ThomasNATION Movie Reviews - Calling All Engines!
May 06, 2023
2005 was quite an interesting time in Thomas the Tank Engine's history, wasn't it? It had been five years since the box office failure that was 'Thomas and The Magic Railroad' left a permanent stain on the franchise among the general public who now viewed it as "that silly kids' show with the trains that talk because of the mystic powers of magic potatoes" and thus Britt Allcroft stood down from her position as both chairman and director as a result of this on top of the company having its name changed to 'Gullane Entertainment' while the production of Season 6 was underway with the new label. Then came the year of 2002 when HIT Entertainment whom you may know as the owners of Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina and Barney the Dinosaur among others had successfully bought the rights to the show. 2005 was also the year of the sixtieth anniversary celebration for the Railway Series books and thus a special full-length feature was produced under the title of 'Calling All Engines!' which would give us the return of Diesel 10 and Lady while also retconning the events of 'Thomas and the Magic Railroad'. But was this a special celebration that soared to new heights, or did it all come crashing down? Let's find out, this is "Calling All Engines"!
CALLING ALL ENGINES: Thomas and Mavis work together to get the steam engines and the diesel engines to help build the new airport in time.
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Ah, the prehistoric year that was 2005. I was in my first year of middle school at the time completely unaware of the hell that would await me over the next three years and the only news source to know about new things in the world of Thomas the Tank Engine was through Sodor Island Fansite and a little site called 'http://TV.com'...anyone remember that one? I remember first hearing about this special back in late 2004 when they said a new full-length special was in the works. By Christmas of 2005 just a few months after it had been released, I got myself a copy of this movie from my aunt which came with a Wooden Railway bronze Diesel and would mark the end of the sixtieth anniversary special releases that came with a special bonus engine. When I finally saw the special however and looking back on it as an adult, it started hitting me that 'Calling All Engines!' seems like an extended Thomas episode a little. I don't hate it though, but it just seems that way and I don't know if it does the same for other longtime fans but it is still an okay special.
It's great to see Diesel 10 and Lady again - and yes, I know about Diesel 10 being nice at the end, but many people can change their personality over the years. I actually know a few people outside of the Internet who were a pain to me in my younger years, but I began to be friends with them with many years passing by and I see them as nice people. Heck, you don't see Gordon bragging on about trucks all the time in The Railway Series minus his own book as he matured about it as well him being okay with Pip and Emma taking his usual express in the final book 'Thomas and His Friends'. It was also good to see Lady and the Season 4 model of Rusty even though the narrator says that they were shunting trucks which does bring up the question of how they could be shunting trucks together when they both run on different gauges. I also like the dream sequence that the engines had since it was heartbreaking to think what would happen to them if they weren't really useful, but these things can happen to an engine minus Percy being a roller-coaster which the series reboot All Engines Go would run with this concept several years later. There was also the return cameo of Derek and Daisy and while it's a shame that Daisy didn't get a speaking role, at least she was mentioned in the learning segment and at least she got to return properly ten years later in the CGI Series.
But as with most of the things that came from this era of Thomas' history, there are some downsides towards this special. Now, I'm not talking in regard to the story since it's great and it shows a great moral about working together no matter what the differences are which is something that many of the recent Thomas episodes are missing out on or repeating over and over again even if it really depends on what you choose. But for me, the true downside of this special is the learning segments. I know that they're just for kids, but they're just a complete waste of time and sometimes could be obvious. As for the songs being put into the movie, there are some goods songs actually and some were quite catchy with 'Busy' and 'Try to Do Things Better' being some of my favorites. But going back to the learning segments, I'm glad they decided to leave them out of the next special "The Great Discovery". Also, why was Daisy annoyed when they met up with the steam engines since she is one of the diesels that like them who even works with Thomas as well as Percy and Toby on the Ffarquhar Branch Line in the Railway Series and the early years of the television series?
But overall while "Calling All Engines" has a great story as well as a great moral and characters that both older and younger fans would enjoy, the okay learning segments for kids can be a waste of time and it has a bit of a feeling as an extended Thomas episode. While I don't watch the special that much nowadays, it is certainly still enjoyable and that is why I'm giving "Calling All Engines" a 3/5.
Final Rating: 3/5
About the Author: True Blue
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