Thomas And Friends TV Series "Thomas Goes Fishing" Review

Thomas And Friends right is in the middle of a big relaunch with a new special currently doing the rounds of both Netflix and Youtube. However it is still important to look back on when the show began and it's early years as nine times out of ten that you find a true gem of a story with the story that i'm going to be reviewing for you all today perhaps being one of those hidden gems from the shows first season and so then join me as I review the episode that sees Thomas going fishing with the episode is question being called simply just "Thomas Goes Fishing" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when Thomas needs to take on water but can't due to the pump at a station being broken he and his crew find something unexpecting when they use water from the local river. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. This episodes plot was a pretty fun almost nothing plot as it doesn't advance Thomas as a character and is just there just to have some jokes in it and while this is something that does make the episodes plot feel like a filler plot. It's a filler plot that's done rather well as it does give the chance to show us some of Thomas's branchline and it does give us the chance to see how Thomas's crew have to sometimes improvise and while yes the plot of this episode is one that could have been a bit more better as it is a nothing plot and it is one that could have had a more stronger plot to it but given the fact that in the series canon are building up to the debut of Percy and those two episodes it does make sense that we would have a more lighter episode in the lead up to those two episode but again it still would have been nice if this episodes plot was alot more stronger as having the whole thing revolve around Thomas struggling to get some water isn't all that compelling of a story and is something that would have been better of being just a throwaway scene in another episode with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Starring in this episode is Sir Ringo Starr with him really making for a really good narrator for this episode. As he does have alot of youthful energy for for this story and with it essentially being a solo story for Thomas this is something that does work well enough in the episodes favor as the episode can't relay on the other characters to make the story interesting and therefor Sir Ringo does have to sound perfect when he's voicing the character with this something that he does pull of with ease with you getting the feeling that this was a story that he either liked growing up as a kid or that he himself read it to his kids as he does sound full of life when he's reason this story as it wouldn't make sense for him to sound this full of life if he didn't have some sort of personal connection to the story. While Sir Ringo doesn't usually do any voices for this first series of the show this is something that does really work in this episode due to the fact that really only four characters talk and none of them have any distinct voices to them in the first place however this is something that does also cause an issue within the episode as if you close your eyes and just listen to the episode outside of a few scenes where the episode outright says who is talking you wouldn't be able to tell just who is talking to who and this is something that really isn't Ringo's fault as he isn't a trained actor and he never will be therefor to expect him to give all of the characters voices would have been a but to much of an ask as he was only hired in the first place due to the fact that he was at the time a very well known name and therefor having him sound as much as he normally does is something that does makes sense but it still would have been nice if we did get to hear more distinct voices in the episode tho.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. The fact that we have some really good acting in this episode is somethin that really isn't all that shocking as this show has always had some really good narrators in it and while of course the show would get better narrators the more it goes on there is no denying the fact that Sir Ringo Starr does make for a good narrator in this first series with him being really good in this episode as his voice does lend itself really well to telling this story. With the best actor in this episode of course being Sir Ringo Starr as he is the episodes only actor with him having the kind of silky smooth voice that is just right for this more relaxing story and it is something that is put to good use in this episode with him hitting all of the right notes performance wise and just overall being fun to listen to in this episode and while any of the shows UK narrators would have made for a good choice to do this episode what Sir Ringo brings to the episode from a performance point of view is a sense of childlike wonder as you do get the feeling he is just a big kid having fun reading this episode and it is something that does work for this episode with him having this natural charisma that really does sine through in this episode. With the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actor has to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of him naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.

This episodes setting was something that did look really good as it's not all that often that we get to see alot of detail hidden in the shows sets. With us getting alot of fun little details going on in the background of the sets for this episode like for example we get workers working at a train station and we get to see people fishing in river these are small things yes but they also help to make the world of Sodor feel more alive as these are things that we would get to see in our everyday lives therefor it would make sense that we would get to see it in this episode and while later model seasons had dropped this aspect of the sets it is something that we get in alot of the first series episodes and it's something that should have been kept in alot of the show. In this show and in this episode it's the little things that help to make the biggest difference like showing that people are not only working but also on the train station it helps to make that station look busy and it tells us the audience that that is a popular station on Thomas's branchline or the fact that we et to see people fishing in the background this is something that it could be argued lets us know that this is where Thomas got the idea to try fishing out in the first place and it's something that is missing in alot of the later model seasons of the show with those sets making up for it by having alot of dynamic camera moves here tho the makers of this episode couldn't do that and therefor they instead chose to add in bit of detail that no one would notice upon a first or even second viewing but it's something that once you do notice them you can't unsee them as they feel right at home in the scene. 

Thomas in this episode felt kind of off in this episode as he is pretty much halfway between completing his series long arc with Gordon and learning to be more grown up and still being his cheeky self. Which is something that does lead to him feeling a little bit off in this episode as we get a scene with him calling James a stick in the mid or saying that engines don't go fishing and yet even this more childlike version of Thomas wouldn't want to go fishing as as he says in quite literally the next episode he like's his rails and therefor why would he want to do something that would require him to get away from his rails and be away from being able to move and yet when they do get the fish out him it's clear that he hasn't really learnt his lesson as he just repeats what James said earlier. To be fair this episode is one of the early episodes of the show as it's only the twelfth episode of the show and therefor the makers of this episode are of course still trying to work out just who there version of Thomas is and while they do have a helping hand in this regard due o the fact that all of the stories at this time were being adapted from the books there still would have to have been changes made inorder to make the story work for the show and part of those changes would have been how certain characters are handled therefor the makers of this show would still be trying to work out who there version of Thomas is and to be fair this is something that we do see in this episode as he acts neither fully childlike and nor does he act fully wise either when it would have helped the episode out a bit if we did start to get hints of him becoming more wiser, it is possible that this episodes script was one of the first written due to the fact that the episode doesn't portray Thomas as neither childlike or wise which if so then fair enough but there still could have been changes made when they found what the running order was going to be for the episodes in this first series.

