And now, a word from ThomasNATION's founder, Jainil Devani...

"James. Dependable, reliable and seldom late… we all think he’s great! But sometimes, splendid ol’ James can be a little tepid, and sometimes straight up pouty. This episode is one of the later gems to come out of the golden Brenner era. Remarkably, I’ve always thought that team of writers wrote James exceptionally well. For ThomasNATION’s fifth anniversary, the team’s reviewing this episode again, and I’m the founder, Jainil, writing this foreword. For those unaware, this was the very first review we published on the blog. For me, a lot has changed since then. My life’s turned upside down, downside up and then some. And so has the world, since 2016. And even though our cheeky little tank engine and his pals have undergone some...changes, to say the least, I firmly believe this community and this group of fans will forever have the true, unbridled spirit of Thomas the Tank Engine at heart. Be it in Gordon’s TRS illustrations, or Mitton’s gorgeous sets; Arc’s staggering animation or even jumping locomotives (hey, we all watched it at least once), this fandom, this family just really loves that little Number One Tank engine and his friends. As cheesy as that sounds, I held on to the little Take-n-Play Thomas to get through a lot of tough times, and somewhere along the way, ThomasNATION was born. It was just a simple blog, to review episodes and post updates. I stayed with it for about a year, till I found myself swamped, and then a few years down the line, TN’s back in steam, and I’m so happy it is! This is just a little platform for fans to talk about fields of green and sandy yellow beaches. So happy five years of TN, and here’s how the team feels about Pouty James five years on..."

JF the LOLZOR

Hey all, JF here, and man. Five years.

Remember back in the olden days where Season 20 was pretty much brand new? When TN was just starting out and we put out a review of everyone on board voicing our views on a particular episode? The way ThomasNATION has changed in that span of time, especially in its overhaul in 2020, was pretty much unreal. But now it's time we look back to our first ever review: Pouty James. Does it still hold up five years later, or is it true that time is a cruel mistress? Let's begin.

The plot starts off with James undershooting, overshooting, and just plain being a showoff, putting a damper in his work. This isn't negotiable behavior for Sir Topham Hatt, so he decides he's had just about enough about his attitude and takes his coaches away. This causes James to sulk, pout and go about having a fit. The other engines decide to mock him, but James is unamused.

Back when this episode first premiered, I went on to call it the best episode of the CGI series, and subsequently, Season 20. Looking back on it now, while it's still a great episode, I have to admit that I may have given it a little too much credit.

One thing that really works with the episode is its comedy. While it isn't as funny as I remember, I'll at least say that the funniest scenes are where we see James being mocked by his peers. This is mainly due to both the animators and the voice actors behind the engines. They're having an absolute ball hamming it up in this episode. Also, this is a me thing, but why was John Schwab not made the US voice of Stanley?

Another thing I like here is that I feel like Andrew Brenner really nails James' personality. In the later seasons and even in areas before, it can often seem like his only personality trait is that he likes his shiny red paint. Here, we really get to see the self-absorbed and snooty nature of James. Some could say this could make him a little unlikable, but I didn't have a problem with him here.

So all in all, does Pouty James still hold up after five years? Yes it does. With a hilarious sense of humor and all around great understanding of James, it still may not be the season's best like I claimed it to be, but it's still a fun time. As a result, it remains a 4.5/5.

MrOliver1997

It’s been a while… but here I am to do another review for a special feature. Looking at Season 20’s Pouty James. Now if I’m honest, James has never been a favourite of mine, He’s okay and I can definitely see why people like him but in my opinion, I find most of his episodes… well, samey, to say the least, and when they do try something different (a la Tale of the Brave) I find it feels too stretched. I mean, James is vain, sure, but he’s not a villain. Pouty James (And Season 20’s other James episode - All in Vain) are not like that - and I love that.

Pouty James follows James being his normal cocky self. The Andrew Brenner era loved to play up to that and at first it was definitely amusing (The filmmaker in me really loved the Shining reference), but after a while, it grew old fairly quickly, before being scolded by Sir Topham Hatt and pouting. Despite trying to better himself he continues to pout and is punished again. It’s at this point where he learns to smile more, thanks to Thomas and Emily.

