THE MOVIE

Thomas and the Jet Engine is the first-ever Thomas and Friends DVD, it consists of 9 episodes from this classic children’s series based on The Railway Series by The Rev. W. Awdry. The series is narrated by Michael Angelis and it follows the day to day adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, Gordon, Henry, Edward, Toby, Percy, James, Terence, Diesel, Daisy, Salty, Bill and Ben, Bertie the Bus and Harold the Helicopter. There are also some new friends including Harvey the Crane engine and Jack the front loader. Each episode runs for approximately 5 minutes. Here is a brief episode guide.

Episode 1 - Thomas and the Jet Engine
Thomas has always wished he could be as fast as Gordon, and today he might get the chance. Thomas is making a very special delivery for the Fat Controller. He’s moving a jet engine and when it is accidentally switched on Thomas is soon rocketing along the tracks.

Episode 2 - Percy’s Chocolate Crunch
Percy often has the dirtiest work to do, but he also likes to be clean. However, due to a water shortage, the engines only get one wash-down per day. He wants to keep clean so the driver suggests they take a load of sugar to the chocolate factory. It should be a straightforward job but some oil on the track means Percy winds up in a chocolate mess.

Episode 3 - No Sleep for Cranky
Cranky the crane works at the docks at Brendham Bay. Bill and Ben are teasing Cranky and he drops some pipes on the pipes on the tracks, so the engines are stuck there for the night. Salty is also stuck there and ends up telling stories all night. Poor Cranky doesn’t get any sleep and vows never to be cranky again.

Episode 4 - Harvey to the Rescue
A new engine called Harvey is being unloaded at the yard. The other engines tease him because he looks different, but Thomas feels sorry for him. Harvey doesn’t feel as though he is needed. However, the following day, Percy is having trouble with the troublesome trucks and he runs off the rails and blocks the road. Thankfully Harvey is there to save the day.

Episode 5 - A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter
Percy’s favourite job is carrying the mail, but there is trouble with the signal box so Percy is delayed. Harold the Helicopter is called in to deliver the mail, although the weight of the mail causes Harold to crash into a haystack. Percy goes and gets help, that’s what friends are for.

Episode 6 - Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry
Thomas breaks his coupling rod pulling a heavy load. The drivers find an old shed close by and inside they meet Elizabeth a dirty steam lorry. She goes to town and gets new coupling rod for Thomas. Elizabeth just happens to be an old friend of the Fat Controller and since she was so helpful he decides to restore her to her former glory.

Episode 7 - Jack Jumps In
Thomas goes to pick up Jack the front loader and take him to the quarry. Jack is very eager to help out. The foreman reminds him ‘safety fist’ but his enthusiasm sees him fall down a hill, thankfully he doesn’t hurt himself. He also makes some new friends.

Episode 8 - A Friend in Need
Another day at the quarry. Ted the steam shovel forgets to lower his bucket and damages a railway bridge. Thomas is steaming towards the bridge and it looks like he could crash, but Jack the front loader quickly drives under and supports the bridge with his bucket. Thankfully Thomas is able to reverse off the bridge before it collapses completely.

Episode 9 - World’s Strongest Engine
Henry has had an accident and has been sent away to be repaired. So Diesel has been called in to do his work. The other engines don’t like Diesel very much though. The troublesome trucks taunt Diesel sp he is out to prove that he’s the world’s strongest engine, pushing 20 trucks at once.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

I’m not entirely sure when these nine episodes were first broadcast, but I have a feeling they’re relatively recent as I’ve never seen some of the characters before, namely Harvey the crane engine and Jack the front loader. Anyway, the transfer is satisfactory in nature. The level of detail is quite good, this is evident during some of the close up shots of the engines faces. Colours are excellent, especially the bright blue, green and red engines. This transfer does have a little background noise and there is some minor aliasing to be seen from time to time (the roof tiles and bricks of the model buildings are the main culprits). Thomas and the Jet Engine is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (4:3) full frame.

Audio:

Did you know that ex-Beatle Ringo Starr narrated this children’s television series between 1984 and 1991. Unfortunately we don’t hear Ringo on this DVD. These recent storylines are narrated by Michael Angelis. His narration is clear and highly intelligible through all 9 episodes. Similarly, the song lyrics are also highly intelligible. This DVD comes with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack and also features English subtitles for the hearing impaired.

THE EXTRAS

Three sing-a-long-songs can be found on this DVD, Thomas We Love You, Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover and Rockin’ On The Railway. All three sing-a-long songs feature a montage of different shots from the television series. The songs also feature captions and there’s even a little white cloud that bounces along above the song lyrics so the kids can see where they’re meant to be up to. Running time is 3.38 minutes, 3.23 minutes and 2.53 minutes for each song, respectively. The DVD also has an animated main menu with looped audio, the episode selection menu and the song selection menu are also animated.

SUMMARY

Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends have been entertaining children since 1984. And now he’s available on DVD. Thomas and the Jet Engine features 9 episodes from this classic children’s television series. So join Thomas and his new friends Harvey the crane engine and Jack the front loader for some wonderful adventures. The visual and audio transfer are both satisfactory and this DVD also comes with three sing-a-long songs.