This episode is very much a nothing episode but its really a nothing episode in all of the right ways possible. As even tho the episode doesn't advance Thomas's series long arc of learning to trust Gordon more this is something that would stop the episode from being alot of fun to watch as sometimes being more fun to watch is more important then advancing a characters plot as this is something that would have bogged the episode and it wouldn't have made sense for Gordon to be on Thomas's branchline in the first place therefor having the episode be a more fun episode is something that does work in the episode with it even allowing for there to be more jokes in the episode as the episode doesn't have to worry about character arcs it can just be a fun episode and that's it. This is something that is great as not every episode of this or any show needs to be about advancing a characters arc even more so if the show like this one is is aimed at little kids as sometimes just being a fun episode is more then enough to get people to like it and while yes this episode could be seen as being one of the more weaker series one episodes which is something that would be a fair point to make it could also be argued that the things that make it weak are also the things that make it alot of fun to watch and to a little kid being more fun to watch is more important then advancing a characters arc as that's what there going to remember the next day and this is something that this episode does have going for it as there are alot of fun aspects in this episode with the fact that the episode does go out of its way to tell us how many holes are in the bucket and then tell us how long it took them to fill Thomas's tank along with the episodes more lighthearted nature being things that do make this episode alot more fun to watch.

While it is hard to say on if this episode is a fan loved episode or not as there really isn't anything to this episode. The thigs that the episode does have it has going for it rather then working against it as it would have been super easy for the makers of this episode to just write this episode of as being a filler episode and not put that much thought and effort into it which they would have had every right to do and yet they didn't as you can tell in alot of the episode there is alot of thought and effort going into making this episode which you could very easily skip over and miss nothing important to the series and yet there is still alot more thought and effort put into this filler episode then what there really needed to be. Be from as was mentioned things going on in the background to real life train facts like Thomas's driver and fireman putting up danger signs around Thomas to warn not only other trains but also other people that Thomas is in series danger this is something that real life work crews would have to have done in order to make sure that there wasn't a major accident and it's something that the makers of this episode put into the episode yes granted they pretty much had to do it as they were adapting a story from the books but it's the fact that they did it in the first place that does show that this show does teach you things about how trains are run which is something that does make it more of a family show and less of a straight forward kid show as yes there are things in this show that only little kids will love but then as is the case with this episode there are things that the whole family will love and this is something does need to be taken into account when people say that this show is just for little kids because while yes they are the target demographic the whole show is for the whole family to watch together.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly five minuets and thirty two seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstanderd running time for alot of these early episodes to have and to be fair this is an episode that does work best within that time frame as the story is so weak and so small in the first place that to stretch this plot out to even ten minuets would be pushing the plot beyond breaking point as it would means that we would have to have alot of filler scenes in the episode which is something that would make the episode feel more like a chore to sit through as we'd be sitting through five minuets worth of filler content just to get to five minuets worth of plot with the episode really having the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. With the episode not really using it's running time all that wisely due to the fact that the episode really doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot granted there really isn't all that much plot there to develop in the first place but it still would have been nice if the episode did add things to the plot that help it feel more developed like showing or telling us why Thomas wants to go fishing in the first place which is a small thing but given that that's important to the episodes plot it would have been nice to find out why he wanted to go fishing in the first place with the makers of this episode being more focused about having the opening music in the episode play for a good while into the episode then they were about giving the plot for much needed plot development. The same thing is also trye for the episodes character development as one of the episodes character get character development which given that this show made for little kids is kind of understandable and you can always argue the at the characters would get there development in later episodes of the show but we still needed for there to be something in this episodes that makes the character feel alot more development with the makers of this episode putting more thought and effort into showing the human characters fishing then they did into giving the characters some character development but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. The episode really does have alot of funny moments in it with them even bringing back the fact that The Fat Controller is to lazy to do things from the "The Sad Story Of Henry" episode with him here just telling Thomas's crew how to fish and not willing to help them with it himself. With the best joke in the whole entire episode even involving The Fat Controller as when we find out that Thomas's crew had cooked the fish and eaten the with Chips for there lunch we see him wiping his mouth clean with Sir Ringo adding in adding in an "Mmmm" making it sound like that he really enjoyed it which was a really cute joke to have with it being something that does catch you of guard with it working because of the fact that you didn't see it coming with the joke itself even making sense in the context of the episode as of course these characters would eat there fish with chips and of course The Fat Controller would openly admit to enjoying it as that is in his character to do so and heck this joke even got a little chuckle out of me when watching it as it is a joke that really does work with there not really being anything that could have been to make the joke be all the more better as it's one that does work as well as its ever going to with the rest of the episodes jokes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall whilst it is hard to say if this episode is a fan favorite episode what can be said for sure is that it is a fun episode that whilst it doesn't have much in the way of a plot as the plot for this episode is pretty bare bones at best it more then makes up for that with its rally funny jokes in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked abut all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and such that really es mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of q0 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . UK and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories: Really Helpful Engines Review

Thomas The Tank Engine is finally back as years after the dreadful All Engines Go reboot fans got a glimmer of hope with the wonderful Wonder Of Sodor game. There is alot more hope to be had as there is a new Thomas special out and what's better is the fact that it was released onto Youtube and is the first special of a new Thomas series and so then join me as I review the special that sees the Thomas franchise come back in a big way with the special in question being called simply just "Really Helpful Engines" enjoy.

