The Polar Express (2004)

On Christmas Eve night in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a steam locomotive passenger train stops at the house of a boy who is growing increasingly skeptical about the existence of Santa Claus. He goes outside to check it out and the conductor says it’s the Polar Express and is on its way to the North Pole and encourages the boy to hop on. Although reluctant at first, the boy climbs aboard and meets a spirited girl and a smart know-it-all boy. The train then stops to pick up a boy named Billy. At first, Billy refuses to board, but he changes his mind, prompting the boy to apply the emergency brake, allowing Billy to board. The children are served hot chocolate by a team of singing and dancing waiters, and the girl saves a cup for Billy, who chooses to sit alone in the observation car.

The conductor and the girl go to give Billy his cup, but the boy notices that the girl’s ticket has not yet been validated. When he tries to take it to the girl, the wind takes it to the eagles and wolves, but it soon finds its way back into the train; after the girl discovers that her ticket is missing (although the boy offers his ticket, the conductor does not allow this), the conductor leaves with the girl, presumably to throw her off. Before the boy can stop the train again, he finds the ticket and traverses the rooftops of the train to find the girl. The hero boy encounters a mysterious ghostly hobo that takes him to the engine, where the girl has been put in charge since the driver and fireman, Smokey and Steamer, are busy replacing the headlight.