ThomasNATION Movie Reviews - Blue Mountain Mystery

Hey all, JF here, and for this review, we’re gonna get a little mysterious.

Blue Mountain Mystery was the 2012 Thomas film, serving as a backdoor to Season 16. It was mostly notable for promising the long-awaited return of most of the Narrow Gauge lot, from Skarloey up to Rusty. But outside of that, how does this film hold up? Is it a mystery worthy of being uncovered, or will the clues just point us in the wrong direction? Let’s begin.

After an accident at the Blue Mountain Quarry, leaving Paxton out of commission, Thomas is sent over to fill in while he gets fixed up, where he discovered a strange little engine. Soon, he gets to know the little engine, who reveals his terrible secret: as he arrived on Sodor, he accidentally knocked a yellow engine, potentially killing him. But Thomas feels that maybe the yellow engine is still out there, so he sets out to uncover the mystery.

What I like about the film is that it plays out the mystery pretty well. It already has a really interesting setup, but the individual stops Thomas takes to find the answers make a decent amount of sense…except maybe the Waste Dump and shunting yards. All this leads to a brilliant and even a bit unpredictable outcome, which I don’t think anyone could’ve saw coming…unless you watched the music video for Blue Mountain Mystery. If there is one thing that does hinder the story, it’s the pacing. A lot of the special’s runtime is spent with Thomas hanging out in the quarry and as a result, not enough time is spent on the mystery.

Another problem I have, which is more of a nitpick if anything, is that the scene near the end where the narrow gauge engines denounce Thomas is rather poorly written. It’s said that it’s because he told someone about Luke, but in a way, Thomas never indicated that he did. The scene would’ve worked if Skarloey let Thomas explain that no one knows about Luke, and then have Diesel and Paxton roll up, demanding to see Luke, and that being the point where the other engines denounce Thomas, as they believe Thomas lied to them. But as it is, it just makes the narrow gauge engines seem out of character. But with those two flaws, the story still knows how to keep the viewer on their toes.

As for the new characters, the special introduces four that it would prominently feature throughout the runtime. But the one that gets the most focus is, of course, Luke. Of all the new characters in the Miller specials, Luke is undeniably the most interesting, since he keeps hiding away due to his traumatic past. I’ll also give props that his backstory is pretty emotional, especially with Michael Legge’s delivery sounding absolutely destroyed by it.

Other than that, the new characters of the special, Merrick, Winston and Owen, while decent, don’t really have a lot of relevance to the plot. The most I can muster is maybe Owen playing a semi-big role in the climax. But of all the characters in the movie, both old and new, there is one character whose inclusion is so unexpected and brilliant, it may be the most clever part of the movie, and that is…

…Victor. One of the film’s biggest surprises is that we get to see more into Victor’s backstory, and without going too far into spoilers for those who haven’t seen it, it ties into Luke’s backstory seamlessly. But aside from that, that just leaves the returning narrow gauge engines. Aside from the one scene I brought up, they’re still as likable as they were in the previous seasons, especially with Rheneas having a running gag about needing a new coat of paint. The characters aren’t too much to write home about, but they at least have the courtesy of being pretty decent.

One thing to note with the animation is that this is the last special animated by Nitrogen before Arc Productions would step in. But with that in mind, the visuals are still pretty good for what they are. The design of the Blue Mountain Quarry itself is pretty creative with all its individual machines, and the way they’re animated makes the whole area come to life. What I also have to give props here is with the recreated scenes from older episodes, such as A Scarf for Percy and Down the Mine, which I’ll admit were not only good callbacks, but they also fit the story really well.

But the moments where the animation really shines are in the beginning with the collapsing bridge and the ending with Luke coming to Thomas’ rescue. These moments have a high amount of stakes, making for some really intense moments, especially in the end where it almost looks like Thomas could potentially fall to his death. If there is one thing to criticise with the animation, it would be that some of the concepts brought to life are a little gimmicky, and only exist to sell merchandise, especially with the yellow Rheneas. The animation may not be Nitrogen’s best, but I will at least say that it is a solid looking film.

Overall, Blue Mountain Mystery is a pretty good time. Sure, some of the story beats aren’t all that great and some aspects just scream "BUY OUR TOYS", but thanks to the interesting mystery, a decent use of its characters and some good animation that leads to some intense action, it makes for a pretty fun time, arguably being the best of the Nitrogen specials…against no competition. If you’re interested, I recommend it for a good watch, and with that, it earns itself a 3.5/5.

Final Score: 3.5/5