The plot of this special is Thomas wants to do a really big and important job for Sir Topham Hatt and goa to ask Gordon for advice. Now then interms of what I personally thought / about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty not that bad. With the specials plot not really being one of the franchises better plots however tho in saying this this special plot is easily better then any of the plots in All Engines Go as it actually feels true to Thomas and isn't just there to talk down to kids and be a generic cartoon plot as there is some feel of thought put into this specials plot. However tho it is hard to call this specials plot good as all it is is an excuse t introduce the new show and that's fine but there still needs to be something special about the plot to make it feel worthy of being the plot of a special episode of the show rather this plot feels like it could have been the plot of an episode of the show as it serves the same basic function as a pilot episode and that's really it and while yes the plots in All Engines Go weren't that good the plots for there specials knew that they had to do something different from the main show to feel worthy of being the plot of a special and while of course it is far to early to tell on if this specials plot will be one of the better plots in this new show there does need to be alot of improvement as the plot does feel a bit to kid friendly even for Thomas however tho this plot does feel true to the Thomas franchise with alot of the characters acting how you think that they would with the plot itself still being a lot of fun to watch with the specials plot also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this special is Harry Sparkes as Thomas , Chris Woodworth as Henry and Django Bevan as Gordon. Also starring in this special is Oscar Elliott as Percy , Iliana Vargas Brock as Rosie , Elliott Garcia as Bruno , Nanak Phlora as Deepak , Gene Foad as Sir Topham Hatt , Rory Barnett as Farmer McColl and a Workman , Rowan Alltraine as Kid A , Greta Railton as Kid B ,Jenny Fitzpatrick as a Woman and Henry Golding as The Narrator.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty not that bad. You can tell that the actors in this special are doing there best which had to have been hard for them as alot of them are actual kids and it is that does help to make the acting truly standout as the characters that are meant to sound like kids like for example Thomas and Percy do sound exactly like how you think they would and while some characters like for example do have good voices like for example Gordon who does sound quite pompous which is true to his character Rosie on the other hand doesn't have a voice that fits her character as here she is given an Indian accent which makes no sense as Rosie is meant to be either British or American if the makers of this show wanted to have an Indian character in the show then why not keep Nia. With the best actor in the whole special being Harry Sparkes as Thomas as he does sound like what you think a more modern version of Thomas would sound like and while of course he's not going to match up with alot of the other actors who have played Thomas in CGI form for the first time playing the character he does sound really good and he does give the character a really youthful sounding voice that you could very easily see him becoming what this next generation think Thomas is meant to sound like like how those of us who great up in the eighties and nineties think that he should sound like Sir Ringo Starr or how other generations think that he should sound like the actor that was playing him when they grew up watching the show. With the acting that's in this special not really being helped by the act that this specials script isn't that good as it doesn't give any of this specials actors anything to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really goes harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very special.

Doing the animation for this special is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Brown Bag Films. Now then interms of what I personally thought / about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty not that bad. With the specials animation being a huge step up interms of quality from what we got in All Engines Go as thee CGI used in this special does look really good with there being alot of thought and effort gone into the specials animation and it is something that does show as the special from a visual standpoint does look really good. However tho this special does the same thing that the last CGI Thomas special did and that's have the characters bounding everytime they talk and it once again gets to the point where it is distracting and isn't needed as it makes no sense for the trains to be bounding every single time they talk to each other but on the plus side tho the characters designs while they will make some die hard fans unhappy do look really good with Percy having more of a rounded face when compared to somebody like Gordon for example with even the characters having the same coloured eyes as there paintwork with Thomas having blu eyes and Henry having green eyes for example this is something that could make alot of the die hard fans unhappy as it is an unneeded change to designs that didn't really need to be changed in the first place but at the same time tho they are changes that work within the context of this special and this new show, however tho the constant bouncing when the characters talk is something that needed to be gone as it wasn't needed and it just looks ugly and with the makers of this special doin there best to try to recapture that classic Thomas look and feel then they should have gone the whole way and removed something that the fans of classic Thomas hate. 

As was mentioned at the vert start of this review this special is the first piece of animated Thomas media since the release of the final All Engines Go special. With it quite frankly being great to get back to something that felt like true Thomas as while yes this special is bit to kid friendly or it's own good there enough good things in it that you do kind of forgive that aspect of the special where as with All Engines Go even tho it wasn't as kid friendly as this special is the fact that the makers of that show had the characters openly jumping from track to track and acting like anything other then engines it does go a great way to show you that Mattel are trying to recapture the fans that they lost when they put out All Engines Go. As while yes fair enough this special is never going to be as good as the great seasons of this show are there is still a clear attempt being made with this special and hopefully with the new show to make something that does feel as true to the spirit of Thomas then what we go in something like Sodor Sings Together for example as that special is the official finale to All Engines Go and yet it doesn't feel like it where as here with this special you do get the feeling that they are starting something new and it is something that does have the potential to work if they just avoid everything that they did in that show and stick with what worked in the original show and the original stories as it's all there in both the show and stories to make a great show. This is a special that quite frankly I can see just as much kids and adults liking it for totally different reasons as the kids will love it due to the fact that it does have these likable and quirky characters that to them will be brand new and the adults will love it because of the fact that it does feel like true Thomas and not just the version of the show that they grew up with but the franchise as a whole with this being something that All Engines Go seemed to scared to be as they sent more time on having the characters act like anything other then trains that are doing there work and spent more time with them goofing off and that's great for one episode but alot of All Engines Go was like that and that's not true to the Thomas franchise at all.

