- The island of Sodor is the home of the North Western Railway, with engines of all shapes and sizes... - (TOOTS HORN) ...working hard to deliver goods and passengers to their destinations. There are branch lines that run along the coast of the island, serving the docks, the fishing villages and the seaside towns. - (WHISTLE BLOWS, SEAGULLS CAW) There are branch lines that run to the farms, quarries and ancient castles of the island's heartland. And there is the mainline... ` Express coming through! ...which runs all the way from Knapford on the west coast of the island to Vicarstown in the east. And the line continues over the Vicarstown Bridge, where it connects to the mainland beyond. (MAJESTIC MUSIC) One day, Henry was pulling a very important goods train on his way to the mainland. - (BLOWS WHISTLE) - Faster, faster! Hurry up, Henry. - We haven't got all day! - (CHUCKLES) - A faulty signal should have warned Henry there was another goods train stuck on the track up ahead. - Oh! - Then everything happened at once! (ALL EXCLAIM IN SLOW-MOTION) (DRAMATIC MUSIC) - Whoa-ah-ah! - Ah! (CRASH!) - (CREAKING, CRUMBLING) - Ahh! (BRAKES SCREECH) Poor Henry wouldn't be going to the mainland now. - Aw. (EXCITING MUSIC) Captions by Starsha Samarasinghe. (THRILLING MUSIC) Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. (MUSIC CONTINUES) (MUSIC CONTINUES) www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2020 (CALM MUSIC) (WHISTLE TOOTS) (CURIOUS, BRIGHT MUSIC) - Whoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo-hoo! (LAUGHS) Hello, bunnies! Hello, squirrels! Hello, birds. Hello, trees! Hello, sky! - Morning, Thomas. - Good morning, Toby! (WHISTLE TOOTS) Oh, what a lovely day. It's bright and sunny and everybody on Sodor seems happy! Don't days like this make you feel like... bursting into song? - # Somebody has to be the favourite! # The one that everybody wants to see. - James! # Somebody has to be better than the rest! # Somebody has to be so good that they're the best. # Somebody has to be the favourite! # Somebody has to be me. # Here's James! (LAUGHS) - You're not the favourite, James! - Of course I am, Thomas. - Ask anybody! - No, you're not. And anyway, I was going to sing a song then, not you! - Well, go ahead and sing if you want to. I'm not stopping you. Quiet, everybody! (CHATTER FADES) Thomas wants to sing a song. Oh. (CHUCKLES AWKWARDLY) No, James. I-I'm not... Oh, OK. (INHALES DEEPLY) (WHISTLE BLOWS) - # Sometimes you have to blow your whistle # to let the other engines know you're near. # Sometimes you have to make a racket and to shout # in order to ensure that they're not left in any doubt. # Somebody has to be the favourite! # Say, 'Hello, the favourite is here!' # - Hello, James! - You're not the Fat Controller's favourite engine, James! - Really? Then how come I keep getting all the best jobs? Isn't your next job collecting pigs from Farmer Trotter's? (OINKS) - Oh, yes. - Want to know what my next job is? - Well,... - My next job is transporting beautiful music. - That's not true! You're just making that up. (BLOWS WHISTLE) (ALL OINK, SQUEAL) (HAPPY, LILTING MUSIC PLAYS) - (HUMS) (SINGS ALONG) (HAPPY MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING) (MUSIC FADES) - Bring it up. - (CREAKING) - (GROANS, WHIMPERS) - Nice and easy. - (WHIMPERS) - Oh, dear. Well, thank goodness nobody was hurt. That's all I can say. (CHUCKLES) That's right. Expect Henry to be arriving at the steam workshop. Edward is already at Vicarstown, collecting him with the breakdown train. Oh, I'm used to swapping engines around. It's what I do all the time. FAT CONTROLLER: I'll find another engine to take James' passenger coaches. He can collect those trucks first thing in the morning. - (CHUCKLES) I bet James won't like that job! James doesn't like pulling trucks. (BRIGHT MUSIC) - Guess what, James! You're going to be pulling a goods train tomorrow morning, while I will be working with my faithful coaches again, Annie and Clarabel. - Naturally. - As usual. (CHUCKLES) - A goods train?! - A goods train?! A`! Oh, wait. You must mean that very important goods train that's bound for the mainland. (LAUGHS) That's a great job, Thomas. What an adventure. # Somebody has to be the favourite. # That's just the way it is, you must agree. # Some get to see the world # and travel far away! # While other engines have a place they always have to stay. # Somebody has to be the favourite. # Somebody has to be me! # Somebody has to be me! # - Oh, don't even listen to him, Thomas. - He's only teasing. - Again! - Oh, right, thank you. - It's not fair, sir! James gets all the important jobs! - Important jobs? What important jobs? Are you talking about taking that goods train to Bridlington? - Is Bridlington a place on the mainland? - Yes, Thomas, it is. But that's hardly the only important job. What about the Flying Kipper or the mail train or delivering the milk or collecting passengers from the cruise ships? - I know, sir. But James said` - Even looking after your branch line is an important job, Thomas. