Thomas & Friends
British children's television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas & Friends[j] is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on The Railway Series books by Wilbert and Christopher Awdry, the series was developed for television by Britt Allcroft. The series centers on various anthropomorphic steam locomotives as well as other vehicles living on the fictional Island of Sodor. The show was initially filmed in live action on model sets, whereas the latter half of its run was produced using CGI. Over 500 episodes were produced over the course of 24 series.
- Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
- Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures![1]
| Thomas & Friends | |
|---|---|
 Logo used since 2009 | |
| Also known as |
|
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Created by | Britt Allcroft |
| Based on | |
| Developed by | Britt Allcroft |
| Directed by | Various
|
| Voices of | Various |
| Narrated by | |
| Opening theme | Various
|
| Ending theme | Various
|
| Composer | Various
|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 24 |
| No. of episodes | 584 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Various
|
| Producers | Various
|
| Production locations |
|
| Running time | |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV[g] |
| Release | 9 October 1984 – 14 July 1992 |
| Network | Cartoon Network[h] |
| Release | 16 October 1995 – 19 October 1998 |
| Network | Nick Jr.[i] |
| Release | 16 September 2002 – 15 January 2008 |
| Network | Channel 5 |
| Release | 1 September 2008 – 20 January 2021 |
| Related | |
In the United States, it was first broadcast along with the spin-off series, Shining Time Station, on PBS' PTV Park block on 29 January 1989, while broadcast of the series did shift over time, it later aired on PBS Kids up until 2017. The rights to the series are currently owned by HIT Entertainment (a subsidiary of Mattel), which acquired Gullane Entertainment in July 2002. HIT was folded into Mattel in 2016.
A North American 2D animated reboot, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, premiered on 13 September 2021 on Cartoon Network's preschool block Cartoonito, ending its run on 11 September 2025 with the final set of episodes released on Netflix.
Voice cast
Originally, narrating was used as the only voice in the series until 2008. Britt Allcroft thought that it would be essential to convey the episode as a story that would be read from a book at home. Individual voice-over actors were given to both the UK and US dubs of the series, following the switch to full CGI animation in 2009. The narrators include Ringo Starr, Michael Angelis, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, Michael Brandon, Pierce Brosnan, Mark Moraghan, John Hasler, and Joseph May.[3][4][5][6][7]
Characters
List of productions
Television series
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| 1 | 26 | 9 October 1984 | 8 January 1985 | ITV | |
| 2 | 26 | 24 September 1986 | 17 December 1986 | ||
| 3 | 26 | 25 February 1992 | 14 July 1992 | ||
| 4 | 26 | 16 October 1995 | 20 November 1995 | Cartoon Network | |
| 5 | 26 | 14 September 1998 | 19 October 1998 | ||
| 6 | 26 | 16 September 2002 | 21 October 2002 | Nick Jr. | |
| 7 | 26 | 6 October 2003 | 10 November 2003 | ||
| 8 | 26 | 1 August 2004 | 24 October 2004 | ||
| 9 | 26 | 5 September 2005 | 28 November 2005 | ||
| 10 | 28 | 2 September 2006 | 15 September 2006 | ||
| 11 | 26 | 3 September 2007 | 15 January 2008 | ||
| 12 | 20 | 1 September 2008 | 26 September 2008 | Channel 5 | |
| 13 | 20 | 25 January 2010 | 19 February 2010 | ||
| 14 | 20 | 11 October 2010 | 5 November 2010 | ||
| 15 | 20 | 1 March 2011 | 28 March 2011 | ||
| 16 | 20 | 20 February 2012 | 25 December 2012 | ||
| 17 | 26 | 3 June 2013 | 21 November 2014 | ||
| 18 | 26 | 25 August 2014 | 31 July 2015 | ||
| 19 | 26 | 21 September 2015 | 10 March 2017 | ||
| 20 | 28 | 5 September 2016 | 20 December 2017 | ||
| 21 | 18 | 18 September 2017 | 22 December 2017 | ||
| 22 | 26 | 3 September 2018 | 15 May 2019 | ||
| 23 | 23 | 2 September 2019 | 15 May 2020 | ||
| 24 | 23 | 2 May 2020 | 20 January 2021 | ||
Films and specials
Production
Thomas & Friends is adapted from The Railway Series, a series of children's books created by Wilbert Awdry.[8] The BBC attempted to adapt the books to television in 1953, utilising model trains by Hornby Railways. The broadcast was live and multiple issues such as derailments occurred. Daily Mail featured the failed broadcast on their front page.[9]
In 1978, film producer Britt Allcroft discovered The Railway Series during her research for a documentary film about the Bluebell Railway. She "loved this whole little world he had created," was fascinated by its characters, and wanted to adapt the books to television. Allcroft mortgaged her house to gain a £50,000 bank loan for the series. She hired Ringo Starr upon finding his voice "perfect" for narration; his previous work as a member of The Beatles had "nothing to do with" Allcroft's decision. The series was directed by David Mitton and composed by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.[9][10] A pilot episode titled "Down the Mine" was produced in 1983.[11]
