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Thomas: a defense of the new concepts, a criticism of their implementation, and a ridicule of the new new version.


DK123GWR
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WARNING: This thread is not suitable for readers of a sensitive disposition.

I haven't yet come across an RMWeb thread about the new Thomas reboot - consisting of a TV series entitled 'All Engines Go' and a film called 'Race for the Sodor Cup'. The titles would suggest a continuation of the trend of marketing Thomas towards a younger audience, which isn't surprising. A lot of the 'mature fans' will have had little interest in the later series, following the transition away from Awdry's stories and physical models to new creations and CGI. Some of these changes needed to happen and probably did the series less harm than good. The general rule of male locos and female coaches was very much a product of the time at which the books were written - and we all know that those few locomotives featured in the books would have been nowhere near able to meet Sodor's traffic requirements on their own. The cost of using physical models would probably be prohibitive nowadays when most other animated programmes are CGI. Foreign locomotives on Sodor are a slightly strange concept given British loading gauge restrictions, but the concept in itself is not inherently flawed. A visit to the Nene Valley railway could have credibly seen Thomas meet Swedish, Polish, Danish, and German locomotives, while any episode where a locomotive vists the mainland could introduce MU characters from across the world. Nevertheless, it was not managed so well, and the end product lacked authenticity and contirubted to the alienation of older fans.

 

It seems that the latest reboot has also alientated older viewers - specifically those aged three and over, as this article explains. Most other tabloids have run a similar story. And what are they all so upset about? Brace yourselves everybody, and remember the content warning.

 

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This is the new Thomas. I can only assume that it is intended to discourage railway tresspass: stay away, or the monster might come down the tracks to get you!

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The movie trailer for this appalling travesty went online on social media last week.  The fact that positive likes and comments are out numbered  by over a hundred to one or more by negative reaction speaks volumes.

 

No pun intended but in the cinemas, this is going to tank.

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Just now, John M Upton said:

The movie trailer for this appalling travesty went online on social media last week.  The fact that positive likes and comments are out numbered  by over a hundred to one or more by negative reaction speaks volumes.

 

No pun intended but in the cinemas, this is going to tank.

Searching for positives, your signature seems very appropriate.

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TBH I think the Thomas series is one of those series that has gone on well past its sell-by date and should have been brought to an end years ago. When they ran out of Awdry stories, that should either have been the end of it, or they should have commissioned Christopher to write some more. Instead we wound up in the ludicrous situation where the rights holders for the TV series were able to compel Christopher to stop writing, and to prevent the re-publication of the books in their original format!

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The interesting thing about that Metro article is that it hinges on how those who have grown up with the "original" animated telly programmes don't like the new look.

 

Spare a thought for those of us who find anything but the original originals, within the covers of small hard-back books, with stories by Rev Wilbert, rather than his son, a bit too much of a shock of the new!

 

Seriously though, the only way the general concept can be kept alive is by changing things; very few children today presented with the original originals would find anything there to engage with. Whether it is actually worth squeezing the concept to this extremity depends, I suppose, on whether or not you stand to make money out of doing it.

 

Interesting that each revamp seems to take the concept to a younger demographic - at some stage electronics will advance to the point where content can be delivered to children still in the womb, so it'll probably move down to that demographic.

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1 minute ago, Nearholmer said:

Spare a thought for those of us who find anything but the original originals, within the covers of small hard-back books, with stories by Rev Wilbert, rather than his son, a bit too much of a shock of the new!

 

Yes, anything post-Wilbert sems to me to be just an pretext for proliferating loco characters for merchandising purposes.

 

As I recall someone else saying - we prefer the Old Testament.

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17 minutes ago, Andy Kirkham said:

 

Yes, anything post-Wilbert sems to me to be just an pretext for proliferating loco characters for merchandising purposes.

 

As I recall someone else saying - we prefer the Old Testament.

I prefer the Kesh Temple Hymn, at a push I can accept the Book of the Dead.

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I do like* this quote from the Sun article...

 

Quote

A Mattel spokesperson said: ... In focus groups, we have observed children being extremely engaged in the new content – leaning in closer to the screen and dancing to the music.

 

Depending on the age group, children will be drawn by bright primary colours and jiggy music, so its not surprising!