This special is actually unique in that it actually made it's debut on Youtube which is something of a first of Thomas & Friends as usually the specials would appear first on TV or streaming. Yet here whilst there is a streaming and TV premiere due for the special with the special appearing on Netflix on September 30th and on TV sometime in October the fact that is appeared first on the official Thomas & Friends Youtube channel is something that could either be seen as being a good or a bad thing it's a good things as like it or not alot of kids these days especially the shows target audience are watching more Youtube then they are regular TV and therefor having the special appear on there first does make alot of sense as it'll mean that they'll have more of a chance to watch it. However it is also a bad thing as it now means that when the special does appear on both Netflix and on TV that kids won't have the same incentive to watch it as why should they when they can just load up Youtube and watch it and not have to worry about buffering time or he adverts coming in and interrupting the special this is in turn going to affect how the show does interms of TV ratings and how many people watch it as while yes alot of people have Netflix accounts but alot more people have access to Youtube this is something that the makers of this special had to know otherwise why would they do this kind of a release strategy for the special when having it air on TV is something that has worked well for the franchise for decades and if something is good it won't matter where the kids see it first as there going to be drawn to the fact that it's on TV bottom line being that it is an odd way to release a special that's meant to essentially be the first episode of a new show this way as now there is no way to know if the special was going to do good on either streaming or on TV as now it's been dropped somewhere where we alot more people can watch it for free. 

There is one thing that really doesn't work in this special and that's the fact they feel the need to over explain who alot of the classic characters. Which fair enough is something that would have been done for the new fans and not really for the older fan but even if you watched All Engines Go you still going to know who these characters and heck they even give Henry the wrong job in this special as it's Percy's job to pull the mail train and not Henry's with them even making Henry the always afraid character that he was back in the earlier CGI seasons when anybody who has watched the classic show and the CGI era show will be able to tell you that whilst yes Henry can get scared sometimes there are more examples of him being a strong bada*s character who will do anything for his friends even if it means risking breaking himself down because of it. Look to be fair there is a chance that they could give Percy and Henry the correct jobs when the series starts of proper but you only get one chance to make a good first impression and this special didn't do that when they got Henry wrong ad heck just out of the model seasons of the show alone there are at the very least only two episodes when he was worried but there are more examples of him being cheeky and more examples of him being hot headed and being this strong engine bottom line being here if the makers of this special wanted to truly capture the spirit of the show and what made it so good in the first place then they should have gone all out, as having Henry start of the special being worried about something is something that could have worked if it played a part in the special but it doesn't it's literally in just the one scene near the start of the special and that's it with the special not giving Henry much of a chance to show of other aspects of his personality which is fine for the older fans as there going to know what else Henry is like but the young kids won't.

Now then this special has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly thirty minuets and thirty one seconds. This a fairly decent running time for the special to have as the special doesn't really have all that much to set up due to the fact that the characters and the world are that iconic that alot of people will know all about them in the first lace but at the same time tho it would have been nice if the special did take some time from there musical numbers and give it to setting up some things in regards to the specials plot and how these versions of the character differ from the versions that alot of us no and love in the first place with the special having more then enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. However tho the special really doesn't use it's running tome all that wisely as the special really doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot which to be fair is kind of expected but at the same time given the fact that this is a new version of the show you do want to start out the new show with your best foot forward and having a special that doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot with the message of Thomas feeling that he has to do everything on his own not really working as the plot doesn't give that idea enough time to breathe before they start to wrap it up with the makers of this special being more focused on giving Thomas musical numbers then they are in giving us a well developed plot. This is something that does also effect the special character development as outside of Thomas none of the specials characters get any kind of character development which is kind of understandable as he is the main character of the special but at the same time tho it would have been nice if say Percy or Gordon got some character development and even Thomas's character development doesn't feel earned as not enough time is spent on making it feel well thought out in the first place with the makers of this special being more focused on making sure that all of the engine characters bounce when they talk then they in giving the special some much needed characters development but I really will admit that this special really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I gave to actually talk about the actual comedy that's  actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty not that bad. The specials comedy is decent as we do get scenes with Thomas being cheeky to Gordon which is always fun to see but at the same time that's about the only bit of comedy that we get in the episode with the episode feeling more like a drama alot of the time and while this is understandable as this is a special after all there did still need to be some more lighthearted moments with the characters in the special. With the best joke in the whole entire special being when Thomas is cheeky to Gordon just by annoying him as Thomas is trying to get Gordon to let him pull this big train which for some odd reason Gordon call an engine but that is something that only works due to the fact that it does feel true to Thomas's character in both the books and the show as he would be cheeky to other engines especially if they had something that he wanted and therefor having him be a bit cheeky to Gordon does make sense for his character this is something that doesn't make it all that funny tho but compared to the rest of the special that joke is funny with there being more stuff in this special and in that one scene with Thomas being cheeky to Gordon that little kids will find funny and is something that does make sense as the main target audience for this audience has always been and will always be little kids with the rest of the specials jokes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this is a decent start to Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories as it does show the potential that this new show does have not only in how it handles the characters but also in how good it could be where as compared with All Engines Go you knew right from frame one that hat show was going to be bad here tho there is still that hope that this could be a really good show in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very special in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very special really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Thomas The Tank Engine fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very special that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very special with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Thomas And Friends TV Series "Thomas And The Royal Engine" Review

Thomas The Tank Engine as a show had been going on since the eighties with it only ending in 2021 and while many do rightfully think that the last episode of season 24 was the shows final episode; The fact it that's not true as the last episode to be produced wasn't an episode of the show it really was a special made to celebrate the franchises seventy fifth anniversary and that's that very special that i'm going to be talking to you all about today and so then join me as I review the special that marked the end of the franchise with the special in question being called simply just "Thomas And The Royal Engine" enjoy.