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some important jobs of my own to attend to, what with Henry out of action and James off to the mainland tomorrow. Who can I get to deliver those cheese vats to Vicarstown? - That night in the shed, Thomas was still very cross about James. It's just so annoying, Percy, he keeps saying he's the Fat Controller's favourite engine. And tomorrow he's going off to the mainland to have a big adventure while I'm stuck here doing the same jobs I always do! (SIGHS) Percy! You're not even listening! - Ooh, I am, Thomas. But I have to take the mail train now. - Aw, it's not fair. - (JAMES HUMS) # Some get to see the world and travel far away # while other engines have a place they always have to stay. - Aw. Why can't I go to the mainland? - But then an idea flew into Thomas' funnel. - Hmm. (CHUCKLES) - The next morning, James went to Vicarstown Good Yard to collect his trucks. - Rosie, where are my trucks? What have you done with them? - Uh, which trucks do you mean, James? - The trucks that Henry was pulling when he had his accident. The Fat Controller said it was very important to take them to the mainland today. - Oh, those trucks! Yes, I know those trucks are important. That's why Thomas came so early. - Thomas! What's Thomas got to do with it?! - # Sometimes you have to get up early # if there's someplace you really want to be. # Sometimes you have to be awake before the dawn. # Sometimes you're up and out before they know you're gone. # Somebody has to be the favourite! # And this time it's going to be me! # This time it's going to be me! - # This time it's going to be me! # - Are we there yet? - Meanwhile, poor Henry was in the steamworks waiting to be repaired. - Oh, dear, oh, dear. How long do you expect him to be out of action? He's taken my train, sir! Oh, yes, that's what he's done. - Who's taken what train? What on earth are you talking about, James? - Thomas! I'm talking about Thomas. He's taken my goods train, sir, the one that had to go to the mainland. - That's excellent! Then you can work on Thomas' branch line today, James. - Thomas' branch line?! B-But you said I was going to the mainland. That was my job. - Well, it's my job to swap engines around. - Yes, I know. - That's what a railway controller does. - Well, of course, but` - He keeps all his engines busy... - (STAMMERS) ...being useful, huh? Now, who can I get to take all those coconuts back to Arlesburgh? Oh. (BRIGHT MUSIC) Whoo-hoo! (LAUGHS) Wha-ha-ha-ha! Whoo! Meanwhile, on the mainland, Thomas was having an adventure. - Wow! Look at that big building over there! Ooh, I wonder what that factory makes? (LAUGHS) Oh, did you see the colour of those houses? Bright blue! Ha-ha! Nobody on Sodor would paint their house bright blue. - What are you going on about, Thomas? - Everything! Just look around you! We're on the mainland now. - Ooh (!) What's so special about the mainland? - It's all just grass and trees, as far as I can see. - Lucky you! I can see is another truck's backside! (ALL LAUGH) - There are lots of new things to see here! The buildings are different and the bridges, and` Oh! Look! I wonder what junction that is up ahead. - I'd say it's Lostville! - Maybe it's Confusingtown! - Castle Who-Knows-Where! - I'm not lost, you silly trucks. - (TRUCKS GIGGLE, CHATTER) I know exactly where I'm going. - But do you know where you are? - He's trying to be important. - Is it important to go the wrong way? (TRUCKS CHATTER LOUDLY) - Don't listen to him, he's facing backwards. Turn right! - Would you all please be quiet? (SILENCE) - Are we there yet? - (ALL ARGUE, CHATTER LOUDLY) - Use your brain! - Doesn't have one! - Stop trying to confuse me! You're distracting the driver! - Whoa! - (TRUCKS CHATTER) (LOUD OVERLAPPING WHISTLES, HORNS, VOICES) (TRUCKS LAUGH MENACINGLY) - CLARABEL AND ANNIE: Slow down, oh! - Slow down, James, slow down! - The faster I go, the sooner I can get back and ask the Fat Controller for a better job. (CLARABEL AND ANNIE EXCLAIM WEARILY) - Hello, Maithwaite! - (CLARABEL AND ANNIE GROAN) (BRAKES SQUEAL) - James! You've stopped beyond the platform again! - (SIGHS) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know. It was an accident, OK? - I do hope Thomas gets back soon. - So do I. - What are you muttering about back there? I can hear you, you know. - But Thomas was far away on the mainland, and he wasn't going to be back anytime soon. (CHUCKLES) You know, I still can't believe how I tricked James this morning. - And I still can't believe we haven't reached our goods yard yet. - I can! - (TRUCKS SNICKER) - Are we there yet? - I know it's taking a bit longer than I thought, but why don't you relax and enjoy the journey? It can't be that much further. (GRUNTING, SMASH!) - (GASPS) - (BRAKES SQUEAL) (TRUCKS EXCLAIM) - BOOMING: Who goes there? - Hello there. Is this Bridlington Goods Yard? - Bridlington? No! Bridlington's miles from here. (CHUCKLES) - Oh. But am I at least going the right way? - How should I know? Sometimes I go back here. Whoo-hoo! (CHUCKLES) - And sometimes I go up here! (CHUCKLES) I like to spin around and look at the view from every direction. Ow! But I've never been to Bridlington. What's it like, eh? - Don't ask him! - He hasn't been there either. - At this rate, he's never going to get there! - (TRUCKS LAUGH) - These trucks are very annoying! But they're right. Please, Mr Crane, I really have to keep going. - And why exactly should I let you go? You haven't even answered my question yet. - Question? What question? - Who goes there? Meaning, who are you? - Oh! (CHUCKLES AWKWARDLY) I'm Thomas. Thomas. Who's Thomas? Hmm. # Thomas, you're Thomas. # Well, I don't know who Thomas is, # so why should I let this Thomas simply hurry on his way? # Thomas? You're Thomas? # Speak up now, I'm asking you. # Who's Thomas? What's Thomas? # What have you got to say? # I'm Thomas. I'm a tank engine. # I'm from a place called Sodor. # I'm heading for the goods yard where these trucks are meant to go. # I don't know why I'm stopped here # apart from the thing you dropped here. # So if you could lift it up again. # Oh, what do you want to know? # He's lost, he's lost. # And Thomas is his name. # He wanted to be important, # now he's only himself to blame! # (TRUCKS LAUGH) # Thomas? Who's Thomas? # I've never heard of Thomas. # Nor me. I know. # You're me. That's true. # I'm talking to myself! # Now Thomas, little Thomas, # you say that's what your name is, # but I still don't know who you are, # so tell me something else! # I'm Thomas, I'm a tank