The best part of this episode is how it forces James to learn his lesson and how he fails the first time round. A fair few stories both official and fanmade can feel simple and can fall into the category of “Character is an idiot > Character is punished > Character learns their lesson." Continuing on from his lesson and showing how James isn’t given a clean slate is a really fun take and I’d love to see this more episodes.

There's very little in this episode I disliked, but if I had to pick something I’d say James’ cockiness at the beginning went on for a bit too long. Most kids watching would know who James is and even if this was their first episode. The scene in the shunting yard or with Phillip gives you enough context to know what you need to know about James, and I feel it would have been more interesting to see James sulking in his shed or improving his attitude at the end. Though I will say this didn’t ruin the episode for me at all.

I really enjoyed the characterisations in this episode, particularly James himself. Each of the secondary characters felt right here. Thomas is very cheeky at first but does change his ways to help a friend, Emily is the first to try and advice James, Gordon and Henry are the ones who begin teasing James (it’s incredible how Henry is more in character here than he had been for years) and even Stanley - unofficial king of the background characters - is given a couple of scenes to shine. It’s really nice to see and is one of Brenner’s strongest attributes.

I’ve seen a lot of people criticise the ending and honestly, it doesn’t bother me. Yes, James goes back to how he was but that was expected, since Thomas and Friends is a very unique show. It’s got a plethora of lore and world building spanning 75 years and at the same time, it’s a kid show. It’s got morals to teach and toys to sell. With how television shows, particularly young kids television, has been in the last 10-15 years, episodes have to stand alone. References and recurring characters are great but you never know if this is someone's first episode or their one hundredth.

Overall, I’d give Pouty James a 4.5/5. It’s a great episode from one of the best seasons of the show and where I finally learned to like James.

True Blue

Ah, James...I know you like being the center of attention, but your showing off is getting way out of hand...especially when it comes to what happens in our next Season 20 episode-Pouty James!

James likes to show off and be the center of attention...but when he goes too far and the passengers start complaining, Sir Topham Hatt takes his coaches away leaving James feeling very pouty. I'll be honest, this was an episode that I was rather split on when I first heard about it five years back since I thought that James had learned his lesson of not being a show-off by now ever since last season with the episode 'Philip To The Rescue'. But I did my best to go into this episode with an open mind and this proved to be better than I ever expected.

When it comes to the story, I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I think this episode handles the concept of James being a show-off far better than in any other episode I've seen especially with the comedy and just how relatable it was for me in terms of the moral. Allow me to explain: for those who don't know, I suffer from really bad anxiety and depression because of a very rocky past of relentless teasing and bullying and I've found it hard to keep a positive perspective in the face of adversity for the past few years because of what happened back then. So to see an episode where I pretty much see myself in the shoes...uh, wheels of James with trying to stay positive despite life being difficult really makes this a relatable episode for me since it shows that Thomas the Tank Engine will always be there for me to show a way for me to overcome life's obstacles. Uhhhh, hey, Mattel, you sure that you don't have cameras secretly following me?

As for the animation, this episode should've been called 'Pouty Memes' as I can tell that the team at Arc was having a blast with this episode when it came to the different pouty face designs for the engines and trying hard not to laugh. I, for one, just know that these many different faces will soon be made into jokes and memes by the entire fandom.

And when it comes to the characters, like I said, James was so relatable in this episode when it came to keeping a positive perspective in the face of adversity and how going around in a sulk can result in nothing but trouble for everyone else around you - so to that, I say bravo to Rob Rackstraw for a simply splendid performance!

Overall, even after five years, 'Pouty James' remains among one of, if not my favorite episode of Season 20, and as such gets a rating of a perfect 5 out of 5.

Final Rating from JF: 4.5/5

Final Rating from MrOliver1997: 4.5/5

Final Rating from True Blue: 5/5

ThomasCONCLUSION: 14/15

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About the Author: Oliver (MrOliver1997)
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In my Rusty to the Rescue review, I told how it perfectly summed up Britt Alcroft’s vision for Thomas. And Last Train for Christmas perfectly sums up Andrew Brenner’s - it’s back to the basic, sweet storytelling, but still knowing when to play it’s cards to keep the audience interested.