The plot of this special is The Fat Controller and Thomas are invited to a special ceremony in London by none other then the then Queen of England herself. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty not that bad. With the specials plot being a decent plot that does do a good job of setting itself apart from when the last few series of the show were all about just by sticking to what worked in the show as while there is mention of Thomas going abroad in the special the special mainly focused on the UK setting. This is something that does work in the specials favor as that's what the fans of the show would want to see in Thomas episode and while yes it would have been nice if the plot did include characters from Thomas's adventures on the whole as this is meant to celebrate seventy five years of the franchise as a whole it's not something that was needed and while it does make from a marketing point of view for Thomas to be the centre of the plot given that it this special was meant to celebrate seventy five years since the release of the first book it would made just as much sense for Gordon , Henry and Edward to take centre stage with the specials plot admittedly being a bit on the thin side as there is nothing to the episodes plot that makes it worthy of being a full blown special in it's own right with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this episode is John Hasler as Thomas , Keith Wickham as Henry and Gordon and Nigel Pilkington as Percy. Also starring in this episode is Teresa Gallagher as Emily , Rob Rackstraw as James , The Thin Clergyman and the Mainland Engine Cleaners , Rachael Miller as Rebecca and Prince Charles , Rosamund Pike as Duchess , Colin McFarlane as Bulgy and Beresford , Keith Wickham as The Fat Controller , Dowager Hatt , Thomas' Crew and the Mainland Stationmaster and Sharon Miller as Queen Elizabeth II.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty not that bad. All of the series regular actors do indeed do a really good job of voicing their characters for what would be the final time in the show with them all getting a small amount of time to show us just why they were good in the show to begin with and as is tradition with Thomas we do have a celebrity voicing a one off character with us having the delightful Rosamund Pike as Duchess with her doing a really good job in the episode as a whole. With the best actor in the whole entire episode being John Hasler as Thomas which granted might be something of a cliche thing to say as he is playing the main character of the show but it's also something that is true as he does get alot to do as the character outside of him of just spouting a few catchphrases with John having a good voice for Thomas as it does capture both his more youthful nature and how wise he is at the same time with this being something that wouldn't have worked if the character had a voice that made him sound to young with John even having some really good charm and charisma that really does shine through in his performance in this special. With the acting that's in this very special really being helped by the fact that the script for this special is just so good that all this specials actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very special. 

Doing the animation for this special is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Jam Filled Toronto. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty not that bad. The specials animation was quite frankly alot more better then what it really had any right to be as by all rights the animation in this special should have been really bad as the animation in season 24 was pretty bad but no infact it's actually alot more better then that as you can tell the makers of this special did put alot of thought and effort in to making the specials animation look as good as it could have been. As while yes the backgrounds do lack alot of detail which does make it hard to work out on if the characters are meant to be on the mainland or on Sodor but on the plus side the characters don't bounce as much when there talking this time around with the characters remaining still which is very pleasant to see and while this specials animation was never going to as good as the animation in a feature film would for the fact that it is a made for TV special there is alot more thought and effort gone into the animation then say something from Paw Patrol as you can see all of the love for the show that the animators have in each and every frame however tho the thing that lets down this specials animation is the fact that we don't get to see alot of different types of environments in the specials as alot of it is set in the country side which does get a bit boring to look at after a while and it would have given the animators the chance to show of more backgrounds if they did give us a more a variety of backgrounds it also would have helped if the specials animation had more of a chance to do some really creative things that show of just how good the animation is. 

As was mentioned at the start of this review whilst the series itself did technically end with season 24 this was the last special to be fully developed. Therefor this is the shows technical final episode as the series would be rebooted with that dreadful All Engines Go right after this special came out with it being weird that after thirty to forty years on the air that the show would come to an end as the Thomas TV series is just one of those shows that you think would never go away as the people that grew up watching it and liking could become fans of it and therefor write episodes for the show and thus inspiring the next generation of kids to do the exact same thing and yet someone possibly and Mattel decided that kids weren't enjoying this show when truth be told they weren't enjoying the bad stories that made up season 22 to 24. With this episode not even feeling like a finale episode as there's no sense of this is the end for the characters that you typically get when your watching the final episode of a show and heck not even all of the characters in the show show up for this special therefor they don't get that big send off moment that alot of the other characters in the special get which is something that makes you wonder if the the choice to cancel the show was made after this special was made as you know that the makers of the special would have gone out of there way to make it feel like a true finale if that was choice was made prior to the special being made but either way it was a bit sad to see this truly iconic show end knowing what comes after it isn't going to save the franchise but is rather going to do more harm to it then good, with the only way for Mattel to fix the mistakes that they made to be just to give us decent stories and that audience that you've lost would have come back as the show and the format wasn't broken.

