ThomasNATION Movie Reviews - Tale of the Brave
October 02, 2021
'Thomas & Friends' sure had an amazing overhaul in 2013, didn't it...with the airing of its seventeenth season and 'King of the Railway' after several years of crap writing and terrible dialogue, this was the show's return to form with the stories held up once again by the strength of the characters and their dialogue. While the seventeenth season and 'King of the Railway' weren't perfect by any means, things only got better since then and the series had once again found its footing after the franchise was purchased by Mattel and a new team of writers were brought on to continue this climb. After the extremely positive feedback from fans for the most part, the new team really had outdo themselves with their second attempt at a full-length special...and I know that I'm a year late in revisiting this much beloved classic for its anniversary, but I decided that I wanted to look back in preparation for this year's spooky season to see if it still holds up after so many years. So without further ado, let's be brave 'cause there are monsters everywhere as we begin our prehistoric journey with 'Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave'!
THOMAS & FRIENDS - TALE OF THE BRAVE: Thomas spots giant footprints in some clay and Percy thinks a monster is loose on the island
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Honestly, this was a major improvement compared to 'King of the Railway' because there was focus on the narrative. Sure, there were a few subplots but they all feel connected compare to the 2013 special. Thomas was curious about the mysterious footprints, Percy was scared by the idea of a monster and James was trying to hide his scaredy side to make himself look bigger. I will say Percy being the scaredy engine does seem to be a big depature to how the way Awdry made him but to be honest, the lead role for him feels like something for him since Percy in the classic series has traits similar to Thomas but he had some traits that are different and they are his naiveness and scaredy trait: this is the same engine that once believed in 'backing signals', this is the same engine who got scared of a paper dragon, naughty gnomes etc. in the non-Awdry stories. It seems right for him to take the lead, Percy was being naive about the idea of a monster and was scared by the idea too plus a role like this can be really relatable among younger kids who go through that phase of things in the dark looking scarey by the weird shape of shadows - heck, even adults can get scared of things sometimes and it's natural!
With James, I like how he was portrayed as a bully to Percy or even the movie's villain but he only did it out of fun for himself: this is that James that I and many others see from the Classic Series since he was like this with the likes of Edward, Gordon and the other engines with his teasing, however he learnt although visually that he can be scared himself and they do say that all bullies are cowards from the inside. Percy is very open about being a coward and very vulnerable as shown in the movie and of course James sees that as an opportunity to bully him but of course he's a coward on the inside and didn't want to show it.
As with Gator, I do like the wisdom and advise he gave to Percy but hear me out...why was he on Sodor in the first place? I mean sure Connor and Caitlin were on Sodor because they were on time trials but Gator was here because he was. After reading Sodor Island Fansite's viewpoint on the movie from 2014, his reason for storytelling purposes was to be a strange looking engine that looks unusual and uncanny compared to the other engines that we normally see on Sodor, not unlike a monster. His fear of height was intriguing, but we also learn from him that we have to brave even though we are scared and it's hard for somebody to get over something fearful too but we mustn't let fear enslave us in the end.
Neither Marion nor Timothy had anything major to play in the film, but their characters shine like Marion's talkative attitude and Timothy's gullibility. I will say Oliva Colman really shined with Marion and I can tell she was having lots of fun voicing her, she really had brought a lot of warmth to her too and it amazes me on how far she had come since voicing Marion-I mean sure she had a successful acting career before Thomas, but she's now an Academy Award winner now and that is something! I would've loved to see her again in the show but considering that the original series ended this year, chances of that happening are unlikely. I think the only character that could've been cut and introduced later would've been Reg, he was there and that was it. I will also point out that Cranky's scene of stopping the ship was still intense and sure it's unrealistic since the show had never been focused with reality for quite sometime, but I think I had just come to the point with it being the new norm: I also remember someone saying they should've referenced 'Cranky Bugs' despite some complaints about 'fan service' because they'd referenced 'Up, Up and Away' - how is that fan service when the fanbase despises it? I will never know but to me, it wouldn't be useful and would feel shoehorned in just to please some older fans.
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'Tale Of The Brave' is such a sneaky movie, it markets itself as an exciting adventure movie about monsters or whatever: you go in expecting to see the gimmick of the week but instead get a wonderful character study of the series' three mains; it's heartwarming, down to earth, surprisingly intense at times, and really this movie would have made for a fantastic series finale and part of me wishes it was. If I were to choose what I want in a perfect finale for the whole series, I don't think I'd stray too far off from what 'Tale of the Brave' did here and that is why I'm giving it a rating of a 4.5 out of 5.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
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