Thomas and the Magic Railroad

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Thomas and the Magic Railroad
This movie went off the rails faster than Diesel 10!
Genre: Adventure
Fantasy
Directed by: Britt Allcroft
Produced by: Britt Allcroft
Phil Fehrle
Written by: Britt Allcroft
Starring: Peter Fonda
Mara Wilson
Alec Baldwin
Didi Conn
Russell Means
Cody McMains
Michael E. Rodgers
Photography: Color
Cinematography: Paul Ryan
Editing: Ron Wisman
Music by: Hummie Mann
Production company: Destination Films
Gullane Pictures
Isle of Man Film Commission
Distributed by: Icon Film Distribution (United Kingdom)
Destination Films (United States)
Release date: July 9, 2000 (Odeon Leicester Square)
July 14, 2000 (United Kingdom)
July 26, 2000 (United States)
Runtime: 84 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
United States
Language: English
Budget: $19 million
Box office: $19.7 million
Sequel: Thomas and the Magic Railroad 2 (Proposed Sequel: Cancelled)
Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines

Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British-American adventure fantasy film based on the British TV series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, The Railway Series by Reverend Wilbert Awdry, and the American TV series Shining Time Station. This was the first Thomas the Tank Engine feature-length movie and would later be followed up by many more sequels.

The film was met with negative reception from both fans and critics, criticized for its complex plot, minimal screen time for Thomas and his friends, the presence of human characters, and a general misunderstanding of the original material. With a budget of $19 million and a gross of $19.7 million, it was considered a box-office failure.

Plot

In the enchanting Island of Sodor, Thomas the blue tank engine and his friends are thrust into a dire situation. The villainous Diesel 10, equipped with a destructive claw, aims to conquer Sodor by destroying Lady, the lost magical engine, and cutting off the magical railroad's power, which links Sodor with the human realm. In our world, Lily, a young girl, is visiting her grandfather, Burnett Stone, who is Lady's guardian. Burnett is desperately trying to restore Lady's lost power while keeping her concealed. Concurrently, Mr. Conductor, the diminutive overseer of Shining Time Station, finds his supply of magical gold dust dwindling, endangering the passage between the worlds. Lily, joined by her new ally Patch and Thomas, sets out on an adventure to unearth more gold dust and rekindle Lady's magic. They confront Diesel 10 and his hench-engines, Splatter and Dodge, who are bent on thwarting them. In the end, through unity and bravery, Thomas, Lady, and their companions triumph over Diesel 10, revitalize the magic railroad, and secure Mr. Conductor's supply of gold dust, ensuring the bond between Sodor and the human world remains intact, and harmony prevails in both realms.