There is a part of this episode that is shall we say quite infamous as it does feature someone who was then a member of the royal family but not long after recording his opening for the episode would start to distance himself from his family. Look to be fair having a member of the royal family open the episode is a good way to start the episode of as it is about Thomas going to meet them but it is something that hasn't aged all that well given what happens in real life therefor it would have made more sense if they got someone who was still in the royal family to do the opening like maybe Charles of William or maybe even Kate to do it as they are still quite high up in the royal family or maybe one of the lesser known royals as it's not really something that would have required a more well known family member to do it in the first place. Another issue with the episode is that it spends so much time in building up London and yet we spend a a grand total of around two minuets there at the end of the episode with the rest of the episode bein spent on showing the characters going to London which does make you wonder why they chose to shout out London by name and have the characters go there as they could have had the royal party go to Sodor and nothing would need to be changed plot wise and yet by shifting the location to London and not really showing us alot of the location it does make that whole idea feel like the waste of a good idea as it would have been fun to see how the makers of this show interpret something like the London Underground for example or even showing The Fat Controller being driven to Buckingham Palace for his meeting with Thomas being carried by lorry which is something that would have allowed the makers of the episode to give us a few shots of the characters going around other famous London landmarks bottom line being there is alot that they could have done with the London location and yet they don't do it all for no good reason.

Duchess as a new character was pretty fun as she is basically just a female version of Spencer with the thing being that she is forgetful. With her always forgetting something which in the case of this special was forgetting to have her safety valve checked and yet she's also always in a rush and worrying about several different things at once which does make her kind of a fun character and one that if the show did indeed continue you could very easily see her coming back into the show on a semi-regular basis as there are stories that you could tell with her character that don't involve the royal family being there and yet the character only shows up about four times in the whole special this is something that does go to show you that the makers of tis special did know what they doing. As with just four scenes they manage to create a character that does leave an impression on us the audience and while OK fair enough she's not the best written character however this is something that could also be said for alot of the new characters in the latter episodes of the show with Rebecca being a very good example of this as the show barely used her after they set her up as a character and yet here wit Duchess they do have the basis of a good character and yet the character never really appears after this special when it would have been super fun to see her again even in All Engines Go which given how they did the characters on that show would have been where she might have fit in the best. The character is one that did have lots of potential in the show to be a really good character as while she doesn't get alot of screen time in this special the time that she does get does make you want to see her more and see what her interactions with say Gordon would be like or given the fact that she's a female more kinder version of Spencer why not show us what there interactions are like and with the new Thomas reboot coming out in a few weeks why not have or a version of her be apart of the cast for that show and show us more of what her personality is.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty two minuets and thirty six seconds. Which was a pretty solid running time for this special to have but at the same time tho this special really could have done with being alot longer then that just to make sure that all of the main characters from the show not only got there chance to say goodbye to the audience but also allow the characters more time in London as you very easily could have gotten this specials running time up to about thirty or forty minuets and with that added screen time it would have allowed for the plot to breathe alot more as with it's actual running time it does feel like that the special is just rushing from one plot point to the next with the special having more then enough plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. Yet even with the episode being as long as it is it still doesn't use its running time all that wisely as while the specials plot is as well developed as it was ever going to be the plot still does feel underbaked with this mainly due to the fact that it is now the official series finale as the special does spend alot of time with just The Fat Controller and Thomas and not enough time on adding things to the plot that make it feel more developed with the makers oft his special being more focused on showing us alot of the countryside then it is in giving us a well developed plot. This is something that is also kind of true for the specials character development as while both The Fat Controller and Thomas don't really need any kind of character development due ton them having gotten it in the previous episodes of the show characters like Duchess and Beresford don't get any kind of character development and while it's understandable as to why Beresford doesn't get any as he's only in the one scene Duchess is meant to be a main character and yet she doesn't get any kind of character development with the makers of this special being more focused on giving us references to past episodes then they are in giving the characters some character development but I really will admit that this special really does have some really bad pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy special that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very special was in all honesty really good. With alot of the comedy in this special being more cute then anything else which is by no means a bad things as that is the type of comedy that this show did do best be it Bulgy saying that the mail would have arrived n time if it had been delivered by bus which is very true to his character or Duchess being convinced that Thomas has her coaches bottom line being there are alot of cute and funny moments here in the special. With the best joke in the whole special being when The Fat Controller is getting dressed in the morning and he opens his wardrobe and we see that the only hats he has are the same ones that he wears everyday and yet to top it of even his new hat is just the same hat that joke it just a cute joke that whilst yes you can see it coming as other films and TV shows have done that exact same joke before now it is still a funny joke and it is sone that is oddly befitting for his character as we can imagine him just having rows and rows of the same top hat all over the place and therefor picturing him trying to choose one to wear not just for meeting the Queen but also just for going to work on a daily basis is a pretty funny idea in it's own right and seeing the Thomas team put there own stamp on that joke is something that does make the joke feel kind of new all over again with the rest of the specials jokes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall as a series finale this special isn't all that good as it doesn't wrap the show up at all but as an anniversary special then it does do it's job of reminding us all of why we fell n love with Thomas in the first place as the special does feel like a special that was written for the fans by the fans in my freaking pinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very special in this very review and a such tat really does mean that this very special really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . UK and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very special that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very special with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact Of Thomas The Tank Engine Film Review

Thomas The Tank Engine the series has been going since the eighties with it only just wrapping up a few years ago and the book the series is based off of has been going the forties. With there naturally being a fandom developing over the years be it from people who loved the show the show or people who read the books with alot of those fans not only being little kids but also being adults and well one of those fans has released a documentary about the fandom as a whole and I thought i'd talk about and so then join me as I review the film that proves you don't have to be a little kid to like Thomas the Tank Engine with the film in question being called simply just "An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact Of Thomas The Tank Engine" enjoy.

