Who directed the 2004 Christmas film The Polar Express?

Robert Zemeckis directed the 2004 Christmas film The Polar Express.

The movie adapts Chris Van Allsburg's 1985 children's picture book about a mysterious train journey to the North Pole. Zemeckis used performance-capture animation, recording actors' movements and expressions as part of the filmmaking process.

Tom Hanks provided voices and performance-capture work for several characters, including the Hero Boy, the Father, the Conductor, and Santa Claus. The story follows a boy whose belief in Santa Claus is tested during a magical Christmas Eve journey.

The film is sometimes attributed to Steven Spielberg because Spielberg was an executive producer and DreamWorks was involved in its production. Zemeckis, however, was the director. The Polar Express was also one of the early major feature films made substantially with performance-capture techniques.