ThomasNATION Reviews - Chasing Rainbows

CHASING RAINBOWS: Thomas and Kana journey across Sodor to find the prize at the end of the rainbow.

You know, there are a lot of great mysteries in life. Like, why are there so many songs about rainbows? And what's on the other side?  Rainbows are visions, but only illusions and rainbows have nothing to hide...but if only Thomas had realized that back in the ninth season episode 'Thomas And The Rainbow' when he was so distracted about finding something magical at the end of the rainbow after an overnight summer storm that he not only didn't take engineers to fix telephone poles that had been knocked down which resulted in him coming off the rails but he also ignored all of his friends.  Even though you would think that the engines would've let Thomas stay where he was after the way he treated them, they still found a way to come to his rescue thus Thomas carries on with his work and eventually does manage to find the end of the rainbow right over Tidmouth Sheds where the most magical thing of all is waiting in the form of his friends.  Even though it wasn't a good episode since you'd think that Thomas would know what a rainbow is with how long he has lived on the Island of Sodor (seriously, in the years leading up to that episode, has he never once seen a rainbow?) and while the ending can feel a bit cheesy depending on your personal preference, the moral is what makes this adventure all the more special since life is a beautiful thing that no one truly understands until the end full of moments high and low with every person you meet along the way shaping the journey and it's pretty remarkable that a little blue train with a face showed us that.

I know what you're thinking: why am I talking about 'Thomas and the Rainbow' instead of 'Chasing Rainbows'? Well...I think you know where I'm going with this.

While it is true that 'Chasing Rainbows' continues the reboot's recurring trend of diet rehashes from the original series by copying Season 9's 'Thomas and the Rainbow' and while you could argue that the engines should've been doing their work instead of chasing the end of the rainbow since multiple engines not doing their jobs can cause serious confusion and delay, I'll be the first to admit and I know I'm gonna get flack from a majority of the fandom for saying this but this episode beats the original series episode by a landslide for a number of reasons with the first one that comes to mind being that Thomas isn't ignoring his friends to find the rainbow for himself but rather inviting his friends to accompany him and share the fun on this big adventure of finding the end of the rainbow and imagining the special prize that awaits all of them which reminded me a lot like how Kermit the Frog first met his fellow Muppets like Fozzie and Miss Piggy among others on their journey to Hollywood in 'The Muppet Movie' (which for those who don't know is my personal favorite Muppet movie from the Jim Henson era). Not only that, but each of Thomas' friends find their own way of being really useful in their own way on this adventure like Diesel finding an unfinished track up the mountain hidden in the bushes thus bringing Carly and Sandy in to help repair the track for them to make their way to the top and what they end up finding is not necessarily the end of the rainbow but rather the perfect place for a new clubhouse for their Biggest Adventure Club which reminds me a lot of how the Student Six made their Treehouse of Harmony from the old remains of the Tree of Harmony during the final season of My Little Pony.

Man, call me crazy here but Kermit was right about finding the rainbow connection among the lovers and dreamers - in fact, as the frog himself said it best: "yeah, well I've got a dream too but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy.  That's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with and...well, I found a whole bunch of friends who have the same dream and it kind of makes us like a family". And I think that's what I love the most about 'Chasing Rainbows' since it embodies the meaning of family and how the friends you meet on your adventures along the way can sometimes feel like part of the family. Yes, the similarities to 'Thomas and the Rainbow' are obvious, and yes, the engines really should've been working instead of chasing the end of a rainbow, but with everything that I've been through ever since I first arrived in the Thomas the Tank Engine and My Little Pony fandoms, seeing an episode like this really made me thankful for the good that I have in life and who I've got alongside me along the way, even with all the controversies I’ve found myself in, thus I'm gonna give 'Chasing Rainbows' a rating of a 3.5 out of 5. And with that, happy Pride Month, and always remember that if you find yourself under that special rainbow, then you're 100% worthy of being loved no matter what anyone says.