With this film being a documentary there really isn't a plot to speak off outside of the fact that the films director is going around not only interviewing people involved with making both the show and also Shining Time Station but also the fans. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. This films plot is genuinely a good idea as it would have been super easy for the plot of the film to just be about the making of the franchise as a whole but to also include things from the fans and the various aspects of the Thomas fandom from the websites to the fan made episodes and fan made models that actually is a really good idea. As the Thomas fandom is perhaps the most creative fandom out there at the very least when it comes to kids media anyway as they don't just limit themselves to drawings and fanfictions some of them will spend months creating a fully animated episode or some will spend months making models to create a full episode in the style of the early seasons of the show with the thing that lets this idea down a bit being the fact that they don't rally delve all that much into the creative process be it from the fan perspective or the perspective of those that made the show whilst this is something that would have made the films plot feel more thought out and be more in like with how creative the Thomas fandom is on the whole with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Abi Grant , Brandon Stone , Britt Allcroft , Daniel Coffey , Isaiah Ferguson and Jordan Neidert. Also starring in this film is Ken Friedel , Louis Cantone , Luke Ryan , Marvin Jerry , Michael White , Mike O'Donnell , Nicholas Jones , Vinnie Smith , Ricky Imparato , Rick Siggelkow , Samuel Knappett , Thomas Carter , Tom Denham , Tom Jedski , Veronica Chambers , Doug Blaine , Bradley Bledsoe , this films director , producer , editor and cinematographer Brannon Carty , Jadan DiStefano , Eric Drouin , Brandon FitzPatrick , Lachlan Kyle , Christian La Rocca , Hunter Lohse , Robert Magee , Matt Michaud , Jamil Morris , Adam Phelan , William Poletski , Vincent Sekafetz , Stephen Sheredy , Jackie Stitt , Nolan Thunder and Matthew Twillman.

The fact that the makers of this film managed to get as many key people who were involved with the creation of the show as they did is nothing short of a miracle. As they managed to get the daughter of Rev. W. Awdry to appear in the film and share the tale of of how the first book in the series essentially came to be which was something that they never had to do and yet the fact that he makers of this film got her to appear in the film does show you that they have a deep level of love for this franchise which does make sense as Brannon Carty is himself a Thomas The Tank Engine fan with hm even being on good terms with alot of the people that appear in this film with none of the crew that he interviews coming across as being stuck up which they very easily could have done. Heck he was even one of if not the last person to interview show creator Britt Allcroft before she passed away with him even dedicating the film to her that is just something that he never had to do and yet because of the fact that he loved these characters so much he did it anyway and while he of course doesn't mange to interview every single creative person that helped to make the show and the books a success as sadly alot of them are no longer with us it still would have been nice if we got interviews from some of the narrators of the show just to get there perspective on things and heck it would have been nice if as well as well as showing footage from The Magic Railroad if we got interviews from some of the cast members from that film as like it or not they apart of the franchises history now albeit in a small way but not having them in the film does work as well with allowing for more interviews with the fans and giving the fand a chance to show us why thy love this franchise and these characters as much as they do in the first place.

Even tho the films does gave alot of interviews from some of the key people that helped to make the franchise and to keep it alive. This film does feature alot more interviews with the people that share this deep unbridled love for Thomas those being the fans of the franchise and this is where the beating heart of the film does lie as without these passionate fans going against the social grain if you will and not only liking but loving something that was made with little kids in mind then there wouldn't a be a franchise to speak of and yet its due to the fact that we do have these fans that not only own the books but also watch every episode including the bad ones but also own the toys and are willing to do these creative things to show there love for these characters that we have a franchise to speak off. With all of them giving us great insight into not only what there hobby is in the Thomas fandom but for alot of them also giving us great insight into the kind of bullying that they got from kids when they found out that they liked Thomas The Tank Engine with this being something that really hasn't been explored before and it really should be as the one thing that Thomas The Tank Engine always teaches us through it's more villainous characters is that bullying is always wrong and that the bully will always end getting punished because of it with that lesson being something that whom ever those bullies were seemed to have forgotten about as there is nothing wrong with openly liking a show that was made for kids just look at all of the adults today that like Bluey as that show much like Thomas was is a really well written show and yet despite that there will be people out there who see both Bluey and Thomas as being nothing more then shows for babies and will openly mock the adults that like it when there's nothing wrong with liking a show that i actually good.

In what was a surprising move is the fact that they actually got an interview with the writer of what is technically the final the episode of Tomas And Friends Michael White. With him revealing that prior to being a writer of the show he was a fan and had to keep it a secret for almost two years that he had been given the job as a writer for the show with his friends and family only finding out when his first episode "An Engine Of Colors" back in season 22 and heck he was brought back on to write episodes of THAT animated Thomas show with him giving us some good amount of information like the fact that he himself had no idea of how The Royal Engine was going to turn out let alone who they were going to get to open the episode. With him quite frankly being more nervous about writing the anniversary special then anything else which is understandable as it was a big anniversary to celebrate and had the show still be on the air when the eightieth anniversary rolled around there more then likely would have been a special made for that as well, Michael even saying how much of a headache it was for him to write as he struggled to even came with a plot with the special and yet he still put in the work and did the special because of the fact that he was a fan of the franchise with him even saying that he put in alot of throw backs to over scenes in his episodes so that the kids watching it might be tempted to go and watch the classic episodes to see where those references previously came from which in all fairness is a good way to get little kids to watch classic TV with the only things that would have made that segment of the film even better being if he talked about some of the creative choices behind alot of the special and how he feels about it being the last Thomas And Friends episode.

