ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Thomas, Percy and the Squeak
August 12, 2023
Music and song has always been a really important part of 'Thomas & Friends' ever since the very beginning of the original television series from the orchestrations heard during each episode as well as every special to the sing-along music videos which have been around for thirty years now since the debut of 'Thomas' Anthem' and of course the big push by the production team to make full-length musical specials from 2016 with 'The Great Race' all the way up to 2018 with 'Big World, Big Adventures'...and technically "Steam Team to the Rescue". And if you were to ask anyone longtime fan or newcomer, no pair of composers for Thomas did it better than the original duo of Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. They were masters of their craft. They could have just created some generic kids' show score for Thomas and called it a day, but nah, they took Britt Allcroft's rule about not playing down to children to heart. They understood that good music no matter in what medium it's presented in will appeal to any age. Every theme in classic Thomas is a masterpiece, they're all so memorable and so catchy. Every character had their own personal theme and Mike and Junior would stick to them every season, they would reiterate them every year too changing the speed and arrangement to reflect the tone of the season. But no matter what episode you watch, I really doubt anyone would disagree that Thomas' iconic soundtrack is truly unmatched...and it would seem that the engines are in for a very musical surprise when a famous opera singer comes to the island, but will a small mouse cause a big problem for a concert to remember? Let's find out by taking a look at "Thomas, Percy and the Squeak"!
THOMAS, PERCY AND THE SQUEAK: The famous opera singer Allicia Botti is arriving for a concert and Thomas is chosen to take her. At the docks, Thomas notices a squeaking mouse aboard, so Percy gets his chance to help his friend.
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"Sir Topham Hatt had made the little mouse her very own home in the corner of Tidmouth Sheds and Thomas named her Allicia".
...okay, sure. This episode was actually pretty good up until that last bit. I don't believe Sir Topham Hatt would have done all that for a mouse, that's a bit ridiculous. But aside from this, I like the story and how it played out. It began with Thomas and then shifted to Percy and being that Percy needed some respect thrown his way, this was another good story that gave him that. And with Thomas taking back what he had said about Percy being dirty, it was nice too. At least Thomas understands it was going a bit far with the jokes for this moment. Miss Botti is also a new addition; she certainly does have a voice for making ears bleed. Glad I don't know any other coloraturas apart from Coloratura (a.k.a. Rara from My Little Pony), one's enough.
For an episode centered around music, the music was meh here this time around. The entry is mainly just Season 6 incidental music, but it's not as memorable as it could have been. Really, what was better were the set pieces. No new locations were featured, but Tidmouth Bay along with The Lighthouse as well as The Windmill and Knapford Station were shown.
They are all great places to see, but "Thomas, Percy and the Squeak" as an overall experience while having some very funny moments and some nice music is not all that exciting of an episode. I don't hate it at all, but I'd go as far to say that it's decent at best and that's why I'm giving this one a rating of a 3/5.
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