ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Henry's Forest
January 22, 2022
The first twelve model seasons of 'Thomas & Friends' loved to explore its characters and what makes them tick, Season 3 was the big game changer season in this sense since this was when they started writing original stories that weren't based on the source material by Reverend Awdry and it was in these episodes that different sides of the characters were explored. This is where James' pride of his red paint stemmed from and Duck's fascination with the sea. But among all of the episodes from this third season and out of all the nearly six hundred episodes of the original 'Thomas & Friends' television series, there is no episode that I enjoy more than any other than the iconic and classic Season 3 episode 'Henry's Forest' which showed us a gentler side of Henry that was never implied before: Henry is a nature lover, the forest on the main line is his favorite place in the world and he feels very much at peace whenever he goes there; he loves the forest so much that he became utterly depressed when a storm swept through and devastated it.
Awdry rather famously hated this episode and I can understand why: most of his grudges here came from the episode breaking real railway practice and Henry is his character after all that he had a different vision for, but I respectfully disagree with him here. I absolutely love this element of Henry's character because it showed that under that grumpy self-important big engine exterior is a very gentle vulnerable giant who has an appreciation for the smaller things in life. Henry wasn't just another Gordon, he was far more complex than that. So in celebration of the episode's thirtieth anniversary in both the United Kingdom and the United States, it's time that we look at just what makes 'Henry's Forest' my personal favorite episode. With that said, all aboard for a big rush of nostalgia!
HENRY'S FOREST: When a storm comes, Henry's favorite forest experiences severe devastation thus Toby, Terence and Trevor soon team together to cheer him up
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In terms of the story for 'Henry's Forest', it's pretty basic: Henry's favorite place is destroyed by a raging storm and his friends help save it. Really simple, very point blank. There's a severe lack of dialogue from the characters in this as the majority of it is just the narrator talking, nothing all that exciting happens in this episode either: no crashes, no runaways, no fast-paced anything so why above all the other exciting and action-packed episodes is this the number one spot for me after so many years? The answer to that is the episode's atmosphere, 'Henry's Forest' is simply one of the most beautiful episodes of the entire series if not the most since it's the only episode where we truly get to see this iconic landmark of Sodor in all its majesty and man is it breathtaking; everything looks so cold and miserable after the storm but at the same time beautiful and quiet and serene, this is also one of the first episodes to my memory that started utilizing peaceful scenery over the hustle and bustle of the railway. But there's more than that, actually.
For all of you who may or may not know before my recent move down south to Florida, I'm a Maryland native born and raised, and for those who aren't familiar with the area, Maryland is known for its eight national parks with one of them being a short walk away from where I used to live by the name of Krause Memorial Park-I'm not joking, look it up. While it may not be the same time of year in the episode itself, fall is my favorite time of year and I always get a certain feel of peace when the cooler weather starts to roll in. There is nothing more beautiful than a peaceful stroll through Krause Memorial Park in the cool fall weather with a gentle breeze rustling the leaves off the trees-a place I absolutely loved visiting. When the fall season rolls around, it turns the landscapes into something out of a beautiful painting and it's one of the many beautiful touches that made me love the Parkville area. Whenever I watch 'Henry's Forest' as a kid and still to this day, it always gives me that same feeling since the scenic forest sets remind me so much of home. This beautiful episode manages to take me out of where I am and take me back home no matter where I am or what time of year I watch it. Many say that Season 4 was the most beautiful season of 'Thomas & Friends' and while I agree with that statement, I'm gonna be the one to argue that 'Henry's Forest' is the most beautiful episode of the entire series.
When it comes down to it, the beauty of the Classic Series is something that the new animated stuff just can't compete with: no matter how awesome the new animators try to make the sets, they just can't top the world that David Mitton and Britt Allcroft created of which that's not to say the new directors haven't tried of course since the teams at Arc and Jam Filled as well as Nitrogen have created some really beautiful sets for the series with Arlesburgh Harbor being the pinnacle of amazing CG-animated sets. However, none of them unfortunately feel real since it all just looks like a really good-looking cartoon since all of Thomas' charm from the classic episodes came from the sets and direction that made the world feel real and that's what made Thomas so popular in the first place since Sodor seemed like a real place that kids could go to and actually meet the trains that talked. Times have sadly changed since then, but I can't fault the new team for at least trying, and whether you agree or disagree with me that the classic episodes are undoubtedly better than the new ones from the Brenner era, I know something that we all can unitedly agree on: that the episodes from the Sharon Miller era are all just terrible and that 'Henry's Forest' is one of if not Thomas The Tank Engine's best episode ever in the entire history of the television series thus I will always give it a perfect rating of a 5 out of 5. Thank you, Henry.
Final Rating: 5/5
About the Author: True Blue
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