Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Britt Allcroft
Produced by Britt Allcroft
Phil Fehrle
Written by Britt Allcroft
Based on The Railway Series 
by The Rev. W. Awdry
Uncredited:
Shining Time Station 
by Britt Allcroft
Rick Siggelkow
Starring Peter Fonda
Mara Wilson
Alec Baldwin
Didi Conn
Russell Means
Cody McMains
Michael E. Rodgers
Music by Hummie Mann
(Score & Songs)
Junior Campbell
Mike O'Donnell
(Original Score & Songs)
Cinematography Paul Ryan
Edited by Ron Wisman
Production
company
Distributed by Destination Films (US)
Icon Film Distribution (UK)
Release dates
  • July 14, 2000 (2000-07-14) (United Kingdom)


  • July 26, 2000 (2000-07-26) (United States and Canada)
Running time
 84 minutes
Country United Kingdom
United States
Canada
Language English
Budget $19 million
Box office $19.7 million[1]

Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British-American-Canadian comedy-drama fantasy adventure film based on the British children's book series The Railway Series by The Rev. W. Awdry, its TV adaptation Thomas & Friends, and the American series Shining Time Station. The film was co-produced by Gullane Entertainment (a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 2012) and the Isle of Man Film Commission and distributed by Destination Films (a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment).[2] It was written, produced and directed by Britt Allcroft, who created both of the previous TV series.

When it was first released in the U.K. where critics were unfamiliar with the characters from Shining Time Station, the film was accused of "Americanizing" Thomas.[3] Critical reception in the U.S. was somewhat better, while it was praised by young fans of the show while it still mostly negative, in stark contrast to the praise given to the original Shining Time Station, which was an award-winning show.[4][5][6] General criticism of the film has mostly been levelled towards its plot, characterization, acting and special effects. Since the film's release, various specials based on Thomas & Friends have been released, although they are not directly related to this film. This is Mara Wilson's final film appearance to date.

Plot

Sir Topham Hatt is on holiday, leaving Mr. Conductor in charge. Meanwhile, while talking at Killaban, Thomas and Gordon encounter Diesel 10. Meanwhile, in Shining Time, Mr. Conductor has his own problems as his supply of gold dust is running low and not enough to allow him to travel back from Sodor.

Later that day, while Thomas and James are at Tidmouth Sheds, Diesel 10 arrives and announces his evil plan to get rid of the steam engines on Sodor; Thomas leaves to collect Mr. Conductor. The 'lost engine', named Lady, is hidden in a workshop on Muffle Mountain. Burnett Stone has kept her hidden after Diesel 10's last attempt to destroy her. Despite having rebuilt Lady, Burnett is unable to steam her despite using different types of coal. At night, Diesel 10 attacks the shed where the steam engines are sleeping, but Mr. Conductor repels him with sugar after his gold dust fails him and Diesel 10 quickly retreats.

While talking at Knapford, Percy and Thomas conclude that there is a secret railway between Sodor and Shining Time. Diesel 10 overhears them and goes to the Sodor Ironworks to tell Splatter and Dodge of his plans to destroy the lost engine and the other steam engines on Sodor. Toby rings his bell to distract him, causing Diesel 10 to knock the roof of the shed. Later, Henry has a bad cold, so Thomas collects six special coal trucks for him, but he only has five according to Bertie, because one rolled through the Magic Buffers.

Lily Stone is being sent from a big city to visit Burnett on Muffle Mountain. While at the railway station, she meets Mutt, who puts her on the Rainbow Sun instead of the right train. On arriving at Shining Time, she meets Junior and Stacy Jones, who takes her to Burnett's house. The next day, Lily meets Patch, who takes her on a horse ride to Shining Time where she meets Junior again. Junior takes her through the Magic Railroad to Sodor where they meet Thomas.

Thomas takes Lily and Junior to the windmill, where they find Mr. Conductor. Junior climbs onto one of the windmill sails and ends up being thrown onto Diesel 10's roof, but he eventually escapes with James' help. Later that night, Percy finds that Splatter and Dodge have located the Sodor entrance to the Magic Railroad and goes to warn Thomas.

