Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)
Average Rating: 3.9/10
Reviews Counted: 67
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 54
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.
Average Rating: 4.1/10
Critic Reviews: 22
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 17
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.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 2,977
Movie Info
The internationally popular children's television program Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (shown in the United States as part of the PBS series Shining Time Station) makes its way onto the big screen in this feature-length adventure. On her way to see her Grandpa Burnett (Peter Fonda), young Lily (Mara Wilson) gets on the wrong train and ends up lost. Fortunately, she meets the tiny Mr. Conductor (Alec Baldwin), who shows her a magical railway where the plucky little steam engine Thomas
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Cast
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Peter Fonda
Burnett Stone -
Mara Wilson
Lily -
Alec Baldwin
Mr. Conductor -
Didi Conn
Stacy Jones -
Michael E. Rodgers
Junior -
Cody McMains
Patch -
Russell Means
Billy Two Feathers -
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All Critics (71) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (54) | DVD (8)
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.
Top CriticIf all this sounds convoluted, well, it's a toddlers' film and anything goes.
It's very slow, though it does offer a respite from the overactive animation that kids are mostly subjected to.
A really unnecessary movie, whose purpose is primarily to promote the inevitable home video.
An inept assembly of ill-matched plot points.
You really don't want to be railroaded into seeing it.
Will please its many fans, but plot might confuse kids.
With clunky bluescreen, spot-a-mile-off matte work and an absolute lack of synergy between real-life and animated action, it all conspires to provide an appropriately amateur sheen.
Please, for the love of God, don't let it be a franchise. Think of the parents.
There's no magic here, only incompetence.
...A strange, brooding story vastly different from its TV ancestor, and it will soon slip indistinctly from the public consciousness and into video stores, which is where it belongs.
An inglorious wreck of a movie.
Kids who loved the TV series will probably love this too. Adults will likely be less enthused.
Could have been worse I suppose. At least there are no Pokemons or (shudder) grinning purple dinosaurs around.
If I had been on drugs, I would have laughed hysterically at those silly trains, with only their googly eyes giving them expression.
I grew confused, then annoyed and finally just fatigued.
Writer, Director, and Producer Britt Allcroft should be run over by a fast-moving locomotive.
This movie could have been a whole lot better.
The studio should have waited until they had a script with over an hour's worth of material in it.
Audience Reviews for Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Mr. Conductor: Sparkle sparkle sparkle!
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- Mr. Conductor: [to James] I think that red is bright and cheerful, just like my sparkle. Or at least it was; and must be again.
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- Burnett Stone: Well, my lady, the lights are all green for you now.
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- Mr. Conductor: [as the narrator] I like helping out here. By the invitation of Sir Toppam Hatt, of course.
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- Mr. Conductor: [as the narrator] Every story, like a railroad, has it's heroes. Meet Thomas. He's our number one hero. [Thomas says hello] But he's running a little late today.
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- Mr. Conductor: [as the narrator] Hello, I'm Mr. Conductor. And I'm going to tell you a story about trains, folks far apart, and the magic railroad that brought them together.
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Movie: ID: 9496 Title: Thomas and the Magic Railroad Release Date: 2000-07-26 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 1 Status: 1
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I dont like this americanisation of Thomas The Tank Engine as much as the British TV Series I loved when I was younger. I used to like this movie but now I see how adequate it really is.