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Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Play trailer Poster for Thomas and the Magic Railroad G Released Jul 26, 2000 1h 26m Kids & Family Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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21% Tomatometer 67 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends are being threatened by diesel engines like the surly Diesel 10 and his sidekicks Splatter and Dodge. Even the magical Mr. Conductor, who has always traveled between the train world and the human world of Shining Time Station, is losing his powers and sparkle. In the middle of this crisis, Lily meets up with Mr. Conductor on the way to visit her lonely grandfather Burnett Stone. Brave Thomas reminds them all that "even little engines can do big things."
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Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Thomas and the Magic Railroad

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Critics Consensus

Kids these days demand cutting edge special effects or at least a clever plot with cute charectors. This movie has neither, having lost in its Americanization what the British original did so right.

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Critics Reviews

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: C Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media Will please its many fans, but plot might confuse kids. Rated: 3/5 Dec 29, 2010 Full Review Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader Scenes with Peter Fonda as a melancholy grandfather -- he couldn't get a cherished engine running in time for his late wife to ride it -- periodically bring the movie screeching to a halt. May 19, 2008 Full Review Kaleem Aftab The List For those under-tens, Thomas and the Magic Railroad will be a great way to spend a school holiday afternoon. Rated: 3/5 Apr 13, 2019 Full Review Mark Halverson Sacramento News & Review Rated: 2/5 Aug 7, 2008 Full Review Susannah Breslin Film Threat Please, for the love of God, don't let it be a franchise. Think of the parents. Rated: 1/5 Dec 6, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Matthew D Just because it's a Kids movie does not mean it's a good movie 😡. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/25 Full Review Mr A One of a Kind and Unique Thomas Production. Since I created the slogan "World of Wonder and Colorful Creativity" to the Thomas 📺 Series, it would fit for this 🎥 also. I can imagine myself watching it in the theater. An interesting fact is that Thomas' name appears in the opening credits which say "Thomas the Tank Engine". Another interesting fact is that Alec Baldwin physically appears in this 🎥 and he's the narrator for seasons 5 and 6 of the Thomas 📺 Series. I discovered the 🎥 in third or fourth grade. This movie is unique as it takes place on the fictional Island of Sodor and the real human world AKA Shining Time and Muffle 🗻. There are some disappointments to this 🎥. For example, Edward doesn't appear in the 🎥. Lots of fans such as myself wonder why Edward is not in the 🎥. I found out from the Thomas Encyclopedia that according to Phil Fherle, there wasn't enough screen time and opportunity to utilize him that added real value to the 🎥. I personally believe that there was a possibility of an opportunity and screen time for Edward to add value to this Special Thomas Production. If Edward were to take another engine's place in this 🎥, he should take Gordon's place. I like Edward better than Gordon as he's nicer to Thomas and that he's also blue like Thomas. I especially dislike Gordon when he made fun of Thomas for his size making both Thomas the Tank Engine and myself 😡. Gordon is not a bad engine but he can sometimes get on your nerves. However, if Edward were in the 🎥, I'm certain he'd be the voice of reason for the engines and he'll likely stand up for Thomas when James would be the one picking on our favorite blue tank engine. If me and my friend Louis were to rewrite the movie, we'd have Edward take Gordon's place and have Gordon take Sir Topham Hatt on his holiday while Edward stays on Sodor to help out Thomas and the other engines. Also, Thomas says that little engines can do big things and he's right. I remember Thomas saying "Little Engines Can Do Big Things, especially when they have nice blue paint like me" which is my favorite quote from this 🎥. Little engines can indeed do big things and Thomas does indeed have nice blue paint. Another detail about this 🎥 I find odd is that James and Percy are voiced by female actors considering that they're male engines. However, I admire the promo images of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Thomas' shade of blue paint looks very distinguishing and splendid in both the 🎥 and the images. This movie also makes Thomas unique in a way we've never seen before. Thomas is known to be the first and only engine from Sodor who traveled through magic portals which are the magic buffers that lead through the magic railway to Muffle 🗻 and back to Sodor again. Another interesting fact about this movie is that Thomas and Lady form a friendship and I think Thomas is the first engine to interact with her and to be her friend which also makes him unique. That'll teach Gordon not to belittle Thomas or anyone else. One more detail that I find interesting is that Mara Wilson who played the title role in 1996's Matilda is in this movie. Despite this 🎥 being a box office failure, I still love it and if I were in this 🎥, I'd love to travel on board Thomas just like Mr Conductor and Lily did. Id travel on both Thomas and Percy. Even though Edward is not in this 🎥, I'm glad Percy's in it. Also, you can't have a Thomas the Tank Engine 🎥 without Thomas the famous blue tank engine himself as he's the 🌟 of the show so I'm glad Thomas starred in this 🎥. This movie is currently free on YouTube and Tubi so don't miss out. This is a Unique Thomas Production and always will be. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/25 Full Review Kevin P I can't call it good (even as a little kid, I remember being shouting at the screen "THAT'S NOT SIR TOPPENHAT!" when Alec Baldwin showed up as the train conductor). But there's enough goofy cheesy charm and a pretty imaginative and memorable climax to say it might be worth a watch if you're feeling nostalgic and need to watch something with your kids. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/25 Full Review Jesse N Well, I Mean It's Not Even A Bad Movie This Movie Is Way Better Shrek it sucks in my opinion it was good but their lips don't move but it still counts absolutely 100/100 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/19/24 Full Review Justine O Love this film. Is easy watching and fun Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/15/24 Full Review Erin M Oh my god this was my favorite movie when I was a kid and I finally found it as an adult. It’s still just as magical, funny and kind as I remember it being. A wonderful movie. Also, whoever wrote that this movie is hard to follow: … are you serious? It’s a kids movie where all of the characters introduce themselves. Be serious Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/01/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Thomas and the Magic Railroad

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends are being threatened by diesel engines like the surly Diesel 10 and his sidekicks Splatter and Dodge. Even the magical Mr. Conductor, who has always traveled between the train world and the human world of Shining Time Station, is losing his powers and sparkle. In the middle of this crisis, Lily meets up with Mr. Conductor on the way to visit her lonely grandfather Burnett Stone. Brave Thomas reminds them all that "even little engines can do big things."
Director
Britt Allcroft
Producer
Britt Allcroft
Distributor
Destination Films
Production Co
Gullane Pictures, Destination Films, Isle of Man Film
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 26, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$15.9M
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby A, Stereo, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
1.66:1
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