engine, # and some would say I'm cheeky. # And maybe I am cheeky - # cos I took these trucks from James. - TRUCKS: Yeah! # But I was stuck on Sodor, # where it's the same old railway, # so I took them to the mainland # which I thought would make a change. # He's lost, he's lost, # he'll have to tell his boss. # If we don't get a move on, then Sir Topham will be cross! (TRUCKS LAUGH) # So many places you could go, # so many things to see. # And like the birds up in the sky, # an engine's life is free-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! (CLEARS THROAT) # So engines always rush about, # they never like to wait. # They always have some reason like they're late # or late, or late! # But if you'd like to travel on you must do something more. # You'll have to tell me something new I've never heard before! - Something new? - Something new! - Does it have to be true? - # It has to be true. - SIGHS: Oh. TRUCKS: # He's lost, he's lost, # he hasn't got a clue! # He doesn't know what to say at all, # he doesn't know what to do. - (CHUCKLES) Is that right? - Would you be quiet back there? I'm trying to think! - Don't try too hard! - You'll burst your coil! Poor Thomas, on the Mainland, nobody even knows his name! That's it! # I'm Thomas, I'm Thomas, but you've never heard of Thomas. No, I've never heard of Thomas. # But that's my name, it's true. - # I'm Thomas, I'm Thomas! - Yes? # And if you've never heard of me, # then when I said I was Thomas, - # I was telling you something new. - Something new?! # And having told you that, I think we're through! # Wait! What did you do? Thomas, come back! My name's Beresford, by the way! Thanks for asking (!) (GROANS) (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) (CHUGGING) (BIRDS CHIRP) - There was still no sign of Bridlington Goods Yard, and by late afternoon, Thomas' coal bunker was nearly empty. - Oh, dear. - Now what? - We're lost in the woods. - I told you he didn't have a brain! - Or a map! - Or any coal! - Shh, look! There's a place up ahead! (GASPS) Maybe we'll find some coal there! - I don't think so! (WHIMSICAL, MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) (GASPS) Oh. - This doesn't look like a goods yard. - No, it looks like a bads yard. - A very bads yard. (CHUGGING SLOWS, BRAKES SQUEAL, HISS) - (WHIMPERS QUIETLY) Are we there yet? ECHOES: Hello? - Huh. Great job, Thomas (!) - You are really useless engine. (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) Hello? (ENGINE BELL RINGS) Huh? - Hi! - Hi! - Hi! - SCOTTISH ACCENT: Pleased to meet ya! - Huh? - Well, hello-o-o-o there! - Hello. - Come on out, Theo! It's a visitor! Another engine! We have company! That's Theo. He's shy. Lack of confidence. He thinks he looks awkward and uncoordinated. - Are you being scrapped? - Scrapped?! - Dumped? - Disassembled? Taken to pieces? - Yes. Engines get scrapped when they're not, er, youthful a-and nobody cares about them anymore. - Don't be preposterous, Theo! This one here is a useful engine. He's pulling trucks. - Not very well! - Now, that's not fair. I have had a few problems, but (GASPS) maybe you can help me out. - Us? Help you? - (SCOFFS) I doubt it. - Oh, sorry, no. - I don't think so. Nope, nope, nope. - NEW YORK ACCENT: You're barking up the wrong branch line there, buddy boy. - But I only need a little coal and water. - SCOTTISH ACCENT: Oh. (CHUCKLES) We can help with that. Back up, Theo! Back up! ENGLISH ACCENT: Coal and water is no problem at all. We are fully stocked in the coal and water department, (SCOTTISH ACCENT, WHISPERS) in case our drivers come to try new parts or make improvements. - Why isn't he following us, Lexi? - Hmm. I'm not sure. YELLS: Why aren't you following us? - I can't! I don't have any coal! - He doesn't have any coal. - Oh. - Come on! You'll have to tow him to the coal hopper. - Me?! Aw. - Come on, Theo. (CHUCKLES LIGHTLY) Whoo-hoo! All right! Hey! - OK, start pulling, Theo! - (GROANS, GRUNTS) - Ugh! - Maybe you should uncouple my trucks first. - Oh. - Good idea! (METAL CLINKING) - OK, Theo! Give it the old one-two! - (STRAINS, GRUNTS) - Thanks, Theo! - (GRUNTS) - My name is Thomas. I'm a tank engine. What kind of engine are you? We are experimental engines, err, Thomas. - Experimental engines? Wow! What does that mean? - It means we're different ` test models, trial and error. I'm cab forward, and Theo's... something experimental too. (CHUCKLES) - Ooh, and there's Merlin too. - Merlin? - Oh, you wouldn't have seen Merlin. DARKLY: He's a stealth engine. - A stealth engine? What's that? FRENCH ACCENT: Stealth engines are designed to be hard to see, out of sight, (WHISPERS) invisible. Ah! An invisible engine?! - Well... - (CHUCKLES) Let's just say he's always... disappearing. - Uh, your water tank is overflowing. - TEXAS ACCENT: Whoa, Nellie! Up to the brim! - Thanks for your help! But I still have my very important job to finish. - Does that mean you have to go? - He's got trucks, Theo, remember? Trucks need to be delivered! That's what they're for. - Oh! I almost forgot. (CHUCKLES) Do either of you know where Bridlington Goods Yard is? Bridlington? (CHUCKLES) STERNLY: No idea. - Hmm. Sorry, no. - Oh. So with coal in his coal bunker and his water tank full, Thomas set off once more in search of the goods yard. - Are we there yet? - I don't think so. Thomas still doesn't know where he's going. - And those other engines didn't know anything either. - (GASPS) But look! There's a light! That's probably the goods yard now. - And if it's not? - Well, if it's not, then we can stop and ask for directions again. - (CHUCKLES) Or get another engine. - Who knows where he's going! (TRUCKS SNICKER) (GASPS) (TRUCKS GASP, EXCLAIM) (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) - Thomas, I have a feeling we're not on Sodor anymore. (INTRIGUING