ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Lady Hatt's Birthday Party
April 02, 2022
It's been many years since Sir Topham Hatt first came to Sodor as a railway engineer, he rose quickly in the company being a director at an early age and eventually chairman. His imposing appearance no less than his firm but kindly handling of both engines and staff earned him the affectionate nickname of The Fat Director. Then after nationalization when he was awarded a knighthood for his services to the railway industry, he became Sir Topham Hatt - or for our friends overseas, The Fat Controller. And ever since that day, his job has been to make sure the engines are always on time while doing his best to prevent confusion and delay. He is a great example of how hard work will take you far, and what better way to celebrate the accomplishments of everyone's favorite controller than by looking over what many long time fans of Thomas The Tank Engine consider Sir Topham Hatt's finest hour in an easy four and a half minute package? Let's find out 'cause it's full steam ahead to be right on time for 'Lady Hatt's Birthday Party'. All aboard!
LADY HATT'S BIRTHDAY PARTY: On his way to his wife's birthday, Sir Topham Hatt runs into a series of problems like his car getting a flat tire, Caroline being broken down and falls from George into a muddy ditch which ruins his suit.
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I actually remember putting this classic fifth season episode on my list of twelve recommended episodes last year for all those non-fans of Thomas The Tank Engine to watch in order for them to truly understand why there's such a huge fanbase for it in the first place because it's in my opinion a double whammy: Thomas isn't always about the trains and sometimes Thomas is also hilarious. This is the first episode in the original series that is focused entirely on the humans and the trains take a back seat to the action-in fact, the engines appear so little in this episode that I went and did the math and they make up a total of twenty-seven percent of the runtime, that's unheard of. 'Thomas & Friends' is not just a show about talking trains, it's a show about the world that they live in: the other vehicles, the adventures they all go on and the humans. This is also the episode that totally humanized Sir Topham Hatt in my opinion and for many other longvtime fans: while he was previously seen as just an authority figure that would punish or praise the engines but as we see here, there's more to him than that; he's a dedicated husband that would go through hell just to be at his wife's birthday no matter the cost.
Let's be real, the humans in Thomas The Tank Engine are the goofiest looking thing about the original series: they're little wooden bricks with specially whittled arms that can't move, but somehow they managed to make a sweet, endearing and entertaining story exclusively about them, just think about what a feat that is! It works because 'Thomas & Friends' is a self-aware show, they know the humans look funny so they made the episode funny in tone to match and the end result is hilarious: if you're unable to watch footage of a giant wooden fat man awkwardly tumble out of a steamroller and flop into dirt without laughing, then maybe you just lack a funny bone because this is overall a hilarious episode, but it is also very charming and endearing in its weird quirky unique way thus I am proud to give 'Lady Hatt's Birthday Party' a top rating of a 4.5 out of 5.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
About the Author: True Blue
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