The episode starts off by setting the scene on Christmas Eve and having a nice candid conversation with Duck, Oliver and Thomas. While these scenes repeat each other and do seem rather pointless, it’s nice to be thrown into what feels like a real conversation these characters might have (Though Oliver’s comments have got me thinking…do engines have a concept of time?)

We then meet Connor at Crovan’s Gate on the mainland, picking up as many passengers as he can, where he meets a Tiny Tim type character who wants to get to Sodor. This sets Connor in the mindset to get everyone home, and so he convinces Sir Topham Hatt to let him make another journey. He agrees and Connor goes off to battle the snow but not before taking the Slip Coaches. It was really nice to see them back, and that's one thing Season 18 did really well: handling the coaches, like reinventing Henrietta, giving Annie and Clarabel an episode and bringing in the first coach characters since Season 5 so it’s nice to see this episode continue this trend.

As Connor makes his journey, the weather gets worse and Sir Topham Hatt decides to cancel all trains past that point. This causes a small argument between the Steam Team, Diesel and Sir Topham Hatt as they argue weather it’s safe for Connor to continue. It’s eventually decided to give it the best shot they can and they set off to clear as much snow as possible. This is one of the best moments in the episode. Obviously we know that the right thing will happen in the end, but as a kid watching for the first time I imagine this must feel rather dramatic, and I'll admit I was rather hooked!

The engines start to clear the snow as Percy and Thomas look up to the sky, thinking they’ve seen Santa, but it’s actually Harold, which is a rather fun gag. Down the line Emily is struggling to clear the line and eventually gives up. This is my other favorite moment of the episode as it takes a moment to slow down and like the previous scene ramps up the texture before giving us Hiro’s dramatic entrance. The shots used with the music building up works really well here and can be used as a prime example of just how good the direction, music and animation was in this era.

As Hiro clears the way, Connor finally reaches Sodor, but not before Hiro and Emily look up to the sky, thinking they’ve seen Santa, but again it’s actually Harold. Connor starts dropping off the coaches and while the first two go well, but the last coach runs past the platform. Luckily Thomas is there to help bring it back into position. The episode ends with Connor arriving at Knapford, where the boy thanks him. Sir Topham Hatt thanks them all and Thomas looks up to the sky, thinking he’s seen Harold once again, but…I won’t dare spoil it!

Last Train for Christmas is a great episode. It has its flaws and pacing issues but it’s a sweet story that makes great use of it’s characters and topics. It’s great to see Connor play a main role and how the story doesn't rely too much on consequences to move forwards, and with that, it earns itself a 4/5.

I’d just like to finish off by wishing you all a merry Christmas and an amazing 2021!

Final Score: 4/5

About the Author: Oliver (MrOliver1997)

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It’s clear that the scariest thing to come out of Thomas and Friends in recent years is whatever the hell that god awful 2D “reboot” is but there have been some great scary stories over the many years - None more than in Season 5 - containing such classic spooky episodes like Haunted Henry, Stepney Gets Lost, and the subject of this review - Toby’s Discovery.

I love this story despite every fibre in my being telling me I shouldn’t. It’s very flawed with some big plot holes (stick around till the end to see what I would change with this story) but it’s a classic! Season 5 will always be the best season of all time in my opinion and I can’t help but love it at its highest and it’s lowest. And hey - let's talk about it.

The story starts with Sir Topham Hatt asking Toby to take him “to seaside” with his grandchildren. While there they build a sandcastle, they point out that it looks like one they’ve seen on a map. This is the first plot hole, it’s never explained where this map came from or why Sir Topham Hatt doesn’t seem to know this whole section of his railway. But honestly, it’s easy to overlook, so it doesn't exactly matter.

When they meet up with Toby, they head down the line to go exploring, meeting a signal man who points them in the right direction and…that’s all he does. I’d say this is definitely the “filler” portion of the episode and could have very easily have been cut or even better, have the first mention of the old warrior tell us the mine is haunted and make Sir Topham Hatt and his family excited to go and see and give Toby more of a reason to be scared later on. They reach another junction and decide to go “t’castle”, When they reach it, they look at it… and head back. The second plot hole is how they are so excited they are to see the castle but how little time the characters actually spend there, like the previous scene this really could have been used to mention the ghost.

