Thomas is a media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the Reverend Wilbert Awdry's 1940 The Railway Series book series and Thomas & Friends TV series. It includes four computer-animated films: Thomas The Great Discovery (2001), Thomas and Tillie (2004), Thomas: Cousin Neville (2007), and Thomas: Gordon Returns (2010), with a fifth film currently in the works. Two television specials, the Christmas television special Thomas: Naughty Crane (2007) and the Halloween television special Thomas's Scary Stories (2010), have also been produced. A spin-off film titled The Legend of James was released in September 2016, and a 2008 Broadway musical adaption was produced for two years.
The series primarily focuses on Thomas, a happy-go lucky engine
In May 2010, The New York Times described the principal characters as "brilliantly realized" and said "nearly a decade after the first Thomas film they remain as vital and engaging fusions of image, personality and voice as any characters in the history of animation." The series was a financial success, becoming the 17th highest-grossing film franchise of all time and the second highest-grossing animated franchise. Thomas The Great Discovery, Thomas and Tillie and The Legend of James received positive reviews, but Thomas: Cousin Neville and Thomas: Gordon Returns were met with more mixed reviews.
Film series[]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriters | Producer(s) | Distributors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main series | |||||
| Thomas The Great Discovery | March 23, 2001 | Tom McGrath and Alex Hirshe | Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman and Roger S. H. Schulman | Aron Warner, John H. Williams and Jeffrey Katzenberg | DreamWorks Pictures |
| Thomas and Tillie | March 5, 2004 | Alex Hirshe and Conrad Vernon | Andrew Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss | Aron Warner, David Lipman and John H. Williams | DreamWorks Pictures |
| Thomas: Cousin Neville | March 23, 2007 | Chris Miller | Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Chris Miller, Aron Warner and Andrew Adamson | Aron Warner | Paramount Pictures |
| Thomas: Gordon Returns | April 16, 2010 | Mike Mitchell and
Walt Doren |
Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke | Gina Shay and Teresa Cheng | Paramount Pictures |
| Spin-off | |||||
| The Legend of James | September 15, 2016 | David Soren | Brian Lynch, Will Davies and Tom Wheeler | Joe M. Aguilar and Latifa Ouaou |
20th Century Fox |
Main films[]
Thomas The Great Discovery (2001)[]
- Main article(s): Thmas The Great Discovery
Thomas, an optimistic engine meets a grumpy man named Sir Topham Hatt and they all go on an adventure.
Thomas and Tillie (2004)[]
- Main article(s): Thomas and Tillie
The second film opens with Prince Charming on a quest to be adopted by Sir Topham Hatt.
Thomas: Cousin Neville (2007)[]
- Main article(s): Thomas: Cousin Neville
Thomas and the others have to find their cousin, Neville to rule over Sodor.
Thomas: Gordon Returns (2010)[]
- Main article(s): Thomas: Gordon Returns
Gordon has returned from the works and has become a domesticated family man, he is tricked into erasing his birth.
Spin-off[]
The Legend of James (2016)[]
- Main article(s): The Legend of James
The Legend of James is a computer-animated American action comedy film that was released on September 15, 2016. The film is based on and follows the character James on his adventures with Larry Thuckerman and mastermind Ben.
Future films[]
Fifth Thomas film (2022)[]
Following the success of Thomas and Tillie in March 2004, Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed that the Thomas story had been outlined into five films almost from the beginning. "Before the first one was finished we talked about what the whole story of Thomas is, and each of the chapters answers questions about the first movie and gives us an insight," said Katzenberg. "Thomas 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Thomas came to be in that shed, when we meet him in the first movie." After the release of Thomas: Cousin Neville in 2007, Katzenberg announced that the fifth film would be released in 2013.
The Legend of James 2 (2028)[]
In November 2017, executive producer Guillermo del Toro said that a couple of drafts for a sequel were already done, and that the director Chris Miller wanted to take James on an adventure to exotic places.
Television specials[]
Thomas: Naughty Crane (2007)[]
- Main article(s): Thomas: Naughty Crane
Thomas: Naughty Crane is a 22-minute television special, set shortly after the events of Thomas: Cousin Neville (and before the events of Thomas: Gordon Returns) as Gordon is still at the works, that premiered on the American television network ABC on Wednesday, November 20, 2007.
Thomas's Scary Stories (2010)[]
- Main article(s): Thomas's Scary Stories
Thomas's Scary Stories is a 21-minute television special set shortly after the events of Thomas: Gordon Returns. Thomas challenges the others to spend the night in Lord Finfwack's haunted castle, telling scary stories to see who can resist becoming scared and stay the longest. The special premiered on the American television network NBC on Thursday, October 28, 2010.