In 2002, Allcroft sold the series and her production company to HIT Entertainment,[8] who would then be bought out by Mattel for US$680 million with the intent of acquiring Thomas & Friends.[12]
Animation
The original series was produced using radio-controlled models and static figures, with stop motion being used for moving human and animal characters and hand-drawn animation being introduced in series 3.[10] In 2009, the series switched to computer animation.[13]
Broadcast
Thomas & Friends premiered on ITV on 9 October 1984 under the title Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.[10] The first episode, "Thomas and Gordon", was seen by 8.5 million viewers.[8] Since then, it has been broadcast on Cartoon Network, Nick Jr., Channel 5, and Netflix.[11]
In the United States, the series had first appeared in the form of sequences on Shining Time Station, during the program's run from 1989 to 1995 on PBS. The sequences of the series later aired in 1996 on Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales. The series aired as Storytime with Thomas on Fox Family (now Freeform) from 1999 to 2000. Thomas & Friends returned in the form of several direct-to-video releases during series 6 (2002) and as a stand-alone half-hour program on PBS Kids. It was distributed from 2004 to 2007 by Connecticut Public Television, and then by WNET from 2008 to 2017. It also aired on Sprout from 2005 to 2015. The rights to broadcast the series through PBS expired on December 31, 2017,[14][15] thus ending a period of almost 30 years of programming related to Thomas & Friends on American public television. From 2018 to 2019, Nickelodeon held exclusive rights to the series in the United States. In 2020, the streaming rights were sold to Netflix, with traditional television rights left unresolved.[16] It also airs on Kabillion.[17] In spring 2024, classic episodes of the series became available on the free streaming channel PBS Retro.[18] Early episodes from Seasons 1 through 7 are available on Amazon Prime Video.[19]
Other dubs
| Language | Title | Channel | Notes | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mandarin Chinese | 托马斯和朋友/湯瑪士小火車 | CCTV (China)/Momo Kids (Taiwan) | The series is known in China as 托马斯和朋友 and in Taiwan as 湯瑪士小火車, and is dubbed in Mandarin Chinese with Simplified and Traditional Chinese subtitles. The series is narrated by Jiang Guangtao in China and Guan Zhihong in Taiwan. | China and Taiwan |
| Japanese | きかんしゃトーマスとなかまたち | Fuji TV/TV Tokyo/NHK Educational TV | The series in Japan is known as Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (きかんしゃトーマスとなかまたち), and is dubbed in Japanese.[20] Unlike the original English dub where the live-action model seasons of the series had the characters be consistently voiced by a single narrator, the Japanese dub featured a full voice cast for all of the characters from the very beginning. The model era was considered Tokusatsu when dubbed in Japan.[citation needed] | Japan |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Thomas e Seus Amigos | Discovery Kids (Brazil)/TV Cultura | The series in Brazil is known as Thomas e Seus Amigos, and is dubbed in Brazilian Portuguese.[citation needed] It even has an official YouTube channel known as Thomas e Seus Amigos.[21][non-primary source needed] | Brazil |
| Latin American Spanish | Thomas y Sus Amigos | Discovery Kids/Canal 5 | The series in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, is known as Thomas y Sus Amigos, also known as its original English title from the thirteenth series onwards, and is dubbed into Latin American Spanish. It even has an official YouTube channel known as Thomas & Friends Latinoamérica.[22][non-primary source needed] | Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela |
| Azerbaijani | Tomas və Dostları | ANS TV | The series in Azerbaijan is known as Tomas və Dostları, and is dubbed with audio in Azerbaijani. | Azerbaijan |
| European Portuguese | Thomas e os Seus Amigos | Canal Panda/RTP2 ZigZag/JimJam | The series in Portugal is known as Thomas e os Seus Amigos, and is dubbed into European Portuguese. | Portugal |
| European Spanish | Thomas y Sus Amigos | RTVE Clan | The series in Spain, is known as Thomas y Sus Amigos, and is dubbed into European Spanish. | Spain |
| German | Thomas, die kleine Lokomotive und seine Freunde / Thomas und seine Freunde | Super RTL (Germany) | The 6th, 7th, 21st and 24th series were not dubbed into German. The series was narrated by Manfred Steffen from the 1st to 5th series and by Sky du Mont from the 8th to 20th series. | Germany and Austria |
| Catalan | En Thomas i els Seus Amics | YouTube TV | The series in Catalonia, Spain is known as En Thomas i els Seus Amics, and is dubbed in Catalan. | Catalonia (Spain) |
| Romanian | Thomas şi Prietenii Săi | Minimax TV | The series in Romania is known as Thomas şi Prietenii Săi, or Locomotiva Thomas şi Prietenii Săi, and is dubbed in Romanian. | Romania |
| Hebrew | תומס הקטר תומס הקטר וחברים |
Hop! Channel Israeli Educational Television |