They finally reach the mine and this is as good a time as any to mention how amazing the sets look. The old line looks spooky and overgrown and all the scrap set dressing really makes the scene look more eerie. This accounts for the whole episode and is one of its best aspects. The scene is again short but this time I feel it works, though the only thing I would have change is have Toby catch a glimpse of Bertram to establish why he feels scared, but it works without it. Toby then returns to his shed and Sir Topham Hatt tells him of the plans to do up the castle. We’re told Toby is scared but I’d much rather have something show us why, but the scene's decent enough and fits Toby's character here fine.

Toby returns to the mine where he’s still scared and Thomas finally tells us, ¾ of the way through the episode “oh yeah, there's a ghost”. This would have been better if Toby explains he was scared and Thomas either doesn't believe him or goes along in a cheeky way. The next scene looks incredible, thanks to the amazing sets and brilliant night setting, making everything look really spooky. Toby then hears a wheeze and blurts out about the ghost, which his driver doesn’t believe but offers to go investigate for him. They return telling him they’ve found the ghost and he wants to meet Toby. Toby reluctantly complies and he pulls forward to meet not a ghost, but Bertram.

I won’t go too much into Bertram as there really isn’t much to say with the guy. He’s far more developed by fans than what we get in the show, heck, he doesn’t even get a line and we never see him after this. People may complain modern characters are terrible but honestly I found them to be a little better than Bertram (I mean, at least they actually have stuff to do). I won’t touch on his model, as to be fair they did try originally to plan to go for something different but money wouldn’t let them. Reusing a model is fine for me, but if Bertram was ever a proper character I would be a little less forgiving. Finally the episode ends showing us the finished castle and mine and talking about Toby and Bertram. It’s sweet and it's certainly a nice conclusion.

I mentioned earlier that I had some ideas on what I would do differently in this story:

l It’s starts very similar but Sir Topham Hatt asks Toby to take him to see the Narrow Gauge engines. Toby does and arrives at Crovan’s Gate, and while Sir Topham Hatt and his family leave Toby talks to Duke about his days on the Mid-Sodor.

l Duke mentions how some of it is still abandoned to this day, and Sir Handel brings up that the castle will most likely be haunted. Toby and Duke scoff at the idea of ghosts but Bridget and Stephen overhear and get intrigued and excited.

l Sir Topham Hatt is intrigued too and agrees to go investigate the line with them and Toby.

l The episode continues as Toby reaches the junction where he can go to the castle or the mine. They choose the castle first and go have a look. Toby is excited as it reminds him of the one on his old line.

l They meet an old signalman who is surprised to see them but gladly tells them about the castle and the ghost that haunts the mine. Toby hears the story of an old warrior that hides around the mine, scaring the old tram.

l Toby, STH and the family arrive at the mine and have a look around. While he’s alone Toby notices a small shape behind a building. He’s seen his ghost and wants to go as soon as possible.

l At the sheds, STH tells Toby that he has plans for the mine and castle and wants him to help. Toby doesn’t want to let STH down so he reluctantly agrees.

l The next scene continues like the episode but Thomas is a lot more annoyed with Toby when he brings up being so scared.

l The scene continues as Toby’s crew looks for the ghost and brings Toby to meet him, but instead of Bertram, it’s Smudger!

l He introduces himself and explains how he was made into a generator for misbehaving, but he’s now changed and promises to be a brave engine.

l The episode ends in the same way but with Smudger, Duke, Peter Sam and Sir Handel in place of Bertram, Skarloey and Rheneas.

I feel bringing back Smudger would be a better move as it would mean not introducing a fairly pointless character. While it would involve repainting Rheneas, we know that they would later repaint Bertram back into Duke so I feel it’s fair they could have done the same to Rheneas.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, despite this story having it’s many flaws I really love it, it's fun, spooky, looks amazing and the music (like always) is fantastic, I’d rate it a 4/5.

A perfect story for this spooky season, though I’d say the scariest thing of the episode? Toby’s driver.

He's gonna haunt me more than any ghost.

Final Score: 4/5

About The Author: Oliver (MrOliver1997)