THESE ARE SOLEY MY OPINIONS AND ARE NOT INFLUENCED FROM THE THOMAS & FRIENDS FANBASE
THOMAS AND THE ROYAL ENGINE
Micheal White
Directed by
Joey So
Produced by
Tracy Blagdon (Jam Filled)
Ian McCue (HIT/Mattel)
Plot
An invitation from the Queen sends Thomas and the crew to London as they weave through delays and debacles while racing to a royal celebration.
Air Date
1/05/20 - US
2/05/20 - UK
4/05/20 - NZL
16/05/20 - AUS
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I'll get some criticisms out of the way. I think having Thomas narrating a part of this story was a bit jarring considering that earlier we had Prince Harry introducing it. Perhaps Mattel doesn't want to pay too much for him for having a little part, because of his, now former, position in the royal family, but I think it would've been a little less jarring and akward if he had narrated it, plus it would be a little throwback to the time when the show had a narrator telling the story and you can have Prince Harry joining the line of other high end celebs that had narrated Thomas like Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Pierce Brosnan. While the story was nice, and I will get to that later on, I feel that more could've been done for Thomas. Perhaps to increase the conflict have him being arrogant about going to London maybe have him chuckling at Gordon after he had recounted his trip to London with Henry and said, 'Oh Gordon, there's only one London!' Maybe have Thomas acting all high and pompous to Duchess saying that he had a royal duty to attend, perhaps Thomas' selfishness would make her forget checking her safety valve as she has to rush through to make for the Queen's special appointment, but Thomas didn't realised that she was more important than him anyway, but then he realises his mistake after a scolding from the Fat Controller or from Duchess after her safety valve had burst and they told him that he has to put others first, which would make the special's moral probably a bit more wholesome. I know people had a problem with Beresford but I'll be honest, it never bothered me, he had served more as a plot device and I was expecting that from him when the trailer was first seen back in February 2020. To me his role feels like Thomas in the Small Railway saga that we had in S20.
But don't get me wrong, despite these qualms, I had enjoyed the special. Although it's not 'The Adventure Begins' and really I never expected it to be in the first place, it was nice, tame and simple and it feels a bit like the classic series, maybe in its later days. I feel that special was wholesome and the addition of Prince Harry was a great choice on part of Mattel given that he was a fan of the show back in the early days when Ringo Starr was the narrator. Plus it's a nice reflection of Thomas' roots on where he came from first.
The little references like the J50 Thomas, Gordon refering his story 'Gordon Goes Foreign', when it comes to the various station names of London, a tidbit of the original Thomas theme, the mention of Doncaster and Crewe etc. were particulary great to hear, and it kind of makes Thomas more real for young kids, particulary the ones who live in the UK. Plus the Other Railway workers were wearing black suits, which is the colour that British Railways had on their uniforms back in the day and also Edward, Gordon and Henry being at Vicarstown was a nice subtle reference to 'The Three Railway Engines'. But I think it would've been great if you have many of the other Awdry made characters there like Toby, Duck, Donald and Douglas etc.
Duchess to me is a loveable character and she is everything that her voice actress, Rosmund Pike, said she was. She's flustered when it comes to an important job but is sweet and kind to all others. I do see potential with her in future, that is whenever this hiatus ends. I do understand where people are coming from when it comes to Duchess' hiatus but I believe that it had to do with the design of the actual engine. According to this tweet, Mattel and TCC crew had gotten in trouble once with the National Railway Museum of using Mallard's design without permission and I think maybe that's why we see her as mish-mash and perhaps maybe the same could be said about Flying Scotsman in the series as well. Perhaps why is because the organisation that own these locomotives expect a donation in the end and Mattel just isn't interested in that. But despite the mish-mash of parts, I actually liked Duchess' design and I think she looks great in the cream livery with gold banding.
While I did like Prince Harry's introduction I feel that Mattel should've gone with Prince Charles for the introduction. After all he was a fan of the Railway Series books and it would be great to have him say; 'I'd once met Thomas many years ago when he'd visited London for a very important occassion...' since his animated counterpart was in the episode as a young boy. But I think him referencing about Thomas talking about the enviornment was a nice reference to Prince Charles' enviornmentalism, despite feeling a bit akward when earlier they had mentioned the books, and Sharon Miller was really good as the Queen too.
In the end, despite its faults, this 75th anniversary special was a very wholesome and simple episode.
