Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British/American fantasy adventure film by Britt Allcroft, its director, producer and writer. Starring Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Didi Conn, Russell Means, Cody McMains, Michael E. Rodgers and the voices of Eddie Glen and Neil Crone, the film is based on the British children's book series The Railway Series by The Rev. W. Awdry, its televised adaptation of the children's television series Thomas & Friends, and the American series Shining Time Station. It was co-produced by Gullane Pictures/The Britt Allcroft Company and the Isle of Man Film Commission. The film was distributed by Destination Films in the United States, Icon Film Distribution in the United Kingdom, and Judy Garland Pictures (thru Village Roadshow Pictures) in Australia.

Plot
Its story is centred on Lily Stone (Wilson), the granddaughter of the caretaker (Fonda) of an enchanted steam engine who is lacking an appropriate supply of coal, and Mr. Conductor (Baldwin) of Shining Time Station, whose provisions of magical gold dust are at a critical low. To ameliorate these problems, Lily and Mr. Conductor enlist the help of Thomas the Tank Engine (Glen), who confronts the ruthless Diesel 10 (Crone) along the way.

When Thomas and the Magic Railroad 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. Critical reception in the U.S. was somewhat better, but still mostly negative, in stark contrast to the praise given to the original Shining Time Station, which was an award-winning show. General criticism of the film has been directed towards its plot, characterization, acting and special effects.

The film's critical and commercial failure led Allcroft to resign from her company, Gullane Entertainment (originally The Britt Allcroft Company) in September 2000. Two years later, Gullane was acquired by HiT Entertainment, which the television rights to Thomas were passed onto.

Plot
Sir Topham Hatt is away 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 the Island of 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; 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 after his gold dust fails him, Mr. Conductor repels him with sugar and Diesel 10 quickly retreats.

Lily Stone is being sent from her hometown 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. While talking at Knapford, Percy and Thomas conclude 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. Toby rings his bell to distract him, causing Diesel 10 to knock the shed roof. Later, Henry has a bad cold, so Thomas collects six special coal trucks for him, but because one rolled through the Magic Buffers, he only has five according to Bertie.

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 is not happy to see the two, but agrees to help Lily and Junior and takes the two of them to the Sodor Grain Windmill, where they find Mr. Conductor. Junior climbs onto one of the windmill sails and ends up being thrown onto Diesel 10's roof. Later that night, Percy finds Splatter and Dodge have located the Sodor entrance to the Magic Railroad and goes to warn Thomas.

Thomas agrees to take Lily back home 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, who chases them towards a crumbling viaduct. Thomas and Lady both make it safely across, and as Diesel 10 approaches, he applies his brakes, but it is too late and 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 travels home into the sunset.

Live-action actors

 * Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor and the Narrator
 * Peter Fonda as Burnett Stone
 * Jared Wall as Young Burnett
 * Mara Wilson as Lily Stone
 * Michael E. Rodgers as C. Junior (credited as "Mr. C. Junior")
 * Cody McMains as Patch
 * Robert Tinkler as Older Patch (uncredited)
 * Didi Conn as Stacy Jones
 * Russell Means as Billy Twofeathers
 * Lori Hallier as Mrs. Stone (credited as "Lily's Mother")
 * Laura Bower as Tasha Stone (credited as "Young Tasha")
 * Doug Lennox as P. T. Boomer (uncredited, scenes deleted)

Voice actors

 * Eddie Glen as Thomas
 * Neil Crone as Diesel 10, Gordon, Splatter and Tumbleweed
 * Linda Ballantyne as Percy
 * Kevin Frank as Henry, Dodge, Bertie and Harold
 * Susan Roman as James
 * Colm Feore as Toby
 * Britt Allcroft as Lady
 * Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner as Annie and Clarabel

Development
In the early 1990s, the character of Thomas the Tank Engine, adapted from the Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series into the TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, created by Britt Allcroft, was at the height of his popularity following three successful series. At the same time, a live-action American series, Shining Time Station, also created by Allcroft along with Rick Siggelkow, was made and was also successful. As early as 1994, prior to the launch of Thomas's fourth series, Britt Allcroft had plans to make a feature film based on both of these series, and would make use of the model trains from Thomas and the live-action aesthetic of Shining Time Station.

In February 1996, Britt Allcroft was approached by Barry London, then vice-chairman of Paramount Pictures, with an idea for the Thomas film. Britt signed a contract to write the script for the film with the working title Thomas and the Magic Railroad. London's interest is thought to have stemmed from his 3-year-old daughter, who was enthralled by Thomas. Filming, according to a press release, was to take place at Shepperton Studios, in the United Kingdom and the United States, with the theatrical release date set for 1997. However, Paramount shelved the plans for the film after London left the company later that year. This left Allcroft to seek other sources of funding. Discussions with PolyGram about the film were held, but not for long because of the company being in the middle of a corporate restructuring and sale.

In the Summer of 1998, during Series 5 of Thomas's production, 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 that the location was perfect. During that year, Barry London became Chairman of the newly founded Destination Films (owned by Sony Pictures). He renewed his interest in the project and Destination Films became the main financial backer and studio for the film.

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 Railway was created using models, CGI and water-coloured 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 considered too frightening for young children by test audiences.

Lily Stone (played by Mara Wilson) was intended to be the narrator of the story. 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. Test audiences in Los Angeles disliked Bellis's voice for Thomas, due to his Liverpudlian accent and saying that he made Thomas sound too old. Subsequently, Bellis was replaced by Edward Glen, who gave Thomas a more 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." Ewan McGregor and Bob Hoskins had also auditioned for the role of Thomas. Michael Angelis, who at the time was the UK narrator for the Thomas & Friends TV series, was originally cast as the voices of both James and Percy, but test audiences also considered his voice too old for the characters, who were subsequently recast with Susan Roman and Linda Ballantyne respectively. Keith Scott originally voiced Diesel 10, but believes he was replaced because his portrayal was too scary for young children.

Release
Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released theatrically on 14 July 2000 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and 26 July 2000 in the United States and Canada. The film was also released in Australia on 14 December 2000, and in New Zealand on 7 April 2001. The film 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. The film grossed $19.7 million worldwide. During its second weekend of screening in Britain it took in £170,000.

Home media
Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released onto VHS and DVD on October 19, 2000 in the United Kingdom by Warner Home Video, in the United States on October 31, 2000 by Columbia TriStar Home Video and in Australia on November 5, 2000 by Judy Garland Home Entertainment.

Reception
Thomas and the Magic Railroad has an approval rating of 19% on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 67 critics, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus states: "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." Metacritic gives the film a score of 19 out of 100, based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". 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". 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 did not move when they spoke, the overly depressed performance of Peter Fonda, as well as the overall lack of consistency in the plot.

Soundtrack
Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a soundtrack released on both CD and cassette. It features twelve music tracks from the feature film composed by Hummie Mann.

Video game
A video game, called Thomas and the Magic Railroad: Print Studio, was released based on the film. 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, in September 2009 this was revised to Spring 2011. 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. 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.