ThomasNATION Reviews - A Quiet Delivery
February 19, 2022
I'm sure you guys all know the story of 'All Engines Go'. Without going into too much detail, the fandom didn't react well to this new storytelling formula, and soon everywhere you went online, you'd see it: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, you name it, they were ticked beyond belief. But now that the fandom's flames of hatred for this controversial reboot seem to have settled down for now and now that some time has passed since the first season wrapped up, are their views still valid? Let's find out as we dive into another episode of the confusing world of 'All Engines Go' with A Quiet Delivery!
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A QUIET DELIVERY: Thomas volunteers to get Annie and Clarabel across Sodor without waking them up, only to discover that it's going to be harder than he imagined.
What's that? Have I found my favorite episode from Season 1 of 'All Engines Go' thus far? Why, yes, I think I have! After having to sit through a baker's dozen of wild and crazy adventures that seem to keep teetering back and forth like a see-saw in quality while watching this controversial reboot which has already become an active warzone among many in the fandom, it's nice that the production team decided to tone things back on the wacky cartoon hijinks this time around and just let the characters have a chance to slow down and breathe before their next big adventure and it really pays off not only for the reboot itself but also for those in the franchise's target demographic as well as the older fans who prefer the calm 'slice of type' stories from the original series compared to the fast-paced action adventures like most people do - heck, I'd argue that this episode may be the first and probably only time so far that this reboot is close to being as good as the original series...well, key word being close. There's nothing wrong with letting your audience kick back, relax and enjoy the ride because variances in tone help expand a child's perspective of the world, it makes them look at the world in a different way and helps them learn what kinds of genres they enjoy. It helps build perspective and in terms of tone while I know that many long time fans say the spooky episodes are what classic Thomas excelled at the most, some of my all-time favorite episodes of the original series were the 'slice of life' stories-some of which that were so happy and heart warming that they pull on your heartstrings a little, see 'Henry's Forest' and 'Four Little Engines' if you wanna know what I mean!
Speaking of being almost as good as the Classic Series, that's another thing I should mention: this is the first episode so far in this reboot whose cast of characters are only ones from the original series with none of the reboot exclusive ones ranging from the veteran engines of Season 1 like Thomas himself all the way up to Carly The Crane from Season 21. Sure, Kana is mentioned by Annie and Clarabel at the start but she never appears once - heck, even Emily got to make a cameo in this episode despite not saying a word and you even get to hear Sir Handel's whistle from Season 10 when Thomas is talking about the tugboats down at the docks. Oh, and who didn't think that the mouse Percy spots in the tunnel was Alicia from Season 6's 'Thomas, Percy and the Squeak'? That might be a stretch, but if it is, cool detail! While we're at it with talking about backgrounds, that's also something to talk about: the animation, sure there are still the typical mannerisms of 'All Engines Go' when it comes to the character animation in this episode like using wheels as hands and the squash-and-stretch bodies of both the engines and Annie and Clarabel themselves but the real star of the animation are all of the night time scenes especially when Thomas sings his lullaby to his coaches so they can sleep as not only do we get to truly enjoy this new version of the Island of Sodor in all its beauty but some of these shots gave me such classic vibes of the original series like with the silhouettes of the engines steaming along against the starry sky as the fireflies dance in the night.
In a time where mainstream animated shows would rather want to be constantly bombastic and fill every second with cartoon chaos like myself and many long time fans are sure to be expecting from this controversial reboot, this is one of those rare episodes that rather wants to take its time to let the characters kick back, live their lives and enjoy their environment. And honestly, I feel like that change of pace is more than welcome: you don't need loud gimmicks and make some fast-paced action type of adventure to be good, sometimes all you need is a little reminder to be like you're on the English countryside and enjoy the simpler things in life, and maybe a ride on a little blue tank engine could be pretty cool too. Thus I am proud to give 'A Quiet Delivery' a rating of a 4 out of 5 - the best episode of the first season so far and a very good watch, quite an accomplishment even by this reboot's standards!
Final Rating: 4/5
About the Author: True Blue
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