Rating: 
Summary: Truly a Magic Railroad
Review: My son is a train fanatic. He used to watch Thomas on TV all the time. I bought this video for him and he loves it. We have had it for two days and he has probably watched it 6 times (he is watching it now). His sister, who is 4years old also loves it. I have watched it with them. It was nice to finally explain how Shining Time Station fits in with The Island of Sodor. The special effects were age appropriate. The story was suspenseful, a little scary (kid sized), and also quite comedic at times. Alec Baldwin led a fine group of actors who took this children story seriously enough to make it enjoyable for the adults too. I did not care for the performance of Peter Fonda, but he is easy to ignore. I would recommend this video to any parent with a child who loves Thomas. The Magic is There!
Rating: 
Summary: Great for Thomas fans only
Review: I just purchased this video for my son's 3rd B-day as he is a Thomas junkie. He absolutely loves it. It has been the number one request for the last month. He really enjoys acting out the scenes from the movie with his trains. However, I wouldn't recommend it for older children unless they are Thomas fans. The plot is pretty bad with very choppy story telling. The acting is even worse. I've watched is quite a few times with him and I can't help feeling that they just didn't even bother trying to write a coherent script. I keep picturing the writers going "ah, it's for a bunch of kids, who cares". So, definately buy it for your Thomas fans but not as an introduction to Thomas for an older child. Thomas the Tank Engine is an absolutely wonderful world for children to play and learn in, I would hate to turn a discriminating child off by watching this first.
Rating: 
Summary: My Kids Love This Movie
Review: This story takes place in the perfect little town, Shining Time, where everyone apparently sits around at the train station with nothing to do; and the Island of Sodor, which is populated only by trains (which leaves me wondering, why the need for passenger cars) and Sir Topham Hat, the cranky railway controller. Mr. C is a tiny little guy who magically pops in and out using gold dust. Gold dust is the only way to travel to the Island of Sodor and it's running out. And to make things worse a nasty Diesel engine is running amok threatening the steam engines. Hence the plot of this movie.I have to agree with almost all of the other reviews-- for the most part the acting stinks, but my kids love it. They want to watch it nearly every day. They love to watch the "choo-choo's". Because of that I gave it 4 stars. From an adult perspective I would give it 2 stars, only because of Alec Baldwin. If it weren't for Baldwin this movie would have nothing for the adults to watch. He is absolutely hillarious as Mr. Conductor. He plays the part perfectly. The only other good acting comes from C Jr., Mr. C's nephew (don't know his real name), who plays a funny British surfer-dude. On the other hand Peter Fonda's acting is so bad, it would be funny if he weren't so annoying. He plays Burnett Stone, a sad-sack old recluse who never comes down from the mountain and now I see why. If he did come down he would be pelted with rocks. This movie is full of stupid dialog and situations. One of the more stupid moments in this movie: A girl asking a stray dog what train to get on and where to get off. The most stupid lines: Native-American: "Does Burnett Stone ever give you a smile?" Patch: "No, but he doesn't frighten my horse either. Which means I don't think he's a bad man."
Rating: 
Summary: 3 year old loves it. Adults disappointed and confused.
Review: Our 3yr old boy loves Thomas. We have all the videos and trains, etc. He wants to watch this thing every day. He repeats lines from the movie and acts them out all day. It was great for him. We took him to the movies to see it together. He loved that, too. For him, we would do it all again in a minute. As parents, we could have done without the "mean-ness" of Diesel #10 and the fact that he wants to "dominate and destroy". He also uses the word "stupid" several times. Not nice. As adult movie critics, we saw laughably poor acting (with the exception of "Mr. Conductor" and "Junior". (Notice that even some of the 5-star reviewers agree.) Britt Alcroft directed and wrote it, and it is obvious that she should have asked for help from someone who knew what they were doing. If you pay attention, expect to be confused. We expected more because we actually enjoy watching all of the other videos, and they are really well done.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Story
Review: I am looking forward to buying this movie. I went to see it at the theater the first day it came out and loved it. My sons (6 and 3 )loved it too. We have ALL the Thomas videos and a couple of the Shining Time Station videos also. Anyone who enjoys the other Thomas and Shining Time Station stories should find this one very intertaining. I read in some of the review on this site that the plot was confusing,but I didn't find the plot confusing at all and neither did my six or three year old. Anyone who has ever watched Shining Time Station on TV knows that Mr. Conductor lives between two worlds , Shining Time Station and the Island of Sodor , and travels back and forth between the two worlds. This story is based on that series. My sons love acting out the story on their Thomas train table at home, especially the part at the end with Deisel 10 on the bridge (crashes are their favorite part in all Thomas videos, I still think that the Flying Kipper(sp?) crash was the all time best one). My three year old still remembers many of the lines from the movie and says them when playing on his train table - It's really cute.