Not So Magical Qualities

  1. False advertising for 2 reasons:
    • The primary issue with this movie, which significantly detracts from its appeal, is the highly misleading title. Although Thomas is the titular character and contributes to the storyline, he is allotted a mere 11 minutes of screen-time, along with his friends, and a scant 12% of the film is devoted to him. Consequently, removing Thomas from the narrative would result in no substantial alteration, as the film predominantly centers on the human characters, both the original ones and those from Shining Time Station, rather than on Thomas and his companions. This relegates Thomas to a role that appears more akin to a supporting character than a protagonist.
    • In one of the trailers, P.T. Boomer is featured in the scene where Diesel 10 falls from the viaduct as it collapses. However, he is absent from the movie itself, as he was removed from the final version after the trailer's widespread release.
  2. The plot is confusing, convoluted, and poorly executed, leaving the movie struggling to decide whether the engines or the human characters should be the main focus.
  3. Many of the human characters come across as bland, underdeveloped, and poorly written, overshadowing Thomas and the other engines, with the notable exceptions of Mr. Conductor and Junior.
    • The film seems to struggle with identifying its main character, oscillating between Thomas, Mr. Conductor, Lily, and Burnett Stone.
  4. While the acting is alright, it still has its share of issues:
    • Peter Fonda sounds and looks really depressed and unenthusiastic in almost every scene he's in throughout the movie.
    • Lily (Mara Wilson's character) is a generic, one-dimensional, weakly-executed, clichéd, uninteresting, bland, and boring character who not only takes away the spotlight for Thomas the Tank Engine, but she also painfully under acts, with her mouth appearing to never be closed. Her acting could actually be comparable to that of Freddie Highmore in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In fact, this was her final film role before she stepped away from acting to focus on her writing career (though she has since returned for minor roles in television and web shows).
    • Didi Conn does a fine job reprising her role as Stacey Jones from Shining Time Station, though she only appears for a few minutes. However, in the dream sequence where she's in a deserted Shining Time, Didi sounds like she's reading off a cue card dangling from the camera.
    • Eddie Glen, while he does a decent job voicing Thomas, can sound annoying and out of place at times.
    • James' voice given by Susan Roman just sound ghastly and awful as well, we're not lying, hear it for yourself and you'll be disgusted, it sounds way too feminine and unfitting for him to be a male character. In fact, her voice makes James sound so feminine, it makes Veronica Taylor and Sarah Natochenny (who voiced Ash Ketchum in Pokémon), Nancy Cartwright (who voices Bart in The Simpsons), and Debi Derryberry (who voices Jimmy Neutron and Draculaura from Monster High) look bad in comparison. He was originally going to be voiced by Michael Angelis (the UK narrator for the series at the time), but test audiences said he sounded "too old", as mentioned below.
  5. Executive Meddling: The movie was heavily altered due to lots of negative feedback from test audiences, with many of these alterations negatively impacting the movie's quality, which created many plot holes and inconsistencies.
    • The removal of P.T. Boomer, the film's original main antagonist. He was cut due to test audiences finding him too scary for younger viewers, but parts of his character were handed over to Diesel 10.
    • Removal of George the Steamroller, who was originally cast as one of Diesel 10's henchmen. Most of his scenes would've featured him destroying buffers and he would've tried to destroy the ones connected to the magic railroad. At the end of the movie, he would have redeemed himself by blocking Splatter and Dodge's way with a boulder.
    • Incorrect voice actor changes for Thomas and his friends (except for Lady, who is voiced by Britt Allcroft). All of them are voiced by Canadians with quick-and-dirty British accents, which feels like a serious miscast for them because Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is a British children's television series. While many of the final film's voice actors are suitable enough for their characters and are mostly decent, James did not get lucky on this end. He and Percy were originally going to be voiced by the show's narrator for the UK dub of Seasons 3-16, the late Michael Angelis, but got replaced by Susan Roman and Linda Ballantyne, respectively, because of complaints about Angelis' voice sounding too old for the characters. Percy's final voice by Linda Ballantyne is decent and makes some sense since he's the youngest of the Steam Team, but James' final voice by Roman ended up sounding way too feminine for him.