MUSIC) - Wow! - Would ya look at that? - (GASPS) Wow. Wow! I bet James has never been any place like this! - Hello? - (BRAKES HISS) - Who's there? Ooh-hoo-hoo! What's your name, little tank engine? Oh, my name is Thomas. - And my name is Hurricane, you know, like a storm. Whoa! - (THOMAS AND TRUCKS EXCLAIM) - Wow. - And I'm Frankie, but you look like you must be a very important engine. - That's not what my friend James says. He keeps boasting about how he's the Fat Controller's favourite. - Oh, really? - And what do you do when he says something like that? I get up extra early and take the trucks he was supposed to deliver to the mainland. - (LAUGHS) Well, isn't he a clever little tank engine, Hurricane? And a cheeky one too, Frankie! (LAUGHS) - I think he's a keeper, wouldn't you? - Do either of you know where Bridlington Goods Yard is? I have to deliver these trucks, and it's nearly night-time. - Of course we know Bridlington. - I deliver goods there all the time. - (GASPS) You do? - You mustn't worry about getting to the goods yard tonight. - Uncouple those trucks. - Leave them here in the yard. We'll look after them for you, Thomas. No problemo. - Yes. Come on inside. We'll keep nice you nice and warm. - This is the hottest place in town. (LAUGHS) Yeah. (UPBEAT MUSIC) # I don't know where you thought you were going, # but here you are. # I don't know what you thought you were doing, # but you've come so far. # This is the place you were meant to be being. # These are the sites you were meant to be seeing. # We'll lift your thermostat up a degree or two. HURRICANE AND FRANKIE: # And we're guaranteeing # that you'll be agreeing it's true. # This is the hottest place in town. # We'll warm you up when you're feeling down. # We'll make a smile out of every frown,... # ...just take a look around at the joy we found! # This is the place you can have some fun, # where you can feel like you're number one. # We've got more sunshine than the sun. # There's a light in our eyes we simply can't disguise. # This is the hottest place in town. Yeah! # Come in and come along for the riding, # shunting lovely ladle trucks up the sidings. # Rails so smooth that you'll be gliding along, # and before you know it you'll be joining us in our song. # This is the hottest place in town. - Whoo! # No other like it anywhere around. # You'll be a king and you'll wear a crown. - I say! # What we're trying to say is that we'll hope you'll stay. # This is the place you can shine like gold. # Our jobs are cool, but we're never cold! # We really think you could fit the mould! # You'll be part of the team, you'll be living the dream. # This is the hottest place in town! (HISSING) # Come in and come along for the riding, # shunting lovely ladle trucks up the sidings. # Rails so smooth that you'll be gliding along, # and before you know it you'll be joining us in our song! # This is the hottest place in town. - Yeah! - You know it! # You'll warm me up when I'm feeling down. # You'll make a smile out of every frown. You've got it! # You know you're keeping it real when you're working with steel. # This is the place I can have some fun,... - That's it, Thomas! - Whoo! # ...where I can feel like number one. # I've got more sunshine than the sun. - You're number one! - Yeah! # There's no looking back now, you're on the right track now. ALL: # This is the hottest place in town. # (ALL LAUGH) - Just think how jealous your friend James will be when he hears about your new job, Thomas. (CHUCKLES) New job? I already have a very important job. I'm delivering trucks to the mainland instead of James. - (CHUCKLES) Quiet now, little tank engine. We can worry about those trucks of yours in the morning. What you need is a nice comfy shed where you can relax and that busy boiler of yours cool down. (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) - That night in Tidmouth Sheds, the other engines were wondering what had happened to Thomas. - He really should have been back by now. - I know! I'm feeling worried. - So am I. Do you think something's happened? JAMES: Oh, knowing Thomas, he probably got lost on the mainland. - (ALL GASP) Or fell down a mine or crashed into a stationmaster's house. (LAUGHS) Huh? What? - It's not funny, James. - Thomas could be in trouble. - Hmph! It serves Thomas right if he's in trouble. It was never his job to go to the mainland at all. He took my truck without asking. - (GASPS) Maybe you could go and look for him, James. - Me?! Why me? - Because... I'd be scared, and, well, I thought you wanted to go to the mainland. - Hmm. (SNORES) - (HORN BLASTS) - Ahh! What was that? (CHUCKLES) Time to start work, little tank engine! - Whoa! Give me a chance to wake up first. Hey! What happened to my goods trucks? - Oh, I took care of them. I took them to Bridlington in the night. Did you? Thank you. If my trucks have been delivered to Bridlington, then my very important job has been completed. So I need to head back to Sodor. But we hope to deliver your goods trucks, little tank engine. Surely you don't mind helping us in return. - Well, OK I suppose I could` Whoa! (TENSE MUSIC) - (BOTH LAUGH MENACINGLY) - Oh, you're too kind, (TENSE MUSIC) - Thomas was put to work in the steelworks, shunting ladle trucks and taking molten slags out to the slag heaps. (DARK, TENSE MUSIC) (HISSING) (DARK, TENSE MUSIC) - (GASPS) Cinders and ashes! - Good job, Thomas! (CHUCKLES) - He is good, isn't he? (CHUCKLES) In fact, I'd say you might be my favourite new engine. (BOTH CHUCKLE MENACINGLY) (STEAM HISSES) - # This is the hottest place in town. # You really warm me up when I'm feeling down. - # This is the` - Whoa, watch out there! - (CLANG!) - Ow! - Oh! - Everybody run! Get out the way! - You need to be careful with that stuff. It's very hot. - It can melt your wheels right