It’s a 2004 animated film that Jody and I watched many times before she died in 2014.  It was, and still is, magic for me at Christmas time.

Kids are invited onto a train heading to the North Pole, shepherded by a conductor who looks suspiciously like Tom Hanks.

The kids are asked to believe … in Santa, in goodness.  After many adventures, we end up in a square full of elves, with a gigantic Christmas tree in the centre.

And here comes the big man … white beard and red suit.  He’s wondering who should receive the first gift of Christmas.  He chooses our hero, who is unnamed in the film:

Guess who Hero Boy is looking at.

And of course there is also Hero Girl – such a kind person:

The same someone has her attention.

Also pulling at our heartstrings is Lonely Boy.  Love comes to him from Hero Girl and Hero Boy, as well as from two large men – one in red and one in blue:

Hero Boy is given a jingle bell by Santa but forgets it in his sleigh.  After the train trip home, Hero Boy wakes up on Christmas morning to find his sister handing him a gift … “From Santa”.  It’s the jingle bell.  Both Hero Boy and his sister ring the bell, and both hear the clear tone.  But mom and dad can’t hear it.

As the film closes, Hero Boy has become Hero Man:

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 its sweet sound.  Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.

Many years ago, I worked at St. Mary’s Choir School in London, Ontario, Canada.  One time, two classes of 12-year-olds watched The Polar Express with me. 

As the credits were rolling at the end, I stood before the kids and held up three jingle bells on an orange cord.

Silence

Stillness

Many mouths open

…

And I rang the bells