    • Diesel 10's original voice actor, Keith Scott who would have given Diesel 10 a gruff and sinister Australian accent, ended up getting replaced by Neil Crone because of test audiences considering his voice was too scary for the younger viewers.
    • Despite Neil Crone getting the role, he tried giving Diesel 10 a gruff Russian accent (just like Boris and Natasha in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends) at first, but the test audiences thought he would sound offensive, so he instead gave Diesel 10 more of a New Jersey accent, which at least sounds better for Diesel 10, and it came out brilliant in the end.
  6. The understanding of both Thomas & Friends and Shining Time Station seems to be lacking. The primary issue is the inclusion of magic, which was not a feature of either show, as they maintained a realistic tone, with some exceptions.
    • The film is intended as a crossover between Thomas & Friends and Shining Time Station. However, the lack of explanation for Shining Time Station and its absence from UK television, not having been broadcast on ITV or BBC (excluding a 1995 documentary on The Railway Series), creates confusion for UK audiences.
      • Moreover, even U.S. viewers familiar with the show might notice its poor representation in the film. The movie features only three major characters from Shining Time Station: Stacey Jones, Mr. Conductor, and Billy Twofeathers. Didi Conn is the only original cast member to return, reprising her role as Stacey Jones. Alec Baldwin takes over the role of Mr. Conductor from George Carlin, who had succeeded Ringo Starr, and Russell Means steps in for Tom Jackson as Billy Twofeathers. Beyond these, the film includes few elements from Shining Time Station, making it seem more like a standalone Thomas & Friends story set in a nondescript train station.
  7. Shining Time Station combines filming locations from the United States, Canada, and the Isle of Man, which does not seamlessly integrate.
  8. Continuity errors and plot holes:
    • The engines on Sodor operate without drivers or firemen, typically required to run engines. There is even an episode where Thomas believed he could manage without a driver, which resulted in him crashing into a house. In fact, Sodor seems to be entirely devoid of any human presence.
      • Nevertheless, Lady, the magical engine, needs a driver.
      • Additionally, a model figurine from the series is visible inside Bertie's cab, which contrasts sharply with the live-action characters.
    • In the Railway Series (RWS) books and television series, the Island of Sodor is depicted as a typical English island. However, the movie portrays Sodor as a magical, alternate dimension powered by magic, starkly contrasting with the realistic tone of the original material.
    • The scene in which Percy travels at night and meets a talking tumbleweed contradicts the established canon that only engines and humans can talk.
    • For an unexplained reason, similar to Seasons 10-16 of the series, Henry requires special Welsh coal, a situation that was resolved earlier in the series.
    • In the scene where Lily is traveling by train, there is a man using a laptop, an anachronism given that the series is set in the mid-20th century.
    • Other details that are not mentioned include the reasons for Diesel 10's arrival on Sodor, the ongoing repairs at Tidmouth Sheds, and the cause of the coal dust shortage.
    • In the climax where Diesel 10 chases Thomas, Lady, and Burnett Stone, Burnett warns Diesel 10 that the magic he refused to believe in will overcome him. However, Diesel 10 does believe in magic. This is because the line was initially intended for P.T. Boomer, who only believed in money. It was redirected to Diesel 10 following P.T. Boomer's exclusion from the final cut.
    • Many of the plot holes can be attributed to the movie being rewritten, with scenes and details omitted from the final version.
  9. The titular station interior is a new set made for the film, and naturally, is a bit different from that of the show, which is understandable for a theatrical film, but the new interior, particularly the mural on the trackside wall, looks like a cheap imitation of the one seen in the show and lacks the character of the latter.
  10. Mediocre to subpar and lazy editing. For example, P.T Boomer, the original villain, can still be seen in some shots on top of Diesel 10 in figurine form.
