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| Thomas & Friends | |
|---|---|
 Logo used since 2026 | |
| Created by | Britt Allcroft |
| Owners |
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| Years | 1984–present |
| Based on | The Railway Series byWilbert Awdry |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
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| Television series |
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| Miscellaneous | |
| Toy(s) | List of merchandise |
| Theme park attraction(s) | |
Thomas & Friends (formerly known asThomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is a children'smedia franchise based onthe Railway Series books byWilbert Awdry and created byBritt Allcroft and owned byMattel since 2012. The franchise revolves around anensemble cast of anthropomorphicsteam locomotives—including the titular main protagonistThomas the Tank Engine as well as other vehicles—who work on theIsland of Sodor.
In 1984,The Railway Series books were adapted into a television series initially titledThomas the Tank Engine & Friends. This ran for 24 series and had several feature-length specials produced during its run. A film adaptation,Thomas and the Magic Railroad, was released theatrically in 2000. After the television series ended in 2021, areboot titledThomas & Friends: All Engines Go began in the same year and concluded in 2025. Another reboot is in development, set to be released in late 2026, and a second theatrical film is in development atMattel Films.
In 1942, two-year-old Christopher Awdry caughtmeasles and was confined to a darkened room. His father told him rhymes to cheer him up, which soon expanded into stories. These formed the basis forThe Railway Series books. The first book,The Three Railway Engines, was published in 1945, with Awdry's 26th and final book,Tramway Engines, following suit in 1972. Christopher continued the series, writing 16 more books from 1983 to 2011. These books inspiredBritt Allcroft to create theThomas the Tank Engine & Friends television show.[2]
Multiple attempts to create a show based onThe Railway Series happened since 1953, when Eric Marriott was approached by theBBC to adapt two stories based on the Railway Series stories. During the broadcast ofThe Sad Story of Henry, the engine used in the broadcast fell and was picked up by a hand seconds later. Models moved jerkily, and all effects, music and sound had to be superimposed.[3][4][5]
Later, in 1973,Andrew Lloyd Webber, who had readThe Railway Series as a child, approached publisherKaye & Ward with a proposal for his own musical television series, with songs from himself and lyricist Peter Reeves.[6]: ch 16 However, the publishers and the author refused to give Lloyd Webber's company "control of almost everything", which Lloyd Webber's lawyers argued was necessary in order to "secure the investment money from America which would be needed to pay for the animation and the film-making."[6]: ch 20
The status of the project seemed uncertain, and while Stanley Pickard, Kaye & Ward's managing director at the time, told Awdry that he was "maintaining personal contact with Andrew and still had a slight hope that there might be a way out", Wilbert remained apprehensive, saying that "Once the Americans get hold of it the whole series would be vulgarised and ruined."[6]: ch 20
Eventually, an agreement was reached and Awdry received an advanced payment of £500. A pilot episode was commissioned fromGranada, which would feature 2D cutouts of the engines moving along a background in a style reminiscent ofIvor the Engine, with involvement from animatorBrian Cosgrove. The cutouts and backgrounds would be based upon illustrations fromThe Railway Series.[6]: ch 20 The pilot episode was completed by early 1976, but Granada ultimately decided not to produce a full series, as they feared that at the time Awdry's stories were not popular enough outside the UK to justify investing the time and money needed to make the series.[6]: ch 20 Andrew Lloyd Webber later established theReally Useful Group in 1977, a name derived from the phrase "Really Useful Engine".[citation needed]
In 1979, British television producerBritt Allcroft was producing a documentary on theBluebell Railway,[3][4] aheritage railway in Sussex which featured in theRailway Series bookStepney theBluebell Engine.[citation needed] As part of her research before filming, Allcroft read some books inThe Railway Series and was highly entertained and impressed with the stories which Awdry had written, later remarking that "there was something in the stories that I felt I could develop that would connect with children. I saw a strong emotional content that would carry with little children's experiences with life."[4]
Allcroft worked to convince Awdry that she could, with funding, convert the stories into a successful television show. Her efforts were successful, and she purchased the television rights from the publishers ofThe Railway Series at a cost of what was then £50,000 ($74,000 in U.S. dollars at the time).[3][4] Allcroft still had to work to raise the money to finance production and, despite showing a keen interest, wanted a level of creative control which she did not want to forego. In the end, after several years of searching and having to place a second mortgage on her home, Allcroft raised sufficient funding from her local bank manager.[3][4][7][8]
By 1981, Allcroft had secured the finances to produce the show, she started to assemble the crew, including producer and directorDavid Mitton, also the founder of Clearwater Features Ltd.; crew member Steve Asquith; American-born producerRobert D. Cardona; and composers and songwriters Mike O'Donnell andJunior Campbell.[citation needed]
The series ran starting with the first series in 1984.Series 12 would be the final series to use be filmed inlive action (although somecomputer-generated imagery (CGI) was incorporated), as production transitioned to full CGI in the late 2000s.[9]
In October 2020, Mattel Television formed a new co-production partnership withCorus Entertainment'sNelvana and greenlit two new seasons for theThomas & Friends series, consisting of 104 11-minute episodes and two hour-long specials. The new episodes were said to be produced usingtraditional animation and include more physical comedy and music than before.[citation needed]