into the ground. (HISSING) - Sorry. - Dear, dear, what a mess. Oh. Ah! - Oh. - Never mind, sir. It's only tea. We'll soon clear it up again. - (SIGHS) Thomas. (INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENTS) - Any news about Thomas, sir? - No, Percy, not yet. The trucks arrived at Bridlington in the middle of the night, but nobody knows what's happened to Thomas. I've got an idea, sir! Why don't I go to the mainland and look for Thomas? Wouldn't that be really useful? - It's kind of you to volunteer, James, but I need you to work on Thomas' branch line. There are still carrots waiting in Ulfstead and trucks full of tweezers in Vicarstown. - But I want to go to the mainland, sir! After all, I was the one who was supposed to go, not Thomas. - I've already sent Emily off with the Kipper. - But what about`? - And Edward is collecting the band. - I mean someone` - I simply can't spare another engine. - But I want to` - Not with Henry at the Steamworks and Thomas delayed! - Delayed! Oh, no! I only thought he was lost. - All done, sir. And I've made you a fresh pot of tea. - Oh, excellent. Thank you. Don't worry, Percy. Everything is under control. Just keep calm and carry on. At least you tried, James. - Hmph. I'll never get to go to the mainland now. (TENSE MUSIC) - (SIGHS, PANTS) PANTS: This is... thirsty work. - That's what we've been trying to tell you, little tank engine! This really is the hottest place in town. (CHUCKLES) - (SIGHS) My name is Thomas, Frankie. - And you're doing a terrific job. Hurricane and I are very impressed. And with you here to help us, we're free to make more... deliveries. - It's not easy to keep up with all the work here when it's only Frankie and me. We're both so happy that you came along, Thomas. Oh, thanks. - Hurricane, this steel won't deliver itself. - Bye, Thomas. See you later. - Put the ingots in the cooling area and make sure you empty all the slag onto the slag heap, little tank engine! And when you've done all of that, you can sort trucks in the yard. I expect them ready when we get back to collect the next delivery! - But I need to go home to Sodor now, Frankie! - No way, little tank engine! We helped you, so you have to help us. - But I have been helping you. I've been working hard all day. The Fat Controller will be wondering where I am. (GATES CREAK, CLANG) (SAD MUSIC) # How much longer will I have to stay here? # One more day or a month or a year? # Far from everything I've ever known, # far away from the island called Sodor. # Far away from that island called home. # Where are you, Annie and Clarabel? # Have you been left in the shed? # Or are you out on my branch line with some other engine instead? # I miss all of my friends. # I miss hearing their names ` # Percy and Toby and Gordon. # It's strange, but I even miss James. # I'm not joking! I even miss James. (SAD MUSIC) # I wanted to have an adventure, # I wanted to wander and roam. # I wanted to see places I'd never seen, # but now I just want to go home. # Tell me, when do I get to go home? (DRAMATIC, DETERMINED MUSIC) # All I want to do is go back to Sodor. # All I want to do is get back to my friends. # I don't want to be stuck here forever and always # in this hot house where work never ends. # I wanted adventure. # I wanted to roam. # I wanted new places, # but now I want home. # I mean it. I have to go home. # So lock up your gates with your skeleton key, # you can't make me stay where I don't want to be! # It's not right. It's not fair. # This is no place for me. # I want to, I need to, I have to, # be free to go home! - # I'll find my way home. - Stop! Where are you going? # I'll make my way home! # It's time to go home! # I'm going ho... Whoa! ...ome! # (HISSING) (SAD MUSIC) (SIGHS) Baa! - What am I supposed to do ` just sit here and do nothing? - Yes, James. That's what Thomas would do ` wait for the farmer. - What else can you do? - I can blow my whistle. That'll get those sheep moving. No, that's mean! You'll frighten them and they'll panic! Oh, even Thomas is more patient than you are, James. - I've had enough. This is boring. (INHALES DEEPLY) (HIGH-PITCHED DOG WHISTLE) (DOG BARKS) (SHEEP BLEAT) - See, James? All it takes is a little patience. Baa! (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) (SIGHS) - (CLANKING) - Whoa! - That was a close call there, little tank engine. - Yeah, you could have done yourself some serious damage, Thomas, going off the rails like that. That old track hasn't been used for years. - And how would we manage without you? You can't expect Hurricane and I to be doing all of that dirty work. We have more important jobs to be doing. - Aw. I suppose so. (SAD MUSIC) - That night on Sodor, James was more grumpy than ever. (SIGHS) I've had enough of being stuck on Thomas' backwater branch line. I should be the one on the mainland. - Of course you should, James. Then you could be the one who got lost. (CHUCKLES) - Or even worse... delayed. - Ha! I wouldn't get lost or delayed. And if Thomas isn't back here by morning, I'm going to the mainland to find him and bring him back home. - And who's going to look after all the passengers on Thomas' branch line while you're gone, James? - I don't know. Why don't you ask the Fat Controller? It's his job to swap engines around. That's what a railway controller does. Oh, James, you'll be a hero! (GASPS) (LAUGHS) Only if he manages to find Thomas. (BLOWS WHISTLE) James, wait! Where are you going? - To the mainland to find Thomas and become a hero! (MYSTERIOUS MUSIC) (BOTH SNORE) (THUNDER RUMBLES) (INTRIGUING MUSIC) - (YAWNS) (QUIET, DETERMINED MUSIC) - (RUSTLING) - (GASPS) (THUNDER BOOMS) (BOTH SNORE) (CHUGS QUIETLY) (GATE CREAKS, CLANGS) (LOUD CREAKING, CLANGING) (THUNDER BOOMS) (QUIET, DETERMINED MUSIC) (CHUGS QUIETLY) Shh! (BOTH SNORE, THUNDER