 

But Focus Groups?  Haven't they been discredited as meaningless echo chambers?

 

You'd think these "Rights Owners" had invented and popularised the original concept.  Its about time copyright laws were redrafted to cut down on the time these egregrious parasites could milk second or third hand "intellectual property".

 

 

* LIKE something from the Scum Sun?  I need a lie down!

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Sorry folks, this counts for nothing. The rights owners are after your money, pure & simple. Give the child a train set, and/or Lego. They'll learn things like spatial awareness, scale perception, and imagination.  Dumping a child in front of the telly breeds dissatisfaction. " Buy this! Buy that!

 

I'll clamber off my soapbox now...

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That 'new' Thomas looks like he has the face of Dennis the Menace. ;)

 

Now wasn't there a bit of a spat when Dennis was redesigned in the opposite direction so to speak, a few years ago, to be less 'menace' and more 'cheeky chappy'..??

Sometimes you can't please any of the people, any of the time.... :tomato:

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1 hour ago, tomparryharry said:

Sorry folks, this counts for nothing. The rights owners are after your money, pure & simple. Give the child a train set, and/or Lego. They'll learn things like spatial awareness, scale perception, and imagination.  Dumping a child in front of the telly breeds dissatisfaction. " Buy this! Buy that!

 

I'll clamber off my soapbox now...

 

It's alright.

 

I read that whilst drinking out of my Transformers mug, eating from a My Little Pony lunchbox wearing my He Man PJs.... :prankster:

 

Why I mentioned those is they were cartoons made specifically to sell toys and other merchandise. They had already milked the genuine franchises like Star Wars or couldn't get the rights, so they made their own.

 

I was too old for them, but many of my relatives fell for it. The entire cartoon series was a giant advert for toys. My nephew is the same now with Batman. Although he does seem to be growing out of the superheroes stuff.

 

 

 

Jason

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5 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

It's all the fault of George Lucas, if they hadn't done Star Wars we wouldn't have all this merchandising focussed film and tv making.

 

I'm afraid TV and film merchandising pre dated George Lucas by several decades.

 

Even the BBC was a very early adopter with things like Muffin The Mule toys. This is from 1951.

 

 

 

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Muffin the Mule puppet toy on display at the Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh. Diecast metal, Lesney Products, 1951

 

ISTR there used to be an original Sooty puppet knocking about when I was a kid which dated from the 1950s. No idea what happened to it.

 

 

Jason

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I was just looking at the Frowny Thomas at the top of the thread, and it occurred to me that a. the whistles looked large enough to equip an ocean liner and b. one blast on them and he wouldn't be able to move for at least 10 minutes...

 

And what's a tank loco running light engine doing with an express passenger headcode?

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“Stop getting Thomas The Tank Engine wrong!”

 

But seriously, complaining about this new iteration is about as pointless as complaining that the Bond film franchise doesn’t accurately dramatise the original books.  The books are still there, this new version will appeal - or not - to pre-school & younger primary school children who weren’t alive in 2012, never mind 1950. Suspect my five year old nephews will like it, for a while.

 

Intellectual Property Rights are just that - a sellable piece of property distinct from any original physical piece. Once they’re sold, the new owners can do whatever they (legally) like for up to 70 years after the death of the creator. Don’t want them tinkering with your creation - don’t sell the rights. 
 

Richard T

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3 hours ago, John M Upton said:

The prosecution enters the following into evidence:

This has been absolutely torn to shreds on social media.  The nail is well and truly in the coffin.

Did I see a train doing a handbrake turn in there? And how heavy must that wagon be for them to need a banker? Admittedly, the steepness of the hill may have something to do with that. Presumably Thomas is a geared locomotive now as well. I also chuckled at the 'you need to be fast to win the Sodor Cup' line. I think a new E2 should be built and the people responsible for this forced to have a footplate ride on it at high speed.

 

6 hours ago, Hroth said:

And what's a tank loco running light engine doing with an express passenger headcode?

You might think that they have simply given Thomas 'headlights' which are fixed, yet in the trailer above he can be seen with a mineral headcode. I'm sure I have read on here that they once released a Thomas book which included a sheet on the meanings of lamp headcodes.

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