Series Rating (So far):
A New Arrival - 7/10
World of Tomorrow - 7/10
Thomas and the Royal Engine - 9/10
Overall Rating (So far):
23/30
MORE OF MY VIEWS ON SERIES 24
WILL BE COMING SOON
4/05/20 - NZL
16/05/20 - AUS
---
I'll get some criticisms out of the way. I think having Thomas narrating a part of this story was a bit jarring considering that earlier we had Prince Harry introducing it. Perhaps Mattel doesn't want to pay too much for him for having a little part, because of his, now former, position in the royal family, but I think it would've been a little less jarring and akward if he had narrated it, plus it would be a little throwback to the time when the show had a narrator telling the story and you can have Prince Harry joining the line of other high end celebs that had narrated Thomas like Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Pierce Brosnan. While the story was nice, and I will get to that later on, I feel that more could've been done for Thomas. Perhaps to increase the conflict have him being arrogant about going to London maybe have him chuckling at Gordon after he had recounted his trip to London with Henry and said, 'Oh Gordon, there's only one London!' Maybe have Thomas acting all high and pompous to Duchess saying that he had a royal duty to attend, perhaps Thomas' selfishness would make her forget checking her safety valve as she has to rush through to make for the Queen's special appointment, but Thomas didn't realised that she was more important than him anyway, but then he realises his mistake after a scolding from the Fat Controller or from Duchess after her safety valve had burst and they told him that he has to put others first, which would make the special's moral probably a bit more wholesome. I know people had a problem with Beresford but I'll be honest, it never bothered me, he had served more as a plot device and I was expecting that from him when the trailer was first seen back in February 2020. To me his role feels like Thomas in the Small Railway saga that we had in S20.
But don't get me wrong, despite these qualms, I had enjoyed the special. Although it's not 'The Adventure Begins' and really I never expected it to be in the first place, it was nice, tame and simple and it feels a bit like the classic series, maybe in its later days. I feel that special was wholesome and the addition of Prince Harry was a great choice on part of Mattel given that he was a fan of the show back in the early days when Ringo Starr was the narrator. Plus it's a nice reflection of Thomas' roots on where he came from first.
The little references like the J50 Thomas, Gordon refering his story 'Gordon Goes Foreign', when it comes to the various station names of London, a tidbit of the original Thomas theme, the mention of Doncaster and Crewe etc. were particulary great to hear, and it kind of makes Thomas more real for young kids, particulary the ones who live in the UK. Plus the Other Railway workers were wearing black suits, which is the colour that British Railways had on their uniforms back in the day and also Edward, Gordon and Henry being at Vicarstown was a nice subtle reference to 'The Three Railway Engines'. But I think it would've been great if you have many of the other Awdry made characters there like Toby, Duck, Donald and Douglas etc.
Duchess to me is a loveable character and she is everything that her voice actress, Rosmund Pike, said she was. She's flustered when it comes to an important job but is sweet and kind to all others. I do see potential with her in future, that is whenever this hiatus ends. I do understand where people are coming from when it comes to Duchess' hiatus but I believe that it had to do with the design of the actual engine. According to this tweet, Mattel and TCC crew had gotten in trouble once with the National Railway Museum of using Mallard's design without permission and I think maybe that's why we see her as mish-mash and perhaps maybe the same could be said about Flying Scotsman in the series as well. Perhaps why is because the organisation that own these locomotives expect a donation in the end and Mattel just isn't interested in that. But despite the mish-mash of parts, I actually liked Duchess' design and I think she looks great in the cream livery with gold banding.
While I did like Prince Harry's introduction I feel that Mattel should've gone with Prince Charles for the introduction. After all he was a fan of the Railway Series books and it would be great to have him say; 'I'd once met Thomas many years ago when he'd visited London for a very important occassion...' since his animated counterpart was in the episode as a young boy. But I think him referencing about Thomas talking about the enviornment was a nice reference to Prince Charles' enviornmentalism, despite feeling a bit akward when earlier they had mentioned the books, and Sharon Miller was really good as the Queen too.
In the end, despite its faults, this 75th anniversary special was a very wholesome and simple episode.
Series Rating (So far):
A New Arrival - 7/10
World of Tomorrow - 7/10
Thomas and the Royal Engine - 9/10
Overall Rating (So far):
23/30
MORE OF MY VIEWS ON SERIES 24
WILL BE COMING SOON
