The tales of Thomas and Friends created by the Rev. W. Awdry
have been around for a long time. First being made into books and then being
adapted into a live-action children's show by Britt Allcroft were things that
were never thought of being done before. However it soon proved to the world
that railways do have their appeal and these stories in particular had very
much garnered a strong following. Unfortunately as many fans as the books and
show had, very few were pleased with the release of Thomas and the Magic
Railroad (2000). A film that was supposed to be Britt Allcroft's magnum opus of
sorts that would bridge the gap between Thomas & Friends and the short
lived show Shining Time Station. Normally when a property fails on the big
screen, it will almost immediately guarantees a halt in everything else as
well. Thankfully that didn't happen, but with HIT Entertainment now owning the
rights to Thomas & Friends, they decided to make a home video release
special. For the beginning it's decent.
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| Thomas & Percy getting ready to build |
With it being released at the start of Season 9, it was to
commemorate the franchise's 60th anniversary. The story is about the summer
season beginning on the island of Sodor. And for Sir Topham Hatt, the plan was
to build a new airport to allow more visitors to come to island. This creates a
lot of excitement among Top Hatt's engines, but it also causes much more
friction. The reason for this being that both the steam engines and diesel
engines were going to make this happen. But seeing that steam and diesel
engines were rivals, things don't go as smoothly. Making things worse, a
destructive storm whips through Sodor and completely destroys Tidmouth Sheds.
Now twice as much work needs to be done. Written by Paul Larson and Marc Seal,
who have worked on the TV show before this, manage most of the story okay. The
same could be said for Steve Asquith who
has been with the TV show very early on. Yet there are still some very basic
issues. The biggest problem is abrupt
motivation changes in characters. Some of which do not fit at all.
The other issue is the learning segments inserted into
almost every other transitional point within the feature. It's apparent that
HIT Entertainment had a different idea on how the show would be displayed to
kids, but that was the show. For a TV special, there's no need for this. A
movie special is a movie special, learning segments are not needed. What is
pleasing to see though is that Larson and Seal incorporated both Diesel 10 and
Lady into the story. This shows they were trying to keep the continuity from
Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). Of course this connection is only half
baked though because it is never explained as to how Diesel 10 came back to
Sodor or how Diesel 10 doesn't immediately set off to destroy Thomas when
considering the past these two characters have shared. The overall moral though
of showing how to work with others even with strong differences is an important
thing for children to understand. It's a lesson everyone must understand, to
get through everyday life.
Aside from this though everything else works within the
realm of which the story goes. Michael Brandon being narrator for US audiences
since Season 7 is no shocker. He and everyone down to Carlin have been giving
different voices to all of Thomas' friends. Ringo Starr and Michael Angelis are
the only two who pretty much kept their narration the same throughout as the
actual storyteller. Either way, the reading of the lines are acceptable. For
set pieces, we see a lot of very familiar settings. The more interesting bit is
when the storm comes through Sodor. Seeing all the destruction that occurs
during and after the event is a sight to behold. Imagine making a wreck of all
those practical sets? What a mess to clean up. That could also go for when the
engines begin causing friction with each other. A lot of the train models will
get covered in all kinds of elements that would also mean much of the time
would require cleaning later. This is why movies dealing with physical props need so much more
respect.
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| ......that is until the Diesel's roll in |
Lastly for music, the score and songs were composed by
Robert Hartshorne and Ed Welch. Prior to boarding this tv franchise, both Welch
and Hartshorne had their periods of experience in documentaries and other film
based projects. But in all honesty this duo come in second best to the original
duo; that being Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. Hartshorne and Welch
produce a likable score that matches the tone and personality of the original
classic series that made it so memorable. Making it even better was that the
songs they created utilize children vocals and it is just as on target. Songs
like "Busy", "Try to do Things Better" and
"Together" are all catchy tunes. Busy is a bouncy energetic song that
really could get people motivated. Together is a great feel good composition
that really feels like it can bring people together. The rest of the score uses
other types of synthesizer instruments that sound close to the Campbell
O'Donnell style. All in all, it was decent.
Points Earned --> 7:10
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