Hi! I tried to find more on why the hobo and the hurdy gurdy were added to the original story, and didn't come up with much.
I did find a comment on http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/ that said: "Tom Hanks is another very accomplished musician. He plays guitar. He also has a interesting side note in that he owns and plays a Hurdy Gurdy (not the monkey organ grinder thing, but a true hurdy gurdy). If you have seen "The Polar Express", you might have recognized that the hobo on top of the train was playing a hurdy gurdy. Side note: during filming they made wire mock ups of everything the actors would interact with for the animation. Tom asked the prop guys to mock up a hurdy gurdy, and of course they had no idea what he was talking about. After a bit of internet research they did his mock up). -Paul Bostick, Stillwater Oklahoma" So perhaps it was Tom Hanks that wanted the hurdy gurdy included in the movie. I also found a credit for Russell Johnsen on fiddle & hurdy-gurdy (is he on this list??? - could he maybe provide more details?). Best regards, -Gary P. Michael Gaschler wrote:
Although I am sure most on the list are well aware of it, the gurdy gets a nice spot in the most recent make of The Polar Express. It's unfortunate that it is being played by a creepy bum and is thereby cast into an unpleasant light.
