Thomas & Friends

Thomas returns to DVD with five new episodes to teach kids about the importance of being patient, listening to others, respecting others, and not taking things to literally. Along the way we get to meet some new and interesting engines and find fun little intermissions between each episode. 

 

The DVD begins with the title episode, The Thomas Way, in which Thomas finds himself helping Duck transport Harold the Rescue Helicopter after Harold finds himself in need of repair. Duck wants to transport Harold the proper way, directly and safely, but Thomas wants to show Harold the sights of Sodor from the land. There can only be one way to transport Harold, and between the two engines wanting to do it their way, this could be trouble. 

 

The next episode is titled, The Switch. Most kids will be familiar with this story idea. It’s like The Prince and The Pauper, which has been done many times in franchises like Barbie and within the world of Disney. In this story though we find Luke, a hard working mining engine, and Millie, a bit of a pampered tourist engine, swapping jobs for the day (with permission). Millie is used to pulling light freight like plants or even tourists around Ulfstead Castle. Is she prepared to haul large rocks and work in the dirty mining area where dark tunnels and dusty hauls will leave her smudged and dirty? Will Luke be able to relax and allow himself a pace which that falls way below his usual tough haul? 

 

Percy’s Lucky Day is yet another formulated story that parents will have heard before, but will probably be a bit new for kids. In this episode Percy feels like he has the worst luck ever. He finds his usefulness stymied by misread signals, blocked tracks, and more. When Percy makes a stop at Ulfstead Castle, Stephen gives Percy a lucky charm that just might turn his luck around. Will Percy find his fortune changing for the better or will circumstances prove that there is no such thing as luck, good or bad?

 

Calm Down Caitlin finds Caitlin stopped for a quick repair that turns into anything but. When she’s finally on her way back to the mainland she finds repairs being done to the bridge and is forced to stay over night in Sodor. Luckily Caitlin has never stayed the night on Sodor and is excited to be there. Unfortunately her excitement comes at a time when she should be calm and quite so as not to wake up the sleeping island. Can she contain her excitement or will she find herself in trouble?

 

The final episode on the disc is, The Lost Puff. In this episode we find Sir Topham Hatt telling his engines to be careful while crossing a specific piece of track which is extremely bumpy due to loose rocks. All of the engines are paying close attention except for Paxton, who is laughing at a duck who is giving a worker a hard time. When Paxton later finds the bumpy piece of rail he shows Thomas how funny it is to run quickly over the tracks. When Thomas speeds over the track he gets into an accident which travels back to engines at the yard. Paxton overhears them say that Thomas has lost his puff and Paxton takes it upon himself to track the puff down and return it to Thomas. Will Paxton find the lost puff? 

 

Though the episodes were a bit done before I liked this little set. It was interesting to find the intermission episodes kind of sporadic. You have two intermissions with Sir Topham Hatt, basically doing an introduction to the upcoming episode, a sing-a-long, and a Driver Perkins bit (though not how we’re used to Perkins’ shorts). Bonus features include a crane game and a guess who puzzle game.