Whilst the Thomas brand isn't as well known today thanks to All Engines Go which never gets mentioned in the film at all. The brand is still loved by a great many people not just here in the UK or in America altho those are the two biggest fanbases for the brand but all around the world which makes it odd that only Australian fans get showcased in this special as there are fans in Asia and in other countries that still love the show and yet they never get mentioned grated since this documentary is essentially just a fan film that was made for the fans by the fans it would've been impossible for the makers of this film to fly to Asia to get interviews with those fans and it would have been a tough ask for them to get Asian fans to fly from Asia to either her in the UK or to America and attend a Thomas themed event. Would it have ben nice if we id get to see people from other countries other then American , the UK or Australia sure it's not really needed to make the film work as the film does still work regardless of if there was Asian people but it would have been interesting to see what creative things that they came up with to help express there love for the franchise as Asian people do have different ways to express there fandom and there love of something then alot of others do as heck one of them might have come up with a Thomas which would've been cool to see and while we do get told of people who created songs and music based ff of either the show or there favorite characters it would have been cool to hear ne of the songs and if it was an Asian person that did create a song then odds are it couldn't have had a fun anime vibe to it.

As the title of film would suggest its all about fandom and what it means to be a fan of something with this film giving us a good idea of what it means to be apart of a fandom that inspires creativity alot more then say the Doctor Who or the Marvel fandom does for example. As none of those fandoms inspires people to create full length and fully cast episodes using just the toys alone and yet with the Thomas fandom that's exactly what we get and it's why the Thomas fandom is this huge creative space as we do get people being creative and expressing there love for for this little blue engine in ways that other fandoms could only dream of doing and yet because of the fact that this is a kids show this fandom will always be looked down upon when in reality it needs to be looked up to. With the film even going to great lengths to show us all of the genuine loves and friendships that people in the fandom have made over the years with alot of them making life long friends that go on holiday together and aren't afraid to just be who they are with this being being something the Thomas series has told us time and time again is an OK thing to be, with the people in this fandom even putting together events on there own not for the show or the books but for the toys with there oddly being a big enough want out there there that alot of people do turn up to the events just to show off there Thomas toys and make new friends out of it this is something that you don't see happen in any other fandom but due to how welcoming and how forward thinking the Thomas fandom is it's something that they do alot of the time in America whereas here in the UK we do get people going to meets ups on railways that helped to inspire railway sights in either the books and the show as we get people going to Thomas events all of which is still a really crazy feet in it's own right.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and twenty four minuets and thirty four seconds. This is pretty much the exact running time that would expect a Thomas documentary to be as alot of stuff in regards to the show was covered in a previous films called "Thomas The Tank Engine Man" with footage from that film being used in parts in this film and therefor the film really only needed to cover things from the fans perspective and what it means to them to be apart of this fandom either in a small way or in the case of Michael White in a fairly big way with the film doing a good enough job of getting across just how much this film meant to those that were making the shows and the books and what it still does mean to those that are fans of both the book and show. However tho this film doesn't really need to be this long as there several dull points in the film that don't really add anything to the film but this is something that could be chalked up to Brannon Carty being a first time film maker and therefor he is of course going to be making some mistakes when it comes to the pacing of this film as we didn't need alot of the stuff with the fans just repeating how Thomas has inspired them to be creative as that does feel like that they were included to either pad the film out or they were friends with the director with alot ot the more interesting stuff like alot of the early Thomas fan made videos not being given the time that they should have gotten. With alot of them only being given a few seconds each at best and alot of the time more shall we say darker videos just being covered in one montage when they could have been given a few more minuets as it would have been interesting to see and hear how and why the makers of those videos came up with those ideas and inspired them to make those darker videos and the first place but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a drama that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual drama that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual rama thats actually featured / presented to u in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of the people that were being interviewed really getting across well just what it was that this franchise means to them and while none of them have these big dramatic moments the fact that we do get to find out that alot of them were being bullied by kids just for liking something that is typically seen as being for little kids does show you that they did have to struggle with coming to terms with the fact that they love this show. With the best bit of drama in the whole film being where newly filmed footage of the now late Britt Allcroft plays near the end of the film and she just talks abut the lasting impact of the Thomas franchise and how it manages to only still be relevant to this day be it in this case through the Wonders Of Sodor video game but how it will in some respects always be relevant as both the stories and the characters are timeless as they are these well written stories and character and that is something that absolutely true as Thomas right now as a fandom is still going strong with a united fandom behind it whereas alot of the other fandoms have become splintered and yet a fandom about a blue Tank Engine is still strong and is still united and is more accepting then alot of the fandoms that are meant for adults with the rest of the films drama being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall if you haven't seen this film go on to Youtube and look it up on the Stash - Free Documentaries Youtube Channel as the film really is worth watching as if your a Thomas fans you might see other fans that you know or recognise and if your weren't a fan then really might find some new respect for something you forgot abut in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and a such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then a for where I personally got all of the images that I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review ell then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.