- This page was last modified on 15 June 2025, at 10:37. Suggest an edit.
Thomas & Friends facts for kids
| Thomas & Friends | |
|---|---|
|
Logo from Series 7 onwards.
|
|
| Also known as |
|
| Genre | Animated series |
| Created by | Britt Allcroft |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Voices of | See List of Thomas & Friends voice actors |
| Narrated by |
|
| Composer(s) |
|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom United States |
| No. of series | 22 |
| No. of episodes | 538 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Production location(s) |
|
| Editor(s) |
|
| Running time |
|
| Production company(s) |
|
| Distributor | Various distributors |
| Release | |
| Original network |
|
| Picture format | |
| Audio format |
|
| Original release | 9 October 1984 – present |
Thomas & Friends is a popular British-American children's television series. It was first known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, or just Thomas the Tank Engine. Later, it was called Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!. The show first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV in 1984. In the United States, it started on Shining Time Station in 1989.
The series is based on The Railway Series books. These books were written by Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. The stories are about a group of talking locomotives and road vehicles. They live on a make-believe place called the Island of Sodor. Wilbert Awdry first made up these stories to cheer up his son, Christopher, when he was sick with measles. Many early TV show stories come from Awdry's real-life experiences.
Contents
The Story of Thomas & Friends
Early Attempts to Adapt the Books
Before Thomas & Friends began in 1984, people tried to make TV shows from Awdry's books. Not all of these attempts worked out. The very first try was in 1953 by the BBC. They wanted to use real model trains to show two stories from Awdry's first book, The Three Railway Engines.
The trains were small models, like toys, and they ran on special sets. The first episode, "The Sad Story of Henry," was shown live on June 14, 1953. It didn't go well. During the live show, a model train named Henry went off the tracks. Viewers saw a human hand quickly put him back on! The models moved in a jerky way, and sounds were added later.
News of this broadcast was on the front pages of newspapers. Awdry himself called the episode "unprofessional." Because of these problems, the second episode was cancelled. The BBC tried to fix things, but the book publishers decided to focus on making more books instead.
Almost 20 years later, Awdry's stories were used again by the BBC. In 1970, a comedian named Ted Ray read five Railway Series books on a TV show called Jackanory.
How Thomas & Friends Became a Hit Show
In 1979, a British TV producer named Britt Allcroft was working on a documentary. She read The Railway Series books and loved them. She felt the stories could connect with children. Allcroft believed the stories had strong feelings that kids could understand.
Allcroft worked hard to convince Awdry that she could turn his stories into a successful TV show. She bought the TV rights for £50,000 (about $74,000 at the time). It took her several years to find enough money to make the show. She even had to take out a second mortgage on her home.
By 1981, Allcroft had the money. She gathered a team, including director David Mitton and composers Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.
The show started being made in 1984. It was produced by Allcroft's company, The Britt Allcroft Company, along with Clearwater Features Ltd. and ITV's Central Independent Television. The first series was filmed using real models at a studio in London. Later, they moved to Shepperton Studios. They used moving models because it was a good way to animate the stories back then. The trains were controlled by radio. People and animals were usually still figures. Sometimes, Stop-motion animation was used to make them move.
The first series (1984) used stories from the first eight books. It also included a special story written by Rev. W. Awdry called Thomas's Christmas Party. The second series (1986) used stories from many more books. It also included a story from a Thomas Annual and a special story called Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree. One episode, "The Missing Coach," was filmed but never shown. This was because it was thought to be too confusing for young viewers.
Between the second and third series, the team made two other TV shows. These were Tugs (1989) and the American show Shining Time Station. Shining Time Station repackaged Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends for American TV.
Just before Series 3, Clearwater Features closed. The Britt Allcroft Company became the only producer. Series 3 (1992) cost about £1.3 million to make. It included stories from The Railway Series, stories from the Thomas magazine, and new stories by Allcroft and Mitton. They started making new stories because many unused book stories had too many new characters, which would be expensive. Also, they wanted more stories about Thomas, the main character.
Series 4 was released on video first in 1994-1995. Then it aired on Cartoon Network. New female characters like Caroline were introduced. Most of Series 4 was based on The Railway Series. The narrow gauge engines were also introduced.
Series 5 (1998) was a big change. All episodes were written by Allcroft and Mitton. No more stories were taken from The Railway Series. New characters like Cranky and The Horrid Lorries were added. This series had more dramatic stories and accidents. After Series 5, the show moved to Nick Jr. in 1999.
The movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad came out in 2000. It had new characters and characters from Shining Time Station. The movie was liked by young children but didn't make a lot of money.