  11. The Island of Sodor is depicted through model dioramas, complete with model vehicles and landscapes, reminiscent of the series' model era. Yet, the presence of the live-action cast on the island creates a starkly artificial and incongruous appearance.
    • On that topic, the movie's art direction received mixed to negative reactions from fans since the realistic people and settings clash with Thomas and the company's more cartoony aesthetics and it's very inconsistent.
  12. Although the musical number "He's a Really Useful Engine" by Hummie Mann is enjoyable, it accompanies a rather aimless montage of Thomas and his friends engaging in various activities.
    • Additionally, although the song is supposed to be about Thomas, it's quite misleading as the majority of the clips feature his friends instead of him.
    • Additionally, although the song mentions Sir Topham Hatt, he does not appear in the film because he is on vacation.
  13. The story is about Mr. Conductor going to Sodor to watch after Thomas and the railway while The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt is on vacation. This is unrealistic, as the railway would have a large staff (which, as mentioned in #15, is nowhere to be seen) performing various tasks throughout, so The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt would have plenty of people looking after things in his absence.
    • Of course, The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hat is only seen in portraits throughout the film!
  14. The dialogue can range from being rather laughable, cheesy, corny, kiddish, cliché, atrocious to downright clumsy, such as "Well, my lady, the lights are all green for you now! Green for glory!", especially with the engines.
  15. Some important characters from both Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Shining Time Station are absent.
    • Edward, a key character and one of Thomas's closest companions, is missing from the movie because his model was not completed in time. This omission has disappointed many fans since Edward was among the original engines introduced in the RWS novels. Moreover, he is not mentioned at all, and no rationale for his absence is provided, effectively rendering him invisible in the narrative.
    • The other secondary characters from the series are also missing, including Bill, Ben, Oliver, Toad, Donald, Douglas, Diesel, and the narrow-gauge engines, among others.
    • Most of the Shining Time Station characters are absent, as described above, not the least of which being Horace Schemer, the show's breakout character. This is somewhat understandable since his actor, Brian O'Connor, retired from acting in the mid-1990s.
  16. The green-screen and blue-screen effects are extremely awful and clearly visible on many occasions.
  17. The pacing is, even for early 2000s standards, way too slow for the most part, which is very odd for a movie adaptation based off a television series.
  18. For a theatrical film, one would expect superior cinematography compared to the series. However, the continued use of the same 35mm film camera from the show's early model era gives it more of a TV special or direct-to-video feel rather than that of a theatrical release.
  19. Despite this film having real-life human characters, they keep the original toy model for both Sir Topham Hat(cameo poster) and Miss Lady(cameo in the picture frame), which is very buzzer.
  20. During the chase scene, it manages to a create a plot hole when Diesel 10 got told off by Burnett Stone that he refused to be believe in magic and decided to care less and take out his angry exploding temper tantrum on Thomas, who foiled his plans by attempting to bang the claw on top of Thomas' cab roof up to the point that his face becomes redder, and redder, and redder to an exploding dark red by bursting out his angrily aggressive growling at Thomas so loudly that he continued attempting to get Thomas derailed.
  21. This movie ended "Shining Time Station" on a sour note, as it had not been adapted since.
    • Overall, the film had negligible influence on the Thomas & Friends franchise, with none of the introduced characters (apart from Diesel 10 and Lady) or events being mentioned in subsequent media. One could view the entire series, including the direct-to-video specials, without missing anything of significance. Although the subsequent film, Calling All Engines!, includes Diesel 10 as a supporting character and a brief appearance by Lady, it makes no reference to this film whatsoever.
  22. To add coal into the problems, when it was aired on Discovery Kids, it had even more cuts than in the final version, making it more incomprehensible.
    • This is because of Discovery Kids cutting certain parts for commercial breaks, which is a problem that also affects other Discovery Kids-aired media.