RUMBLES) (QUIET, DETERMINED MUSIC) (CLANG!) - (GASPS) What was that? - SLEEPILY: What was what? - That big crashing sound! - Maybe it was he thunder. There's a storm coming. (THUNDER CRASHES) Thomas?! (GASPS) Thomas! - (GASPS) - (ALARMS BLARE) - He's trying to break the gates down! - No, Thomas, don't do it! - Stop, Thomas, stop! - BOTH: Thomas! (LOUD CHUGGING) (CRASH!) - BOTH: Come back! (WHISTLES BLOWING) Ah! They're after me! (TENSE MUSIC) Oh! (LIGHTNING CRACKS, THUNDER BOOMS) SCREAMS: Oh! (PANTS) Hurry up! They're coming! They're coming! (TENSE MUSIC) They are chasing after me. (SIGHS) - BOOMING: Who... Ah! - Are you hiding? - (SCREAMS, GASPS) - Who said that? - Oh, don't be frightened. I'm hiding too. I love hiding. - But where are you? I can't see you. (CHUCKLES) Of course you can't. That's because I'm such a good hider! - In fact, I'm invisible! - (GASPS) Invisible? - How can you be invisible? - Because I'm a stealth engine, and stealth engines are designed in a special way to make them... invisible! (CHUCKLES) - A stealth engine? Like... Merlin? - Not like Merlin, I am Merlin. The experimental prototype, King Arthur Class stealth engine! - Merlin! Wow! Is that really you? I heard all about you from Theo and Lexi. - Quick, close your eyes. (TENSE MUSIC) - Come out, come out, wherever you are. (TENSE MUSIC) (MUSIC FADES) - Don't worry, you're safe! They won't find you now. You're with the best hider ever. All you have to do is close your eyes and keep really still and nobody will be able to see. - (YAWNS) (BIRDS CHIRP) (YAWNS) Hello? Merlin, are you there? Oh, or are you still asleep? (CHUCKLES) Sorry! Merlin? Merlin? (ENGINES CHUG, HORNS BLAST) - That morning, James had arrived at Bridlington Goods Yard. - Thomas! Thomas? (CLEARS THROAT) Excuse me, but have you, by any chance, seen a cheeky blue tank engine with the number one painted on his side? - We get a lot of engines passing through. You can't expect me to remember every blue tank engine. - His name is Thomas from the island of Sodor. - Oi, you seen a cheeky blue tank engine numbered one? - Nope. Like I say, friend, we get a lot of engines coming and going. Ugh. Bridlington is a very busy goods yard. (SIGHS) Oh, well, thank you anyway. - Psst! We saw a silly blue tank engine. Didn't know where he was going. - No sense... of direction. - (TRUCKS LAUGH) - Yes, yes! That sounds like Thomas! Is he the engine that brought you here? - (TRUCKS LAUGH) - No! Don't be silly. - Thomas got completely lost. - An engine called Hurricane brought us here. - Hurricane? Who's Hurricane? - From that big steelworks. You know, '# This is the hottest place in town' # # We love an engine in an evening gown. # (TRUCKS LAUGH) (SIGHS) This is hopeless. - Look at my face! Don't I look like a clown? Well, he was a bit rude. - Hello. One more question. Do you know big steelworks where an engine called Hurricane might be... working? (PEACEFUL MUSIC) - Ah! I know where I am. This is the experimental eng` - Theo, it's that engine again! Thomas! Well, hello, Thomas! - Theo! - Thomas! (PANTS EXCITEDLY) (PANTS EXCITEDLY) You came back. - Did you get what you were going? Did you find what you were looking for? Bridlingdom? That goods yard? Did ya? Did ya? - (SIGHS) No. Oh, but you did deliver your trucks, didn't you? - (SIGHS) No. - But where are they? I don't see them. Where'd they go? - I don't know. - He is being scrapped. I told you! - No, Theo, I'm not being scrapped. But... (SIGHS) I probably should be. - Oh, Thomas, what happened? I lost James' trucks and I got trapped in the steelworks, and I want to go home to Sodor, but I don't know the way. I'm a useless engine I just do everything wrong. - (CHUCKLES) You sound like one of us. - (CHUCKLES) Yep. We have the same problem. - Oh, no, you don't. You guys are amazing. You're experimental engines. I can't do anything... apart from make mistakes. - Nobody gets it right the first time. Everybody makes mistakes or goofs or gaffes. - # We were put together in a flurry of excitement. But look at us now! What are we like? # You simply have to laugh. (FUN, SWING MUSIC) (WHISTLE BLOWS) # We're unusual, we're unique. # In other words, she's saying that we're freaks. - Built by geeks! - # We're experiments gone bad. - # In other words, whoever designed us must be mad! - # Too many funnels or too many cogs. - # We know a guy who was built to run on logs. # Too many wheels and gears and rods. # It's no wonder that we look so odd! - Give me a prod! - BOTH: But what can't we do? # What can't we do? # What can't we do? # Anything! It's true. - # We're originals! # We're one of a kind! # We're upside down and forward to behind. # We're experiments gone wrong! # This yard's the only place that we could ever belong! # We always try to do our best. # Sadly we rarely pass the test! - I made a mess! - # Give us a job! # Give us a task! # Whatever it is, you'll be sorry that you asked! - BOTH: # But what can't we do? # What can't we do? # What can't we do? # Anything! It's true. - ENGINE: Ooh-hoo-hoo. I can do something! - Merlin! - Invisibility, on! (FUN MUSIC CONTINUES) # I'm invisible, or can't you see? # 'Who said that?' you ask. It's only me! # You look surprised, but have no fear! # It's just a little trick to make myself disappear! - (COUGHS) Why does he keep doing that? - Have you noticed his three funnels? Well, that was an experiment to make his smoke and steam disperse, so you couldn't see him so easily. - But it didn't work at all. Only don't try and tell Merlin that. - Ah! - (CHUCKLES) Hello again. LEXI AND MERLIN: # We're lumpy and bumpy # we haven't got the puff. # They tried to make us better but sometimes enough's enough! # We're wobbly and knobbly and awkward in reverse! # If practice makes you perfect, we're the ones they never rehearsed! - ALL: # But what can't we