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 Thomas and the Magic Railroad :: 0767855019
Description
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| Thomas, as anyone familiar with the eponymous, wildly popular TV series knows, is a very useful engine, and never more so than in his first theatrical release, which was a modest box-office success. On a tank filled with little more than pluck, determination, and goodwill, Thomas sets out full steam ahead on a danger-fraught mission to help his friend Mr. Conductor. The conductor's stash of magic gold dust has run out, leaving him stranded on the Island of Sodor with Junior, his flaky cousin, and Lily, a little girl enlisted to lift her grandfather out of a funk on nearby Muffle Mountain. When Thomas bravely chugs beyond his hometown tracks' buffers with Lily aboard, he's transported to Muffle Mountain's secret railway and to Lady, a long-lost steamer whose legendary engine makes her more powerful than Diesel, the train-yard bully. Together, Thomas and Lady lead Diesel on a chase that causes a bridge to collapse, taking the dastardly Diesel down with it. Most impressive about the movie is its marquee names: Alec Baldwin works magic as the dutiful worrywart Mr. Conductor, Mara Wilson is Lily, and Peter Fonda plays the cool-looking but lugubrious Grandpa. It's a cast that'll keep put-upon parents watching, if halfheartedly. Thomas fans 5 and under, meanwhile, will wish the actors wouldn't blow so much hot air; they'll want to see their hero a bigger part in steaming up the story line. --Tammy La Gorce Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
Reviews
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Author: Guest
It seems that many of the reviews here are out-of-context, because the reviewers may not be familiar with the "Shining Time Station" series. Shining Time Station is the program which introduced Thomas and his friends to many folks. But after STS left PBS for Nickelodian, PBS was left with just Thomas.
In Shining Time Station, the role of Mr Conductor is fairly important. He is constantly interacting with folks like Stacey Jones (who is in this movie for a few scenes), Billy Two-Feathers (also in the movie and drives the 'real' train), and the infamous Schemer (notably absent). He is also the central figure for telling the children who hang around the station about Thomas and the Land of Sodor. Depending on season, Mr C was played by either Ringo Starr or George Carlin. It is supposed to be a somewhat responsible - yet somewhat wacky - role, as is everything about Shining Time Station. Alec Balwin clearly studied this role closely based on his predecessors, and I thought did an outstanding job.
OTOH, words can not describe how dreadful Peter Fondas performance was. He seemed to be completely lost in every scene he was in. He seemed to have no concept of Shining Time Station at all. It dragged down the entire movie.
As has been noted in other reviews, small kids won't be able to figure out the plot. By the time kids start figuring it out (say, age 9) they are starting to get too old for some of the movie.
The musical interludes are wonderful. Check out some of the samples from the Amazon page for the Sound Tracks CD. (And yes, Locomotion did appear in the movie - during the credits.)
To a rail buff, such as myself, there were some wonderful shots of the steam train taking Lily (Mara Wilson) to Shining Time Station. FWIW, engine #475 - prominently photographed in the movie - belongs to the Strasburg Railroad in Strasburg, Pa. If you have a good sound system, #475s 'CHUG' and whistle send chills up ones spine.
There were a few railroading problems too. Like how did the coal car that got lost through the buffer end up on a different set of tracks than Thomas was on? Or how did Thomas get turned around after he fell off the cliff? How did Patch manage to bring hundreds of lbs of coal back - on his horse - to fire up Lady? Or during the chase scene with Lady, how did Diesel suddenly switch from the left tracks to the right tracks? Kids won't notice any of that of course.
So in summary, if your kids have seen the Shining Time Station series, it will make some sense to them and why the characters are as they are. If they know about Thomas but have not seen STS, the Mr Conductor (and Stacey Jones and Billy Two-Feathers) characters will be new and a bit, er, different. If they've never seen either one, the movie probably will have a hard time standing on its own - at least for the first couple of viewings.
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Author: Guest
My daughter fell in love with this movie after watxhing it once. Its a really good story.
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Author: Guest
I have twin 5 year old boys. They don't like the cartoon but absolutely loved this movie. It keeps magic alive while still being realistic. The magic in this movie is believable and fun.
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Author: Guest
The Island of sodor is real. But in this movie the island is ''Magical And full of wonder'' PLLLLHHHHH. I just thought that it WAS an island of the coast of England. I own this and only Watch it Occasionally. IT does not even have much island of sodor.It just Mostly Has an 'Adult' Cast. My favorate engine Charactars (including thomas) did not even take up half the movie.It Doesn't even have bill,ben,edward,mavis,boco,Stuart,duke,Etc. Overall Movie is half good and half bad. Only buy it for people who like 'adult themed' movies.
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Author: Guest
TIS IS THE WORST THING TO EVER HIT THEATERS!!!!! The plot was lame, it goes from beloved train models to a world that was good when it was in shining time station, but is so horrible now. And to top everything off, ALEC BALDWIN is in it, that totally wrecks the whole thing. I just have one more thing to say: BOO! THIS THING STINKS!
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