The series in Israel is known as תומס הקטר and תומס הקטר וחברים, and is dubbed in Hebrew. | Israel |
Mobile apps
Mattel partnered with several companies, including Budge Studios and Animoca Brands, to create mobile apps based on Thomas & Friends.[23][24] In 2010, Callaway Digital Arts created apps based on the brand.[25][26][27][28] By mid-2011, thirteen Thomas apps were available.[29] HiT Entertainment and Mattel both released apps under their own names.[30][31] During the 75th anniversary press release in 2020, Mattel mentioned an intent for more apps.[32]
Reception
Critical response
Common Sense Media rated the show a four out of five stars, writing, "Parents can be assured that this series has educational aspects as well as behavioural modelling. The Thomas the Tank Engine stories were conceived by a young British boy early in the 20th century, who would listen to the trains as they chuffed through the countryside. The stories he told his son – who has consequently passed them on to his own son – have been documented in books and toy train models. Since the series was introduced to television viewers in the 1980s, Thomas & Friends has seen a healthy fan base sprout worldwide."[33]
Jia Tolentino in The New Yorker acknowledged that as a girl she did not "take in anything that was actually happening", but after reviewing the show and internet posts about it as an adult, criticised what she saw as the "show's repressive, authoritarian soul."[34]
University of Alberta professor Shauna Wilton wrote "A Very Useful Engine: The Politics of Thomas and Friends". Wilton, who justified her study by arguing that socialisation of children is an important aspect, wrote that she received "a combination of outrage, disbelief, and condescending dismissal" when she announced she was going to study the politicisation of the series, although some people gave her thanks.[35] She stated that despite the inclusion of female characters by the 2000s, in the era after major social revolutions in real life the series was "largely unchanged" from when it was "created in a context of rigid social hierarchies, male dominance in the public sphere, and a strong social culture of good behavior, respecting authority, and following the rules."[36]
In 2011, a contributor for Slate analyzed the "hidden subtexts" of British imperialism in the series, while in 2013 Alex Knapp wrote for Forbes about the "baffling economics" of the Island of Sodor.[37][38]
Future
Film
The franchise's first film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, was released in July 2000. It featured new characters created by Allcroft, along with characters from the show that had introduced Thomas to the United States, Shining Time Station. Despite high production values and the popularity of the show, the film was criticised by British reviewers who were unfamiliar with Shining Time Station. The movie was well received by young children on both sides of the Atlantic, but made only $19.7 million at the box office,[39] against a cost of $19 million to produce.[40] The film was broadcast on BBC1 on 1 January 2004 and again on 29 December 2008.[41][42] A second live-action animated Thomas & Friends film is in development at Mattel Films with Marc Forster serving as director.[43]
Reboots
On 12 October 2020, Mattel announced the series would be rebooted with Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go and that Nelvana would co-produce and animate the series. The deal stipulated that 104 11-minute episodes and 2 60-minute specials would be produced, and that the animation would transition from CGI animation to 2D animation, with new redesigns for the characters.[44] On 5 February 2021, it was announced that Cartoon Network and Netflix had jointly picked up the broadcast and streaming rights to the series in the United States, respectively.[45]
On 11 October 2022, Mattel announced that the series was renewed for a third and fourth season, each consisting of 26 episodes and a special.[46] On 27 February 2024, it was announced that series 3 would debut on Netflix in the United States.[citation needed] All Engines Go concluded in Autumn 2025 after 4 seasons.[citation needed]
A second reboot, first announced in May 2025,[47] is currently set for a release in autumn 2026.[citation needed] Thomas' new design was revealed in January 2026.[48]
Notes
- In the United States, Starr's series were dubbed by George Carlin.
- In the United States, Angelis's series were dubbed by George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Brandon.
- In the United States, Hasler's series were dubbed by Joseph May.
- These series also aired in a half-hour format.
- Until Series 20, these series also aired in a half-hour format. As of series 22, the episodes themselves run only 7 minutes, with the remainder used for educational segments.
- The first half of series 3 was released straight-to-video before airing on TV. ITV also rebroadcast series 6–8 after the Nick Jr. airings.
- Most episodes of Series 4 and 5 first premiered straight-to-video.
- Series 6–8 were rerun on CITV, while series 8–11 were rerun on Channel 5.