do? # What can't we do? # What can't we do? # Anything! It's true! - # We can't do anything, that's true! - # We can't do anything,... - ...but he can try! - # We can't do anything but try. # We will give anything a try! # Isn't that right? - (CRASH!) - (ALL LAUGH) - So, do you think you can try to help me? - Didn't we just explain, Thomas? We can't do anything. - No, stop saying that. We'll do everything we can to help you, Thomas. - Just tell us what the problem is. - Oh, Merlin, thank you. I need to go home to the island of Sodor... only I don't know which way to go. - (CHUCKLES) Merlin can't help you. - None of us can. I'm terribly sorry. We don't know anything about any place other than here. - Oh, but we can still try to help you, Thomas. Oh! (GASPS FRANTICALLY) We can go with you and help you find the way to the island of Sonar! - And then we'll all get lost, Merlin. - Oh. - Or you could always stay here with us, Thomas, - instead of going home. - Thanks, Theo. Thanks, all of you. But I'll be all right. I'll find my way home... somehow. (BLOWS WHISTLE) - Bye, Thomas. - Good luck. - Thomas headed back along the branch line again, trying to remember the route he'd taken before. - Hmm. This looks familiar. Oh, I think I recognise this place! It looks like that canal I saw. Yes, it is. Oh, but there's that silly crane. I really don't want you to stop me again. - Oh, no, you don't! - (CHUCKLES) - Hey! You won't get past so easily this time! What are you doing?! Stop that! Let go of me! - Hello again, Thomas. Last time we met, you played a cheeky trick on me and ran away, just as we were getting to know each other too. That wasn't a very nice way to end our conversation. - Picking up engines with your hook is not a very nice way to start the conversation either! Put me down,... please. - And if I do put you down, then what will you do, hm? Run away again? No doubt. And I'll be left all on my own again with nobody to talk to. Now, why don't you tell me all about your adventures? My name's Beresford. We could be friends. - Look, I'm sorry I tricked you last time, Beresford, but you can't just make somebody be your friend by making them stay with you. You have to be nice to them so they want to be your friend. Now put me down. - (LATCH RELEASES, WHIRRS) - Whoa! (SCREAMS) Ah! (TENSE MUSIC) - (WHISTLE BLOWS) - Hurricane! Pick me up, Beresford! You have to hide me! - Put you down, pick you up, hide you ` make your mind up, Thomas. Hide me! Hide me, please. I really need you to ` somewhere I can't be seen from the tracks. Hurry! Whoa! - Not to blow my own trumpet, but, yes, it's true. - James. - I am a particularly useful engine. - Is that right? In fact, back on Sodor, dare I say, I am the Fat Controller's favourite. OK, Thomas. They're all gone. And I did something nice for you, so we can be friends now. What should we talk about? - James! They've got James! - Who's James? - Yes. Who's James? - Merlin! What are you doing here? - I followed you, Thomas. I'm here to look after you and make sure you find your way safely back home. Excellent hiding, by the way. Even I couldn't see you! - But I can't go home now. I have to help my friend James. - Why didn't you say something? I could have stopped them. - Whoa! (SHUDDERS) You have to let me go now, Beresford. James is in trouble. If I hadn't taken his trucks in the first place, he wouldn't even be here. And now Hurricane and Frankie are taking him to the steelworks. I have to rescue him. - Don't you mean we have to rescue him? (BLOWS WHISTLE) (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS) - FRANKIE AND HURRICANE: # This is the hottest place in town. # We'll warm you up when you're feeling down. # We'll make a smile out of every frown. - # Just take a look around at the joy we found! BOTH: # This is the place you can have some fun. # Where you can feel like a number one! Huh? # We've got more sunshine than the sun! - BOTH: # There's a light in our eyes - # ...we s-simply can't` - # ...disguise. # All right, all right, this is all very entertaining, but where's Thomas? - Uh, Thomas? - Who's Thomas? He's a small blue tank engine from the island of Sodor. But I think you already know that, because one of you delivered his trucks,... Hurricane! Oh! That blue tank engine. - He's long gone. - But where did he go? - Anywhere. - Everywhere. I think he wanted to see the world. - Well, I need to find him and bring him back to so. - Of course, he did say he was coming straight back. - He wasn't going off to see the whole world. Just a bit of it. - You might as well wait here for him. (CLANG, STEAM HISSES) - (CHUCKLES) - And make yourself useful. (LAVA BUBBLES) - We have to rescue him?! What do you mean we have to rescue him? - We can't do anything. - But we can try! - We have to try. I don't know what I can do either, Theo. - But James is my friend. - And Thomas is our friend. - And friends help each other. - Ye- Yes, but... - Indeed we do. I certainly think so. The most excitement I've had in... - (BELL RINGS) - ...forever! (BLOWS WHISTLE) (INTRIGUING MUSIC) - So, how are we going to rescue Thomas' friend? We need a plan. - Thomas broke the gates open before. That's the ticket! We could do the same thing. - Yeah, or, and just hear me out, we could leave the gates where they are. - Ooh, I can use the powers of stealth to sneak in and rescue James. Nobody will see me. Invisibility, on! - Or... why don't Theo and Lexi create a diversion? They can pretend to have an accident and call for help, and while the gates are open, I can rush in and rescue James. - But what am I going to do? - You'll have to stay back here and keep watch, Merlin! Keeping watch is the most important job of all. - Oh, yes. - Can I stay back here too and just watch? - No, Theo! You and Lexi need to create a conversion. I'm the one