Thomas agrees to take Lily home to Shining Time and sets off. While travelling through the Magic Railroad, Thomas discovers the missing coal truck, which he collects and arrives at Muffle Mountain. Lily goes to find Burnett, leaving Thomas stranded on the mountain, but as the wind picks up, Thomas rolls down the mountain and re-enters the Magic Railroad through another secret portal.

Lily finds Burnett in his workshop where he shows her Lady and explains his problem in getting her to steam. Lily suggests using Sodor coal, and when Patch goes back to retrieve the truck, Burnett uses the coal to fire Lady up. Now able to steam, Burnett, Lily, Patch and Mutt take Lady back along the Magic Railroad, regenerating both Lady and the railroad in the process. Thomas then arrives and the two engines return to Sodor where they meet Mr. Conductor and Junior.

Diesel 10 arrives with Splatter and Dodge, who abruptly decide to stop helping him. Thomas and Lady, driven by Burnett, flee from Diesel 10, chasing them towards a crumbling viaduct. Thomas and Lady both make it safely across, and as Diesel 10 approaches, he applies his brakes, but he falls off the bridge and lands into a barge filled with sludge. That evening, Thomas, Lady and Burnett return to the grotto; Lily combines water from a wishing well and shavings from the Magic Railroad to make more gold dust. Junior decides to go to work on Sodor and Mr. Conductor gives him his own cap before sending him to another railway, before leaving himself to welcome Sir Topham Hatt home. Lily, Burnett, Patch and Mutt return to Shining Time, while Thomas happily steams home into the sunset.

Cast

Live-action actors

Voice actors

Production

Development

As early as 1994, even prior to the launch of the fourth season of the television series of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Britt Allcroft planned a Thomas the Tank Engine feature film. Then in 1995, Allcroft was approached by Barry London, then Vice-Chairman of Paramount Pictures, with an idea for a Thomas film. His interest is thought to have stemmed from his daughter, then 3, being enthralled by Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. In February 1996, Allcroft signed a contract with Paramount Pictures to write a script with the title, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, with a release date of 1997.[7] However, when Barry London left Paramount Pictures, plans for the film were shelved by Paramount, leading Allcroft to seek other sources of funding. Then in the Summer of 1998, Allcroft saw an Isle of Man Film Commission advert. They were offering tax incentives to companies wanting to film on the Island. Allcroft visited and felt the location perfect. Then in 1999, Barry London became Chairman of the newly founded Destination Films. He renewed his interest in the project and Destination Films became the main financial backer and studio for the film.[8]

Filming

The movie was filmed at the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania (United States), as well as in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and on the Isle of Man. Castletown railway station on the Isle of Man Railway formed part of Shining Time Station and the goods shed at Port St Mary railway station became Burnett Stone's workshop. Running shots of the "Indian Valley" train were filmed at the Strasburg Rail Road location. The large passenger station where Lily boards the train is the Harrisburg Transportation Center. Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 475 was repainted as the Indian Valley locomotive. Sodor was realised using models and chroma key. The models were animated using live action remote control, as on the television series. The model sequences were filmed in Toronto instead of Shepperton Studios, the "home" of the original TV show; however, several of the show's key staff were flown over to participate. The Magic Railroad was created using models, CGI and water-colored matte paintings.

Original version

In a 2007 interview, director Britt Allcroft commented the finished film was drastically changed from what it was originally going to be the way she had written it, with the original antagonist P.T. Boomer, (played by Doug Lennox) being removed from the film because the character was too frightening for young children.[9] Lily Stone (played by Mara Wilson) was intended to be the narrator of the story.[10] Before filming, Thomas's voice would be provided by John Bellis, a fireman and part-time taxi driver who worked on the film as the Isle of Man transportation co-ordinator and facilities manager. Bellis received the role when he happened to pick up Britt Allcroft and her crew from the airport. According to Allcroft, after hearing him speak for the first time, she told her colleagues, "I have just heard the voice of Thomas. That man is exactly how Thomas would sound!" Bellis accepted the role.[11] Unfortunately he lost the role after a test screening. Audiences in Los Angeles disliked Bellis's voice for Thomas due to his Liverpudlian accent claiming that he made Thomas sound too old. Subsequently, Bellis's role was removed and was replaced by Edward Glen, who gave Thomas a lot more of a youthful-sounding voice. Bellis did receive a credit for his work on the Isle of Man, and his voice can still be heard extensively in one or two of the trailers. Bellis said he was "gutted", but wished the film-makers well. "It was supposed to be my big break, but it hasn't put me off and I am hoping something else will come along. "[12]

Release

Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released theatrically on 14 July 2000 in the United Kingdom and 26 July 2000 in the United States and Canada.