In January 2021, it was announced that the new episodes were set to be released as an entirely new television series known asThomas & Friends: All Engines Go. Executive producer Christopher Keenan stated that it was, "crafted to appeal to contemporary audiences' sensibilities while maintaining Thomas' core brand ethos".[citation needed]
The series serves as a reboot of the originalThomas & Friends series that ran from 1984 to 2021. It was originally set to be a continuation of the original series (with the two seasons labeled as series 25 and 26), but Mattel Television later confirmed it to be a separate series. It introduces "an entirely new approach toThomas & Friends content," with a new animation style and story structure, therefore receiving immense criticism from audiences complaining about the new character redesigns and art style for its lack of faithfulness to its source material.[10]
Unlike the original series,Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go was developed in North America rather than Europe.[citation needed]
In celebration of the reboot, the official Japanese YouTube channel created a three-episode miniseries titledSalaryman Thomas (Japanese:サラリーマントーマス). It reimagines the engines as live-action adult office workers.[11][12]
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In May 2025, a newThomas & Friends series was announced to be releasing in 2026, said to be a "thrilling new journey that is set to delight fans old and new."[13] The new series was fully unveiled in January 2026, with several pieces of promotional material and a short clip. The series utilizes the new franchise logo and design. It is expected to release in late 2026 with a special premiering onNetflix.[14][non-primary source needed]
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| Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Thomas and the Magic Railroad | [15] |
| TBA | Thomas & Friends | [1][16] |
In 1998,Thomas Land opened as a themed area inFuji-Q Highland in Fujiyoshida, Japan. The land features several themed attractions, including an interactive dark ride and a roller coaster built by Sansei Technologies.[29][30]
From 2007 until 2017,Drusilla's Park in Sussex, England operated a railway ride featuring Thomas, Annie and Clarabel. The track ran through the Zoo Park.[citation needed]
Since 2007, severalSix Flags amusement parks in the US have includedThomas & Friends-themed attractions:Six Flags Discovery Kingdom,Six Flags New England,Six Flags Magic Mountain,Six Flags Over Georgia andSix Flags America. However, in late 2010, Six Flags began the process of renaming and re-theming non-Warner Bros. licensed attractions, includingThomas & Friends.[31]
In 2008,Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, England openedThomas Land.[citation needed]
In 2018,Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania openedThomas Town, which features four rides featuring Thomas, Cranky, Flynn, and Harold, and a live entertainment show hosted by Sir Topham Hatt.[citation needed]
Thomas & Friends merchandise has been produced to capitalise on the success of the television series. In the United Kingdom, merchandise was produced starting with the original broadcast of the television series in 1984.[citation needed] Manufacturers producedThomas-branded items after the television series was broadcast in the United States and Japan.[citation needed]
Thomas & Friends ranked number one in the preschool toys category in the U.S. and made the top 10 for the U.S. toy industry in 2010.[citation needed] In January 2011,Thomas & Friends ranked as the number-one preschool toy property in the U.K. for the 11th year in a row.[citation needed] Thomas is also a top-selling toy in Australia, Germany, Japan, and Korea. While the total traditional toy industry in the United States increased 1.9 per cent in 2010, overallThomas & Friends toy sales increased over 47.1 per cent.[32] Over 200 million books have been sold worldwide.[33]
HIT Entertainment and laterMattel licensesDay out with Thomas events all over the world, where visitors can ride on a train hauled by replicas of the series' characters.[citation needed]
As none of the E2 Class survived into preservation, locomotives from other classes have been adapted to resemble Thomas. Most replicas are based on0-6-0 locomotives such as theAusterity 0-6-0ST number 3781, which was converted from a saddle-tank to a side-tank in 1994.[34] at theMid-Hants Railway TheStrasburg Rail Road inLancaster, PA (USA) adaptedBrooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15 in 1999 and introduced a replica of the character Percy at the Day Out With Thomas event on 13 September 2014.[35]
Due to the increasing licensing fees and restrictions imposed by HiT including the need for "Sir Topham Hatt" to undergo aCriminal Records Bureau check, some heritage railways in the UK and overseas no longer run "Thomas" days.[36][37]
The playThe Queen's Handbag, staged to celebrate the 80th birthday ofQueen Elizabeth II, featured well-loved characters from children's literature. A near life-sized Thomas carriedSophie Dahl to the stage to meetSir Topham Hatt (Jonathan Ross) at the beginning of the show. The same Thomas had previously been used in theAll Aboard Live Tour.[citation needed]
The JapaneseŌigawa Railway has five locomotives that appear Thomas, Hiro, Percy, James, and Rusty, based atShin-Kanaya Station.[38] Thomas runs between Shin-Kanaya andKawaneonsen-Sasamado Station.[citation needed]
In 2001, the BritishNational Autistic Society conducted a survey of 81 parents of children withautism andAsperger syndrome to investigate their relationship with Thomas. The survey confirmed the organisation's anecdotal evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders associate more strongly with Thomas than with other children's characters.[39]
In the National Autistic Society's 2007 survey, conducted with 748 UK parents of children under 10 with autism, 58% of parents reported Thomas was the first children's character their children enjoyed, with about one-third of parents reporting their children were able to learn basic facial expressions from the characters. 54% of parents reported that the stories contributed to their child's sense of security.[40]
Mattel developed autistic character Bruno the Brake Car forThomas & Friends: All Engines Go. They worked with organisations including theAutistic Self Advocacy Network and the National Autistic Society, and cast Elliott Garcia and Chuck Smith in the UK and US versions respectively to voice the character.[41][42][43]
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