Next year this Robert Zemeckis-directed holiday classic will be twenty years old. Yet it feels like just yesterday when I first saw it with my daughter when she was just a child.

It is based on the 1985 Chris Van Allsburg book of the same name and was optioned in 1999 by Tom Hanks, who would go on to play five characters in the movie. Originally he was slated to play all the characters but became exhausted in doing so. It is not exactly a cartoon and in 2006 was listed by Guiness World Records as the first all-digital capture film.

If you haven’t seen the film, it’s about Hero Boy (voiced by Daryl Sabara) who is in his “crucial year” of believing in Santa. So when The Polar Express stops by his house on Christmas Eve, he’s reluctant to get on, much to the Conductor’s dismay and frustration. But he does board The Polar Express and meets Hero Girl (Nona Gaye) and Know-It-All (Eddie Deezen). At the final pick up stop, a boy named Billy (Jimmy Bennett) is reluctant to get on. Interestingly enough, Billy is the only one with an actual name. He refuses to get on but then changes his mind, runs after the train and Hero Boy pulls the emergency brake to stop the train. Much to the Conductor’s displeasure.

After Billy gets on and everyone settles down, the Conductor asks if anyone wants hot chocolate. Who doesn’t? A fantastic music and dance scene of waiters serving hot chocolate ensues. Also, throughout the train ride the Conductor punches holes in each passenger’s golden ticket, revealing a letter.

Along the train ride Hero Boy encounters The Hobo (also played by Hanks), who is actually a ghost on the train. He intimidates Hero Boy through the train ride and is probably a big part in Hero Boy finally believing in Santa (who, by the way, is also played by Hanks).

Before The Polar Express reaches the North Pole, it travels through some treacherous areas and steep canyons, adding suspense to the already magical ride.

Upon finally reaching the North Pole Hero Boy, Hero Girl and Billy find themselves within the inner workings of what appears to be either Santa’s workshop or a warehouse. There Billy finds his gift and they all end up in Santa’s sack where they also discover Know-It-All. All four are returned to the Conductor where he finishes stamping out their golden tickets to reveal an appropriate word for each child. And Steven Tyler, dressed as an elf, sings.

Santa chooses a child for the first gift of Christmas, and it just so happens to be Hero Boy. The gift is a bell that only believers can hear. Hero Boy loses the bell but then it magically appears again to him on Christmas morning in a gift from Santa.

Not only is this movie a charm to watch, but the music is also ear-pleasing as well. The Grammy-award winning song “Believe” is played at the end.