Home media

Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released onto VHS and DVD on November 17, 2000.

Reception

Premiere

The film was premièred at the Odeon Leicester Square; for the purpose, a steam locomotive, no. 47298 painted to resemble Thomas, was brought to the cinema by low loader on 9 July 2000.

Box office

The film grossed $19.7 million worldwide[1] compared to its $19 million budget. During its second weekend of screening in Britain it only took in £170,000.[13]

Critical reception

The film has a score of 19% on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus: "Kids these days demand cutting edge special effects or at least a clever plot with cute characters. This movie has neither, having lost in its Americanization what the British original did so right."[14] Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave the film three out of five stars and writing that it "will please [Thomas fans]" but that the plot "might confuse kids".[15] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one star out of four, and wrote "(the fact) That Thomas and the Magic Railroad made it into theaters at all is something of a mystery. This is a production with 'straight to video' written all over it. Kids who like the Thomas books might kinda like it. Especially younger kids. Real younger kids. Otherwise, no." While he admired the models and art direction, he criticized how the engines' mouths didn't move when they spoke, the overly depressed performance of Peter Fonda, as well as the overall lack of consistency in the plot.[16]

Video game

A video game was released based on the film. Thomas & the Magic Railroad: Print Studio was published by Hasbro Interactive and released for PC on August 25, 2000.

Possible sequel

HIT said that its theatrical division would be piloted by a Thomas film. Originally targeted for late-2010 release,[17] in September 2009 this was revised to Spring 2011.[18] As of January 2011, the release date had been pushed back further, to 2012. The initial draft of the script was written by Josh Klausner who has also said that the film would be set around the times of World War II, Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi also helped write the script.[19] On 8 June 2011, Deadline announced that 9 director Shane Acker would direct the live-action adaptation of Thomas the Tank Engine, with Weta Digital designing the film's visual effects.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 "Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)". Box Office Mojo. 2002-08-28. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  2. ↑ "Isle of Man Film | Over 100 film, television and animation projects since 1995". Gov.im. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  3. ↑ Elley, Derek (15 July 2000). "Thomas and the Magic Railroad". Variety.
  4. ↑ "Shining Time Station (1989–1993) : Awards". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  5. ↑ "Thomas And The Magic Railroad". Daily Mail (London).
  6. ↑ Michael Thomson Updated 13 July 2000 (2000-07-13). "Films - review - Thomas and the Magic Railroad". BBC. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  7. ↑ Thomas makes tracks for a fat-free run along Hollywood lines.Alexandra Frean Media Correspondent. The Times, Thursday, February 22, 1996; pg. 9
  8. ↑ "SiF: About the Magic Railroad". Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  9. ↑ "Magic Railroad - Revealed". Sodor-island.net. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  10. ↑ "Interview: Britt Allcroft - Producer". Sodor-island.net. 1999-05-19. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  11. ↑ "Thomas finds his voice". BBC News. 16 July 1998.
  12. ↑ "Hollywood vetoes Liverpool accent as voice of Thomas the Tank Engine". The Independent (London). April 29, 2000. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  13. ↑ Guardian Wednesday, July 26, 2000 P22, In house stocks, Go off Menu
  14. ↑ "Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  15. ↑ "Thomas and the Magic Railroad Movie Review". Commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  16. ↑ "Thomas And The Magic Railroad". Chicago Sun-Times. 26 July 2000.
  17. ↑ Hayes, Dade (3 March 2009). "Hit Entertainment gets into movie biz". Variety.
  18. ↑ "Hit Entertainment's Hit Movies Division Begins Development Of First Feature Film Based on the Adventures of Thomas and Friends". HIT Entertainment. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  19. ↑ "Thomas Theatrical Film Pushed Back AGAIN!". (Thomas news). Sodor Island. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  20. ↑ Fleming, Mike. "'9' Helmer Shane Acker Boards Feature Based on the Thomas The Tank Engine Toys". Deadline.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.

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