Magical Qualities

  1. There are a few memorable lines, such as "Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle!", "Little engines can do big things!" and "It's the old teapot! Smash him!".
  2. Several characters are both likable and intriguing:
    • Although primarily serving as filler, Thomas and the other engines remain endearing and are depicted accurately in accordance with their original characters.
    • Diesel 10 is both a menacing and entertaining villain, with motives that pose a significant threat.
    • Splatter and Dodge, while also acting as filler characters, are quite entertaining as henchmen for Diesel 10.
    • Mr. Conductor and Junior are both funny and entertaining.
    • Burnett Stone may seem bland and forgettable, but his deeply moving backstory provides a compelling reason for his depression throughout the movie and its Director's Cut.
  3. The climactic chase scene featuring Thomas, Lady, Diesel 10, and Burnett Stone is undeniably epic, even with the significant plot hole regarding Burnett's statement to Diesel 10.
  4. This film marked the first occasion where engines were voiced by individual actors, with the exception of the Japanese dub. This feature was not seen again until "Hero of the Rails" and Season 13.
  5. While it has it's bad (or average) parts for the acting, the acting and voice acting are decent for the most part. While Thomas and Percy's voices are tolerable, Henry, Gordon, Splatter, Dodge, Lady, Harold, Diesel 10, Bertie, Toby, Annie, and Clarabel have the best voices in the entire movie. Even Alec Baldwin had a ball working on the film, despite his overacting. Out of all of the performances, it is safe to say that Diesel 10's voice (given by Neil Crone) is the best in the movie, despite what he said to Burnett Stone, whom the latter says about the magic he refuses to believe in.
    • Alec Baldwin's narration is commendable and serves as a fitting tribute to his role as the narrator for the US dub of the series at the time, surpassing his performance in Season 6.
  6. The scene where Diesel 10 holds Mr. Conductor over the viaduct to tell him where the buffers are is a pretty awesome scene.
  7. While a bit out-of-place and misleading, the movie's poster does look cool and gives out a somewhat magical vibe.
  8. Beautiful and amazing soundtrack composed by Hummie Mann. The one big highlight includes the cover of "He's a Really Useful Engine", originally composed by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.
  9. There are some pretty funny moments here and there, such as:
    • The scene where Harold the Helicopter accidentally blows sneezing powder on Thomas, Splatter, and Dodge.
    • The scene where Mr. Conductor talks to a toy ball and a baseball bat.
    • Many of Diesel 10's moments, especially in one scene where he lectures Splatter and Dodge on "how to stop being stupid", only for him to get his comeuppance by getting covered in coal while the other engines laugh at him.
    • The changing facial expressions on The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt's office portrait when Mr. Conductor is trying on his top hat without his consent.
  10. While only the script and little footage of it exists, the original director's cut is far superior.
    • Fortunately, the previously lost footage and scenes were made available online and included in the Blu-ray edition in 2020.
  11. Although it appears somewhat low-budget for a theatrical release, the cinematography and visuals are well-executed for the most part, surpassing the lackluster and unattractive visuals seen in Season 6.
  12. It includes subtle nods to the RWS novels and previous seasons, like Henry's requirement for special coal (although it's a continuity error) and the depiction of Thomas and Bertie's fondness for racing, along with the inclusion of the "Really Useful Engine" song from the series.
  13. According to the TTTE Wiki, the movie's version of "Really Useful Engine" got translated into various languages like Spanish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Indonesian, Arabic, Catalan, Czech, etc.
  14. The Japanese dub is excellent and is mostly better than the English version, with the show's cast like Keiko Toda reprising their roles. What's even noticeable is that Leo Morimoto is the narrator while Mr. Conductor is played by Masashi Ebara, who would go on to play as James from Seasons 9-24 when the show was dubbed from Aoni Production to 81 Produce for the Japanese dub of the series at the time.

