Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines!
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Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines! is a 2005 feature-length Thomas & Friends special. Although it is the second Thomas & Friends film overall (following Thomas and the Magic Railroad), it is the first one to be released straight to home video and take place in the main canon of the series. It was released October 3, 2005, in the UK, and a month earlier on September 3, 2005, in the US. It was made to celebrate the franchise's sixtieth anniversary.
Why it is Really Useless
- The plot is incredibly boring, as almost nothing noteworthy happens, and as a result, despite the being advertised as a film, it feels more like a very long episode. To add to that, the opening and closing sequences are just the standard ones that were used in the series at the time that the special was released.
- False advertising: For a special titled Calling All Engines!, the cast of characters is rather small. It is mostly just the eight main cast members (Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, and Emily), the main diesel characters (Diesel, Mavis, 'Arry, and Bert), and a few completely random comebacks (i.e. Daisy, George, Derek, Lady, and Diesel 10). In fact, among these characters, the only ones who have major roles are Thomas (obviously), Emily, Diesel, Mavis, Diesel 10, and notably, 'Arry and Bert, who receive the largest role and screentime that they have ever gotten.
- Some characters are either unlikable or poorly handled.
- Given that this special is from the HiT era, Emily is depicted as a rude, bossy, and unlikable jerk. Thomas goes to sleep with her at Knapford Sheds while Tidmouth is being rebuilt. He shares his worries over everything that is going on, and rather than being a friend and listening to him express his concerns, she just tells him to be quiet and go to sleep. Later, when the Fat Controller scolds the engines for all of the trouble that they have caused, all she has to say is, "And now, you will never move out of my sheds!".
- While it is great to see Diesel 10 again, there is no explanation for how he ended up on Sodor between the events of the eighth season and the special. The real problem with him, however, is his portrayal. In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, he was depicted as an evil and scary diesel who wanted to destroy steam engines. While this special does depict him as somewhat intimidating in his first three scenes, all traces of his wicked and horrifying nature are completely erased when he agrees to help Thomas, which is only worsened when he is seen wearing his new "nice guy" face masks. Even though Thomas and the Magic Railroad is not canon, this is still a very jarring character change.
- Major plot hole: There is no in-universe explanation for why Tidmouth Sheds is demolished, nor why Emily moves from Knapford to Tidmouth Sheds.
- The ending makes it seem like the conflict between the steam and diesel engines has ended for good, only for it to completely reset after the events of the special.
- By far and away, the absolute worst part about this special is the learning segments. In a fashion very similar to how the episodes from the HiT era were broadcasted on tv, every so often, the plot is broken up by learning segments, which are so obviously meant for babies and insult the viewer's intelligence. In a special that is already extremely boring, these segments drag its pacing to a screeching halt and serve no other purpose than to pad out the runtime. Sometimes, they even repeat things that either already have or will be delved into, like the segment that shows the differences between steam and diesel engines before they play a song about the exact same thing, and they sometimes make the engines out to be complete idiots, most notably with Diesel being completely oblivious to the fact that he is pulling a train of banana-filled trucks. To add insult to injury, there is no way to watch the special without these segments.
- Overall, due to all of the aforementioned pointers, this is a huge disappointment for the celebration of the franchise's sixtieth anniversary and the first film to be released straight to home video and take place in the main canon of the series.
Redeeming Qualities
- As usual, the visuals, models, and sets are nice to look at.
- The narration from Michael Angelis in the UK and Michael Brandon in the US is good.
- There are a few entertaining scenes, specifically the storm sequence and the fight scene.
- The songs are quite fun and catchy.
- The special does at least handle the conflict between the steam and diesel engines much better than Day of the Diesels, where one side is painted good and the other is painted bad.
- Despite all of its flaws, it is by no means the worst Thomas & Friends film and is definitely better than Misty Island Rescue, Day of the Diesels, and Big World! Big Adventures!.
Reception
Calling All Engines! has received mixed-to-negative reception from Thomas & Friends fans, with many deeming it one of the series' weaker specials. It currently holds a rating of 5.7/10 on IMDb.
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