous Polar Express, which has been sent to pick up the boy and hundreds of other children and bring them to the North Pole, where one of them will receive "the first gift of Christmas" from Santa himself.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The exact time period in which the events of the plot take place is never specified, which contributes to the timeless, otherworldly quality of the story. The eponymous train is modeled on a [[CoolTrain Berkshire 2-8-4]], first built in 1925, but the clothing worn by the characters and the level of technology inside the train suggest anywhere from the early 1930s to sometime in the '50s. The only definitive piece of evidence we have as to the setting of the film is that it takes place ''after'' 1931, as the Know-it-All Boy mentions the train was built in that year. (He's wrong – the exact train the Polar Express was based on was built in 1941 – but at the very least the dialogue confirms that 1931 has already come and gone.) Meanwhile, the North Pole is depicted as a highly sophisticated DieselPunk metropolis with an advanced level of technology bordering on RaygunGothic. But, of course, it ''is'' a magic train which clearly doesn't follow the laws of time and space anyway.

Sometime circa the 1950s, a young boy, straining to hear the silver bells of [[SantaClaus Santa's]] sleigh on Christmas Eve, instead hears a train's whistle. He goes outside and discovers a magical train, the eponymous Polar Express, which has been sent to pick up the boy and hundreds of other children to go to the North Pole, where one of the passengers will receive "the first gift of Christmas" from Santa himself.

Set in the 1950s, a young boy, straining to hear the silver bells of [[SantaClaus Santa's]] sleigh on Christmas Eve, instead hears a train's whistle. He goes outside to find a magical train, the eponymous Polar Express, which was sent to pick up the boy and hundreds of other children to go to the North Pole and Santa's workshop. There, one of the passengers will receive "the first gift of Christmas".

* AdaptationExpansion: A good deal, seeing as it is a 100 minute long movie, based on a 32-page book that can be read in less than 10 minutes.