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Reception

Thomas and the Magic Railroad was heavily panned by critics, audiences, and fans of the franchise alike, with an approval rating of 21% on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 67 critics, and with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus stated: "Kids these days demand cutting edge special effects or at least a clever plot with cute characters. This movie has neither, having lost in it's Americanization what the British originally did so right." Metacritic gave the film a score of 19 out of 100, based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Most of the film's negative reviews contain i.e. faux; the lack of charm, the humor, the lack of realism, poor dialogue and jokes, and no charisma, because of the negative reception that Thomas and the Magic Railroad received throughout the years, Lily, Burnett Stone, Patch, the rest of the Shining Time Station characters, and the Magic Railroad never existed again. Despite the negativity from critics and audiences, the movie would gain somewhat of a cult following amongst some Thomas fans through a nostalgic view, and is considered to be a guilty pleasure amongst many.

Box Office

The film grossed $19.7 million worldwide. During it's second weekend of screening in Britain, it took in £170,000.

Trivia

  • The film had two dubs in Latin America; Thomas y el Ferrocarril Mágico (which is a literal translation of the original name and was the one released in theaters and home media), and Thomas y el Tren Mágico (which means Thomas and the Magic Train and was a made-for-TV dub). There's also another title from an extremely rare American Spanish VHS called Thomas y la Via de Tren Magica, but it is unknown if it's another Latin Spanish dub or just a VHS release of the theatrical dub.
    • The film itself was also the first Thomas and Friends production to be released on Latin America, predating the premiere of the original series on Discovery Kids by two years.
  • After the film was released in cinemas, many scenes were removed from the film for various reasons, with a couple of them even passing into urban legend-like status, before one of them finally being shown in public.
  • The original antagonist was Pete Tiberius Boomer (also known as P.T. Boomer), played by late Canadian actor Doug Lennox, who was known for his role as Albert the Bartender from the X-Men films and Dirtbag from Police Academy. Boomer was heavily featured in the trailers, but he was removed from the theatrical release and Diesel 10 was made the main antagonist. This was a call purely based on young test audiences getting scared by Boomer, so all of his scenes were cut and even re-dubbed without mentioning him.
    • P.T. Boomer has become so popular with the fans that, after footage was found of the original chase scene on YouTube, fans made a ton of fanart of him, even paying tribute to Lennox when he passed away on November 28, 2015.
  • Some voice actors of the engines that were featured in the trailers never appeared in the film and were replaced, like John Bellis (a fireman and part-time taxi driver) as Thomas, due to the test audiences thinking that he sounded too old, and Keith Scott as Diesel 10 (who is best known as the narrator from Disney's George of the Jungle and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle). Like Boomer, he was deemed too frightening for young children, then it was changed to another actor, Neil Crone, who gave Diesel 10 a Russian accent. The audiences were worried that it sounded too offensive, so he gave him a New Jersey accent instead.
  • Some characters were supposed to appear in the film, but their roles were cut. Cranky the Crane was supposed to drop an oil drum on Diesel 10 and George the Steamroller was supposed to be one of Diesel 10's henchmen who destroys all of the buffers on Sodor to find the ones leading to the Magic Railroad.
  • The original footage of the movie became so popular with the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends fans, that they wanted to see the director's cut version of the movie. If you want to find out about the history of the film, you can check and join on the Lost Media Wiki, Sodor Island, Restore The Magic's Facebook, and the official Thomas and the Magic Railroad wiki.
  • A sequel had been planned for this film but, due to the failure of this film, it was cancelled and no other worldwide theatrical Thomas films have been released, though there are some other theatrical appearances of Thomas like the specials, some rail excursions, and the 2015 film Ant-Man featured a memorable appearance of a Bachmann model of Thomas. Diesel 10 and Lady would appear in later future direct-to-DVD films such as Calling All Engines (which was the only one that Lady appeared in), The Great Discovery, Misty Island Rescue and Day of the Diesels. Diesel 10 would also appear in one episode of the seventeenth season.
  • Paramount Pictures was originally going to release this film.
  • Out of every engine that appeared in this film, 2 engines that appeared in this film didn't have faces, but they are actually real locomotives.
    • Norfolk & Western Railway M Mastodon #475, built in June 1906 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Norfolk & Western Railway, sent to the Strasburg Railroad in 1991 but didn't operate until 4 years later in the 1995 season, was disguised as Indian Valley #475.
    • Amtrak Genesis #111, built by the General Electric Company in 1997, was seen idling at the station during the one scene where Indian Valley #475 was departing.
  • The results of the film not only heightened the franchise's presence in the United States, but also promoted Gullane to consider producing spin-off shows surrounding Bertie and Harold in 2001. However, both plans were immediately scrapped in favour of another planned spin-off, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company, in 2003.
    • A 1996 newspaper claimed George Carlin would reprise his role as Mr. Conductor but Alec Baldwin was casted instead.
    • According to Britt Allcroft, the film was partially inspired by the fourth series episode, Thomas and the Special Letter.
    • Different versions of the original script can be found online.