who's going to keep watch. - Come on, Theo. - (GROANS) - Don't worry, Thomas, those two are bound to be a little nervous. They are not as used to having adventures as we are. - I think I can't, I think I can't. I know I can't! Whoa! - Speed up, Theo. Move along, move along. - You need to go fast! - Ah! - Now, Theo! Stop! - (GRUNTS) - (BRAKES SCREECH) (CRASH!) - What was that? - I don't know. - LEXI: Help! Help! There's been a derailment. Engine off the line! Emergency! Emergency! (TENSE MUSIC) (CHUGGING) (TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES) - QUIETLY: James? James? James, where are you? - Oh, no! What's happened? Has someone fallen to pieces? - Have you had an accident? You look kind of messed up. Like, your pistons are all in the wrong places. - Hm. I'm confused. I thought somebody said there had been a derailment. - (CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY) - This is taking too long. T-Thomas should have been out by now. I hope nothing's happened to him. (GASPS) What if he needs my help? - Invisibility, on! - (STEAM HISSES) - Oh, well, there was a kind of derailment. - (GASPS QUIETLY, WHISPERS) Lexi. A bit of an accident, came off the rails. Whoopsie! AUSTRALIAN ACCENT: He fell right over. - Lexi! Merlin?! Wait a minute, where's he going? Whoa, stop! - (GASPS, SHUDDERS) (TENSE MUSIC) (SIGHS) All this soot, ash and heat will positively ruin my paintwork! This is a horrible job for an engine like... - WHISPERS: James. - James! - Oh, so there you are! What do you think you've been playing at? - WHISPERS: James, keep your voice down. - First you take my trucks to the mainland,... - I'll explain later, James. We really need to go. - Oh, I'm more than ready to go. - James! - In fact, I'd already decided that I was just going to do this one job. - It doesn't work like that, James. Frankie and Hurricane won't let you leave! - Thomas, you need to hurry! They're coming back! They're coming back! - Thomas! - They're back. Quick, James, we've got to get out of here now! Go! - FRANKIE: Stop! You can't leave us on our own! - Ah! No! - Look out! - Take the tracks that go around the building, James. - Ahh! Whoa! Oh! (CHUGGING) (HURRICANE SNICKERS) - We can't just let you leave. - You're our favourite new engine! - Leave me alone! - Ugh! (GROANS) (WHIMPERS, PANTS) - Come out, come out, wherever you are! - Found you! - (GULPS) Oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa! - (GRUNTS) - Whoa! - No! - (LAUGHS) Yes! Whoa! - Oh no, you don't! - What? - Go, James, go! (GASPS) (TENSE MUSIC) (LEVER CLICKS, ELECTRICITY BUZZES) Oh! Whoa! - (JAMES WARBLES, SCREAMS) - Run away, scram, skedaddle! (TRIUMPHANT MUSIC) - (CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY) - THOMAS: Help! Help! Whoa! Ah! Oh no! - Don't worry! I'll get you down, Thomas! No! (ZAP!) (SCREAMS) Ah! Whoa! Wah! Ah! (SHOUTS) Ah! No! - Thomas, look out! Ah! - Help! My front wheels! I'm melting! I'm melting! (GASPS) Oh, Hurricane! What should I do? - Anything! - Whoo-hoo! - (ALL CHEER) - Aw! Hurricane can't make deliveries with melted wheels! And now you're all going to go away and leave us on our own with no help at all! - It serves you right after all the things you've done to Thomas. LEXI: Aye! Keepin' him here when he wanted to go home and trying to trick his friend! But... But... (CRIES) - Frankie, are you all right? - We only wanted some help. There's too much work for just the two of us. - But why didn't you ask for help? - Nobody wants to work here. All the other engines are too busy to help us. - Don't cry, Frankie. Maybe some engines aren't as busy as you think. What? What do you mean? - (GASPS) Us? - I don't think so. Nope! Nope, nope, no siree. We're really useless engines. - Useless? You're not useless. No engine is useless. Didn't you just help me rescue James? Think positively, Lexi. Ask yourself, what can you do? - You mean... anything? - No, err, we can't do anything. - But we can try! - So Thomas and James headed back to Sodor together. - I'm sorry I took your trucks, James. I know you wanted to be the one to bring them to the mainland. - And I'm sorry about teasing you. I'm not really anyone's favourite engine. If anyone's the favourite, Thomas, it's probably you. - Don't be silly, James. # Nobody has to be the favourite. # It's not a competition in the end. # It doesn't matter if you prove that you're the very best, # but what will happen when you put your friendship to the test? # Never mind about who is the favourite! # The most important things is being friends. - BOTH: # The most important thing is being friends. # (HAPPY MUSIC) ALL: # Everybody can help! # Everybody join in! # When everybody has a part to play,... # ...then everybody can win! # Everybody can help! # Red, green, yellow or blue! # When you're ready to try # you'll find out what you can do! - THOMAS, JAMES AND BERESFORD: # Everybody can help! # What I'm saying is true! # When you give it a try # you'll find out what you can do! - THOMAS AND JAMES: # Nobody has to be the favourite. # It's not a competition in the end # It doesn't matter if you prove # that you're the very best, # but what will happen when you # put your friendship to the test! - THOMAS, JAMES, TREVOR: # Never mind about who is the favourite, # the most important thing is being friends. # Nobody has to be the favourite. - # Everybody can help! # It's not a competition in the end. - # Everybody join in! # It doesn't matter if you prove # that you're the very best,... - # Everybody can win! # ...but what will happen when you Put your friendship to the test! # Never mind about who is the favourite! # The most important thing is being friends! # The most important thing is being friends! # What did I miss? Captions by Starsha Samarasinghe. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2020