ThomasNATION Reviews - The Joke is on Thomas

February 11, 2023

 

Well, here we are. The end of the first half of All Engines Go! Season 1. So, before we do this, I have to ask: is All Engines Go! really that bad so far? This may sound crazy, but honestly...no. In fact, with a few exceptions, the majority of episodes have been okay. Sure, you'll have stuff like 'A Thomas Promise' and 'Dragon Run' that are flat out terrible, but then there are episodes like 'Thomas' Day Off' and 'Kana Goes Slow' that range from either decent to kinda good. I've even made a list of things this series actually got right, like some of the characters and the animation. Is it a good era? Not necessarily, but I still stand by that it isn't the worst thing to happen to Thomas, especially considering the Miller era. I mean, give All Engines Go! credit, its episodes at least used more than one formula. But enough about what I think of the reboot so far, onto The Joke is on Thomas. Is the joke more on us than Thomas here? Let's begin.
Thomas and Percy are having fun playing little tricks on each other, even trying this out when trying to cheer up Diesel, who's running late. But, as per the norm, things end up going wrong when Diesel takes one of Thomas' joke cars.
One thing that works with the episode is its moral: knowing when the right time and the wrong time for having a joke. This is realised when Thomas and Percy notice Diesel mixing up his delivery and one of the joke cars. It's a good moral to teach kids, but then again it gets a little muddied at the end when Diesel finds the mix-up really funny. Another aspect of the episode that works is its song. I'll be honest and say that this may be one of my favorite All Engines Go! songs, seeing as it's just flat out really catchy and fun. It's got some nice visuals to it and the lyrics are pretty creative.
If I had to name the biggest downside to this episode, it'd be that the plot can be pretty aimless. The first half of the episode is spent with the engines just goofing around, having a laugh and trying to cheer Diesel up. The plot only really gets going in the second half, but at the same time, it only leaves five minutes to get everything sorted and tie up all the loose ends, which it doesn't really do that well. The ending of the episode just ends up feeling rushed and kinda abrupt as a result. That, and for an episode about having a joke with friends, it's surprisingly not very funny. I got a couple chuckles out of it, but a lot of the jokes in the episode are just some of the standard kids show humor with not much added to make it pop out.
Overall, I'd call The Joke is on Thomas an episode that's just okay. It's got a nice lesson and a great song, but the directionless pacing, mediocre comedy and rushed conclusion does hold it back a little. I'd recommend giving it a go if you're up for a good laugh, but keep your expectations low, since the lack of focus can be a major downside - which it was for me, so I'm gonna give it a 3/5.

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