    • According to David Axford, David Mitton had desired to incorporate characters from the TUGS franchise into the film as a tie-in through a scene where Thomas encountered them on a seaside run by. Many of their models were shipped over from the United Kingdom, but none were ultimately used in the film, due to a clash between Britt and David. Many of the models were damaged or destroyed during their transportation back to the United Kingdom.
    • John Barry originally signed on to be the film's composer, but left the project due to scheduling conflicts. He is still credited as the composer on the 1999 US teaser poster.
    • Before the film was released, a sequel was originally already being developed by Destination Films. However, due to the negative reception and poor box office bomb performance, the sequel was cancelled.
    • In the second half of both the UK and US trailers feature the instrumentals of the 1997 song, The World Is New by American band, Save Ferris.
    • This film marks the first of many things:
      • The first movie distributed by ABC Films along with ABC for Kids.
      • The first Thomas & Friends production to feature separate voice actors for the characters in the English dub and the first to use this format worldwide. This is the only time CGI animation was used until Thomas and the Billboard. Also, this would not be done fully again until nine years later, with 2009's Hero of the Rails, the first full CGI Thomas production, all the way to the twenty-fourth series.
      • The first appearance of Thomas' shocked face without his bucktooth since the second series episode, The Runaway, which continued to appear until the twelfth series.
      • The first time an engine yells "Shut Up" since the second series episode, Edward's Exploit. Diesel 10 says this to Pinchy he backs away from the sheds after harassing the engines.
      • The first production not to feature any narrow gauge engines since their debut in the fourth series.
      • The first in the series to have a railroad crossing sound effect.
      • The first appearance of the watermill since the third series episode, Thomas, Percy and the Post Train.
      • The first appearance of James' smug face re-casted as his sleeping face.
    • This film marks the only of a few things:
      • The only Thomas & Friends film to feature live actors.
      • The only production to have a first-person narrative until the twenty-second series episode, Number One Engine.
      • The only appearances of Lady and Diesel 10 until Calling All Engines!
      • The only special not to have narrow gauge engines until Tale of the Brave.
      • The only appearances of Splatter and Dodge. They were originally going to be included in the CGI specials, Day of the Diesels and The Great Race, but were replaced by Paxton and Sidney, and the Mainland Diesels (respectively).
      • The only time Neil Crone voices Gordon and the only special to have him as part of the voice cast until All Engines Go!
      • The only time where Diesel 10's shocked and worried facial expressions are used on screen.
      • The only fully worldwide theatrical Thomas film release to get released until the upcoming Untitled Marc Forster Film. A second one before the Marc Forster film named The Adventures of Thomas was in development by HiT Entertainment sometime around 2010, but was cancelled after Mattel acquired the company and years of repeated postponement. Many of the specials also received brief theatrical runs.
      • The only appearance of Killaban.
      • The only special in which Edward does not appear until the All Engines Go special, Race for the Sodor Cup.
      • The only time the Fat Controller does not physically appear on screen, although he is seen via portrait cameo.
      • The only time until the seventeenth series where all the engines aside from Thomas, Percy, and Toby have headlamps, albeit only used on the night scenes.
    • This film marks the last of a few things:
      • The last Thomas and Friends production ever produced in the 20th century.
      • The last production where Thomas' original wincing face mask is used. A new one would be gained for the seventh series until The Great Discovery.
      • Mara Wilson's last major film role before her ten-year retirement from acting. She returned to the acting profession around 2016, and following this, she would grow up to appear as Mrs. Mayberry in Helluva Boss.
      • The last time in the franchise where a character says "Stupid" and "Shut up," likely to reduce more crass language on the show.
      • The last VHS/DVD to be released by DVD Acadamy in South Korea.
    • This special was never shown in Spain, Romania, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Indonesia.
    • This is the longest Thomas & Friends production ever made, running at 85 minutes (1 hour and 25 minutes) in the final cut, while running at 110 (1 hour and 50 minutes) in the uncut version.
    • Phil Fehrle and Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner made cameos in the film.
    • Didi Conn is the only actress from Shining Time Station to reprise her role in the film.
    • Edward was never featured in any script of the film. According to an interview with Phil Fehrle, there was not enough screen time or opportunity to utilise him in a way that added any real value to the film.
    • Twinkle Toes (the nickname that Diesel 10 uses to call Mr. Conductor and Junior) would be used by him once again with Sidney in the seventeenth series episode, The Missing Christmas Decorations.
    • John Bellis (the original voice of Thomas) is credited as "transportation coordinator."
    • People that worked on the original series also worked on this film. Namely, David Mitton (as model unit creative consultant), David Eves (as model SFX supervisor), Stephen Asquith (as model supervisor) and Terence Permane (as director of photography for the models section).
    • In the trailers, Mr. Conductor is heard saying "I've run out of gold dust, and because of that, I'm losing my energy as well," a line originally from the uncut version. Similarly, Diesel 10 is also heard saying "I'll get you, you blue puffball!" which was also originally from the uncut version.
    • The English and a couple foreign theatrical trailers played "The World is New" by Save Ferris, with music done by Nick Phoenix. The same was done with the Japanese theatrical trailer, but it replaced some of the original music with bits of the original Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends theme.