Thomas & Friends Under New Ownership
The Britt Allcroft Company changed its name to Gullane Entertainment in 2000. Then, in 2002, HiT Entertainment, a company that makes children's shows, bought Gullane Entertainment.
Series 6 (2002) and 7 (2003) continued with action-packed stories and new characters. Series 6 tried to create a spin-off show about construction machines called "The Pack." These episodes were later released on DVD in 2006. In Series 7, the show's name was officially shortened to Thomas & Friends.
Series 8 (2004) brought many big changes. Many of the original team members, like Britt Allcroft and David Mitton, left. New music was created. Episodes became longer, lasting seven minutes. The show started using digital video cameras, which changed its look. They also added CGI (computer-generated imagery) parts for learning and transitions between stories. A main group of characters was chosen, including Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, and Emily.
In 2005, HiT Entertainment was bought by a company called Apax Partners. A direct-to-video movie, Calling All Engines!, was released in 2005. It was very successful, leading to more movies being made.
Series 9 (2005) and 10 (2006) added more supporting characters. From Series 9, the narrator would say the episode names. Series 11 (2007) was filmed in high definition.
Series 12 (2008) started using CGI effects. This was to make characters' faces move and to make people and animals walk around. The goal was to make the whole show in CGI the next year.
In 2009, HiT announced more big changes. They added live-action hosts to the Thomas home videos. These hosts would teach viewers craft projects. The biggest change was moving to full CGI animation instead of physical models. Also, voice actors were added for the characters, instead of just a narrator. The movie Hero of the Rails was the first Thomas & Friends production to show these changes. Series 13 was the first TV series in the new CGI format. Nitrogen Studios in Vancouver provided the animation.
In 2012, Mattel, a toy company, bought HiT Entertainment and the Thomas brand. During Series 16 (2012), Andrew Brenner became the head writer. The CGI animation moved from Nitrogen Studios to Arc Productions in Toronto. King of the Railway and Series 17 (both 2013) were the first special and series made by the new animation team.
In 2014, Tale of the Brave and Series 18 were released. In 2015, two specials came out: Thomas & Friends: The Adventure Begins (for the 70th anniversary) and Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. Series 19 also began airing. In 2016, new composers took over the music. Thomas & Friends: The Great Race and Series 20 aired. Series 20 was the last to air on PBS Kids. In 2017, the show moved to Nick Jr. in the US.
Thomas & Friends announced a twenty-second series with 26 episodes. This series brought many changes. Edward, Henry, and Toby were removed from the main "Steam Team." Two new female engines, Nia (from Africa) and Rebecca (from the UK), joined. The narrator was replaced by Thomas himself talking to the audience.
Season 22, called Big World! Big Adventures!, came out in July 2018. It introduced characters from different cultures and genders. It also had a new theme song. The first half of the season showed Thomas traveling around the world to India, Australia, and China. The second half took place back on the Island of Sodor. This season was released on streaming services like Netflix.
The series has been renewed for a 23rd season, which started in 2019.
How the Show is Made
Storytelling Style
Until Series 12, one person narrated the entire show. This was to make it feel like a story being read from a book. After 2008, when the show switched to full CGI, different voice actors were used for the characters in both the UK and US versions. From Series 22 onwards, Thomas the Tank Engine himself became the narrator.
Model Trains and Sets
The original live-action models were filmed on a large model railway set. The models were built to a 1:32 scale, known as "Gauge 1" in model train hobbies. The trains used parts from Märklin models with special bodies. These bodies had moving eyes, eyelids, and smoke generators. Coaches and trucks were made from kits. Later, some models were built from scratch. Some models from the sister show Tugs were also used in later episodes of Thomas & Friends.
From Series 5 to 12, some larger models were used for the narrow gauge characters. This made it easier to fit the complex moving parts inside them. In Series 6, the "Pack" (construction machines) were also built larger. Bigger models of Thomas and Percy were made to interact with them. In Series 9, an even larger Thomas model was built. A large James model was added in Series 10. Some of these original models are now on display at Drayton Manor Theme Park's Thomas Land.
Character Face Movements
When the show started in 1984, the model animation couldn't make the characters' mouths move with their words (lip sync). But the creators, Britt Allcroft and David Mitton, didn't see this as a problem. About 20 years later, with new technology, CGI was introduced. At first, CGI was used for smoke and other effects. Later, HIT decided to make the whole show in CGI. In Series 12, CGI was used to animate the characters' faces, allowing them to show changing expressions. People and animals were also fully animated in CGI so they could walk. The next series (Series 13) fully switched to CGI animation.
See also
In Spanish: Thomas y sus amigos para niños