The Polar Express is a 2004 animated Christmas film directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on Chris Van Allsburg's 1985 picture book, following a boy's magical train journey to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Starring Tom Hanks in multiple roles, it became a seasonal favourite thanks to its motion-capture animation and Alan Silvestri's score, returning to television and streaming every December. Short clips from the film circulate widely as festive sounds, and this train moment is reused because it instantly signals a journey, winter and Christmas nostalgia in just a few seconds.