    • In the Australian trailer, P.T. Boomer makes an appearance, a rod is connected to Thomas' coupling hook and Thomas and Diesel 10 have their original voices.
    • Despite his role being cut, P.T. Boomer still makes a few appearances in the final film. He appears lying on top of Diesel 10's roof in the chase scene in one scene, as a connect black cable to Diesel 10 and he makes an appearance in the "crossroads" scene in which Stacy brings Lily to Burnett Stone. Doug Lennox confirmed that the original scene would have seen Boomer confront Burnett about Lady's whereabouts and was re-dubbed when his role was cut out.
    • All of the engines and road vehicles have different whistle and horn sounds:
      • Thomas and Percy still use the same whistle sounds albeit slightly modified.
      • Some of the engines share the same whistle sound; Gordon and James both use the same whistle, as do Henry and Percy.
      • Toby's bell sound changes for the second time since the second series, but this time, another bell sound sounds slightly different.
      • Bertie's horn is the same one as the other one used in the first to third series, but in a higher pitch.
      • The chuffing sounds from the engines are quite different.
    • In the first teaser for the film, Thomas has his regular whistle sound, albeit pitched a few tones.
    • The line that splits that Percy goes down with the mail train has some similarities to the one Oliver went down in Oliver's Find.
    • According to multiple SiF interviews, several of the models were either damaged or lost in transit after being shipped from Toronto to Shepperton.
    • Many fans consider the film to be non-canon to the Thomas & Friends franchise due to its whimsical and fantastical tone, which sharply contrasts with the series' usual realism, and because it is not mentioned in subsequent series media. Some fans speculate that the film could simply be a dream Thomas experienced after a negative encounter with Diesel 10. This theory is bolstered by Lady's appearance in a dream sequence in "Calling All Engines!" and the fact that Diesel 10 is the only new character from the film to appear in later media.
    • The film was shot in a 4:3 fullscreen frame and later matted into a 1.85:1 widescreen image for theatrical release; the UK and Irish DVD as well as the film on Sprout and Starz airings was rendered in full frame as a letterboxed widescreen image.
    • The Digital HD Copy, and 20th Anniversary Shout! Factory Blu-Ray are the only official ways to own the movie in 16:9 widescreen.
    • The top and bottom of the image are cropped in the widescreen release, but some shots and scenes were produced in widescreen 16:9 like when Burnett says "Well done, Thomas! Well done," before blowing Lady's whistle after Thomas crossed the viaduct that was about to collapse.
    • The posters of Sir Topham Hatt reading "Sir Topham Needs You" featured throughout the film are a reference to the Lord Kitchener and Uncle Sam recruiting posters.
    • Despite Sir Topham Hatt's voice being unintelligible over the phone, it is still changed in the foreign language dubs.
    • Although human actors are used for the film, Lady Hatt and Bertie's driver still appear as models.
    • Aside from Bertie's driver, Sodor appears to be entirely devoid of people, including the engines' crews, guards and workmen, thus making the engines self-driven. Despite this, the passengers' shadows can be seen in some of the coaches' windows.
    • The town beside Knapford is replaced with trees, but many cottages and houses are seen during the windmill or at Knapford.
    • Scrap models of Thomas, Gordon, City of Truro, Toad and Donald or Douglas appear in the smelters yard scenes.
    • The Hollywoodedge, Air Brake Hiss Truck PE079201 sound effect is heard when Diesel 10 stops.
    • One of Flying Scotsman's tenders (painted black) can be seen as Thomas backs into the siding next to James.
    • In the deleted scene of Splatter and Dodge at the Smelters yard, they are both wearing their different masks that did not appear in the final film.
    • Aside the engines' drivers, Burnett Stone somehow is seen to drive and operate Lady.
    • In the double-length twenty-fourth series episode, Thomas and the Royal Engine, Thomas says "Little engines can do big things" which is a reference to the film's tag line.
    • The scene where Mr. Conductor is in Sir Topham Hatt's Office, pictures of the engines from past series episode (such as No Joke for James, Tender Engines, A Surprise for Percy and Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach) are seen.
    • This film aired in the UK twice on BBC One - once on 1st January 2004, and again on 29th December 2008.
    • The film aired in the US on Sprout on 3rd July and 11th July 2015 and in Canada on Family Jr. in 2017 where, like with the UK and Irish DVD, it was fitted as a cropped widescreen image.
      • Also this is the only model production to air on the Family Jr channel
    • When the film aired on the Playhouse Disney channel in Australia in July 2007, the scene with Junior surfing on Diesel 10 was cut after he says, "Oh no, my beach bag!", likely due to safety concerns.
    • This film, Big World! Big Adventures!, Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, Tale of the Brave and King of the Railway are the only known specials to have been dubbed in Hebrew.
    • The Korean VHS/DVD does not contain any of the UK or US company logos; instead, it only had DVD Acadamy's logo.
    • In the Greek dub, all of the songs were cut.
    • The Russian dub was dubbed over the Hebrew dub.
    • The Azerbaijani and Korean dubs were dubbed over the English dub.
    • The Dutch, Slovenian, Azerbaijani and Korean dubs never dubbed the songs, but the Dutch, Slovenian and Korean dubs added subtitles of the lyrics.
    • Original VHS releases came with coupons for Amtrak tickets.
    • Flags of the Isle of Man, Germany, Scotland, Ireland and Europe can be seen above one of the shops at Shining Time.
    • The UK VHS release has the Milkyway Magic Stars Advert part one and part two

External links

  • Thomas and the Magic Railroad at the Internet Movie Database
  • Thomas and the Magic Railroad on Rotten Tomatoes

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