Television series[]
The Adventures of James (2017–2020)[]
- Main article(s): The Adventures of James
A television series, starring James from the Thomas franchise, debuted on Netflix on December 18, 2017.
Adventures of James: An Choosing Adventure (2018)[]
Adventures of James: A Choosing Adventure is an animated series developed by Dreamworks which debuted on Netflix in 2018, featuring the character James. It is a Netflix interactive. during the program, the viewer is given points while using their remote control or other device to decide how the narrative should proceed.
Cast and characters[]
- Main article(s): List of Shrek characters
| Character | Main films | Short films | Television specials | Spin-off film | Television series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas The Great Discovery | Thomas and Tillie | Thomas: Cousin Neville | Thomas: Gordon Returns | Thomas in the Shed Karaoke Dance Party | Sodor Idol | Henry’s Christmas Karaoke | Thomas: Naughty Crane | Thomas's Scary Stories | The Legend of James | The Adventures of James | |
| 2001 | 2004 | 2007 | 2010 | 2001 | 2004 | 2010 | 2007 | 2010 | 2016 | 2017-2019 | |
| Thomas | Michael J. Fox | Michael J. Fox | |||||||||
| Percy | Ben Ambrosini | Eddie Murphy | Dean Edwards | ||||||||
| Sir Topham Hatt | Ben Ambrosini | Ben Ambrosini | |||||||||
| James | Ben Schwartz | Ben Schwartz | Ben Schwartz | Ben Schwartz | Roger Craig Smith | ||||||
| Gordon | Thomas Haden Church | Thomas Haden Church | |||||||||
| Henry | Dan Castellaneta | Cody Cameron | |||||||||
| Hamster | Frank Welker | Silent Cameo | Frank Welker | Frank Welker | |||||||
| Magic Mirror | Chris Miller | Chris Miller | |||||||||
| Lord Farquaad | Alan Rickman | Alan Rickman
(archive recording) |
Cameo in end credits | John Lithgow | Silent Cameo | ||||||
| Thelonious | Christopher Knights | Christopher Knights | |||||||||
| Monsieur Robin Hood | Cody Cameron | N/A | |||||||||
| King Don | David Ogan Stirrs | ||||||||||
| Queen Lillian | Nicole Oliver | ||||||||||
| Fairy Gothelmother | Jennifer Saunders | Photograph | Cameo in end credits | ||||||||
| Prince Charming | Rupert Everett | Randy Crenshaw | Sean Bishop | ||||||||
| Captain Hook | Tom Waits | Ian McShane | Silent Cameo | Matt Mahaffey | |||||||
| Nick Cave | |||||||||||
| Doris | Larry King
(US) |
Larry King | Larry King | ||||||||
| Jonathan Ross
(UK) | |||||||||||
| Mongo | Conrad Vernon | ||||||||||
| Hamster Babies | Frank Welker | Frank Welker | Frank Welker | ||||||||
| Muffin Man | Conrad Vernon | Conrad Vernon | |||||||||
| Arthur Pendragon | Justin Timberlake | Deleted scene | |||||||||
| Mr. Merlin | Eric Idle | ||||||||||
| Ogre BabiesFarkle, Fergus, and Felicia | Jordan Alexander Hauser | Miles Christopher Bakshi | Miles Christopher Bakshi | ||||||||
| Dante James Hauser | Ollie Mitchell | ||||||||||
| Jasper Johannes Andrews | Miles Christopher Bakshi | Nina Zoe Bakshi | Nina Zoe Bakshi | Nina Zoe Bakshi | |||||||
| Zachary James Bernard | Nina Zoe Bakshi | Ollie Mitchell | Dante James Hauser | ||||||||
| Gideon | Thorp Von | Thorp Von | |||||||||
| Victor | David Soren | ||||||||||
| Kevin | David Soren | ||||||||||
| Brogan | Jon Hamm | Jon Hamm | |||||||||
| Cookie | Craig Robinson | Craig Robinson | |||||||||
| Gretched | Jane Lynch | Jane Lynch | |||||||||
| Pied Piper | Silent Cameo | Jeremy Steig | Michael Gough | ||||||||
| Larry Thuckerman | William Shatner | Kevin Michael Richardson | |||||||||
| Ben | Jason Ritter | ||||||||||
| Horbert Milt | Patrick Warburton | ||||||||||
| Patty Milt | Amy Sedaris | ||||||||||
| Mr. GoodTeacher | |||||||||||