Top 10 Things All Engines Go! Actually Got Right
July 09, 2022
What can be said about All Engines Go! that hasn't been said already? Yes, it's easy to say that it's awful, it's weird, it's overly goofy, it breaks the foundation that Thomas & Friends was built on, but is that true? Well...mostly. I know it's fun to talk about the bad stuff, but what about the stuff here that's actually good? For this list, I had to scour through the episodes to find those little glimmers of quality that come close to, or even match the quality of the original shows. I won't, however, be counting any of the episodes, since that'll be a list of its own soon enough. Another thing I’d like to mention is that this is all based on my personal opinion. Everyone’s list on this matter will differ, so keep that in mind if you see something you disagree with. So without further ado, let's begin.
NUMBER TEN: Thomas and Percy's Friendship
If there's one thing I have to mention that the reboot does and the original actually doesn't, it's the focus on Thomas and Percy's friendship. Outside of a few episodes like Best Friends or Wish You Were Here, their status as best friends didn't really seem too important. Here, there are a few episodes where their friendship is the focus, where we see actually their bond tested and how they have to come back together in the end, and each time these conflicts are pretty intriguing, regardless of the episodes' quality. The one gripe I have with these episodes is that maybe it can get a little repetitive, but either way, it's still cool seeing this aspect brought into focus.
NUMBER NINE: The Comedy
Well, sometimes. There are moments where the humor can range from terrible puns to groan-worthy one-liners, but I'd still call this an occasionally funny show. I’m not saying all the jokes are flat out hilarious, but there are some moments that gave me a few good chuckles. For example, the episode "Super Screen Cleaners", while a pretty bad episode, does contain a really funny moment involving a Troublesome Truck tossing mud at Thomas and Nia, and all the while just mocking them. That, I'll admit, got a good chuckle out of me. Again, it's not a hysterical show, but it does have some good comedy.
NUMBER EIGHT: The Morals
One thing people can never knock Thomas for is its morals, and I was honestly surprised that was carried over to the reboot. I will say however that not all of the morals are great. For example, The Tiger Train is an episode encouraging kids to do dangerous things for the sake of "being brave", which is a little dangerous and contradictory (Tale of the Brave, anyone?). But regardless, I still like how the show encourages good life lessons such as using your imagination to keep yourself occupied, and even some not even taught in the original show like finding common ground with an enemy. Sure, a few of these morals are a bit generic, but they're still great morals to teach to kids. Again, sometimes they can be a little clumsy, but to be fair, they're not "Saved You!" bad...remember that episode?
NUMBER SEVEN: Nia
This is the one element of All Engines Go! that I'd say is done better than the original. Back in the previous series, Nia was kind of a one-note character, whose only personality traits were liking animals and being from Kenya. She wasn’t hatable, but there wasn’t anything new or interesting about her. Here, she's a lot more adventurous and fun-loving with a love for music. Granted, she was a little bit like that in the original, but that was only in Big World! Big Adventures!. Here, her personality is given a lot more room to develop and grow, which I have to commend.
NUMBER SIX: The Music
I'll be honest, I'm a little more mixed towards the reboot's songs. On one hand, you get songs like On My Own, The Number 1 Engine and The Mail Delivery Song that are pretty catchy, well written and represent the theme of the episode well. On the other hand, you get songs like I'm Gonna Chug, When I Go Fast, whatever that song from Dragon Run was and especially Music is Everywhere that just feel like the writers didn't put any thought into them. But if that's the case, why is this near the top five? Well, that's easy: the score. The background music is really charming, with a ton of memorable themes that could be comparable to the original's score. Yeah, the songs are a double-edge sword, but at least it makes up for it with a pleasant score.
NUMBER FIVE: The Troublesome Trucks
NUMBER FOUR: Bulstrode
Who expected Bulstrode of all characters to return in this series? I know I didn't, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him return in Thomas' Day Off. And while he went through a major personality switch, going from a surly grouch to a wise, grandpa-esque nut, he's still presented as a fun character. Another thing I have to note is his design. While the engines were given a major redesign, like being scaled down or having their siderods removed or whatever was going on with Carly, Bulstrode's differences are a lot more subtle, to the point where he almost looks exactly the same. For a character no one expected to return, he sure knew how to make an impact.
NUMBER THREE: The Animation
The jump from CG to 2D was an unexpected turn for the franchise, and I'll definitely say that while it's certainly not as good as the CG era, I'll still call this animation pretty decent. One thing I like about it is how energetic it is. You can clearly tell the animators were having barrels of fun with these episodes, with what they could make the engines do, and yeah, while it continually breaks the reality of the franchise, the movements are still fluid and lively. I’ll even give credit to the backgrounds, giving the show a unique take on Sodor, but not diverging too far from what it's supposed to be.
NUMBER TWO: The Heart
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the show was just how genuinely heartwarming it can be at times. The show has a great amount of emotional scenes where the characters could be given more depth and grow. One of my favorite scenes in the show actually comes from the episode “The Real Number One” where Thomas talks to Sir Topham Hatt about losing his number one, yet Sir Topham Hatt says he isn’t number one because of what’s on his side, he’s number one because he can be relied on. It’s a surprisingly great scene that almost taps into the heart of the original series for a moment. But that’s one piece of the puzzle, there are also scenes where the characters express what a certain character like Sandy mean to them, or even little wholesome moments of the characters just bonding, which after all the bounciness and goofiness of the series, is more than welcome.
Before we get to number one, let's go over some
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- James: He doesn’t go through that much of a change, or that much screen time, but I’m just glad to see that I was wrong about the writers forgetting he existed.
- The world building: Again, while it continually breaks the franchise’s reality, it does come with a ton of interesting notions, like Sir Topham Hatt's hat being passed down across generations.
- Yong Bao: His backstory does leave a few questions about the lore of the series, but he’s still as wise and heroic as ever.
- Emily: A fine enough addition, but she doesn't have enough screentime to qualify her for the list.
NUMBER ONE: Gordon
From the moment I thought up this list, I knew that this guy had to be the number one spot. Every bad era made their own slew of mistakes, but for some reason there's one thing each of them nails, and that's Gordon. How the writers handled Gordon shouldn’t be praised for what they did do, but rather for what they didn’t do. They could’ve easily made him as wacky and goofy as Thomas, or dumbed him down immensely, but no; he’s still the same old Gordon, just upgraded a bit so he’s more of a father figure to the little engines. Not to mention that his redesign is amazing, as he looks almost exactly like his previous counterpart, excluding the loss of his coupling rods. But perhaps the coolest aspect of this iteration of Gordon is his voice. While Will Harrison-Wallace does a great job as him in the UK dub, it’s the US dub that’s really cool since they brought Neil Crone, who voiced him in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, back to voice him and he does a phenomenal job, and all this is precisely why he is the number one thing that All Engines Go! got right.
And that’s the list! If I missed anything that you feel the series got right, please let me know. Adios!
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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