Rating:
Summary: Mara wilson. 4th may 2004.
Review: By looking on the advertisements, it looked fairly good. Mostly wanted it cos mara wilson was in it, i like her films, she is a good actress. I don't think it is amusing for any older kid, after watching it myself i know that older kids might get a bit bored of it. Not just for those who just like thomas the tank engine, it is kind of an adventure too. People who don't like thomas might absolutely hate this film, for me there is too much talking trains and it is great for an ill kid,especcially young ones.
Rating:
Summary: Dull for a Thomas-loving toddler
Review: I purchased this DVD through Amazon.com in preparation for a trip I recently took with my 2 1/2 year old. He loves Thomas and I thought he'd like this video. I had read that purist Thomas fans didn't care for it, but since we don't have any of the regular videos, I figured it would be okay. What I didn't realize is that there are relatively few scenes of the trains in this video, and my son found the extended dialog between the "real" people to be completely uninteresting. He would actually walk away from the TV, he was so bored. As an adult, I found the plot to be overly complicated with too many sub elements. The boy and girl characters appear to have been shoe-horned in for a little human interest, but are tedious to watch. Alec Baldwin provides a perfomance that is so bad, I couldn't look at the screen. Peter Fonda didn't do so well either. This video may entertain an older child, but I highly suggest renting it or checkign it out from the library before purchasing it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent adventure for young Thomas fans
Review: My 3 1/2 year old son has been very excited to see this movie since he began getting into Thomas and Shining Time. We rented it and watched it several times over the weekend. He loved it! I think parents should keep in mind that it's obviously meant for very small children . . . Peter Fonda acts the way he does so young children can understand him! Also, the story does a great job tying together Shining Time Station with the Island of Sodor; it's been years since the TV show was actually produced. For all the people who ask why Diesel 10 is "mean"; the Diesel characters have been featured on a number of the Thomas videos, and they've always been mean! Look at the number of reviews here where parents say they didn't like it but their kids loved it . . . well, who's it supposed to be for?
Rating:
Summary: Thomas the Magic Railroad wasn't so magical after all.
Review: After reading the previous reviews about the film and comtemplating on the opinions. I realized that this film doesn't have the Thomas spirit. I'm 16 years old and I have watched numerous videos of Thomas in my young childhood and like to rejoice on the great memories that I have had with Thomas. When the movie was released, I watched it at home and I wasn't all that impressed. The basic storyline was pretty well thought out but it didn't seem like a regular Thomas storyline. Some of the children nowadays would think it is boring and simply terrifying with the exception of Diesel 10. The majority of the children have watched the show and videos and learned that Thomas is a innocent, friendly, and a hard worker. When you put a evil train into the mix, it doesn't seem right. The original Diesel used to cause trouble out in the yards etc., but this one didn't fit. Overall the storyline isn't all that bad, but the they could have had better acting and more train scenes instead of the humans. I mean it is Thomas's movie. But in conclusion, they didn't ruin the Thomas series, it just put a little confusion in the likes of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Should be zero stars
Review: Honest - I think this may be the worst movie I've ever seen. I agree with the previous reviewer: kids who are young enough to be interested in Thomas won't sit still for the live-action scenes. And an adult who doesn't mind watching a typical Thomas video with a child will find this movie just excruciating. The "plot" is extremely tedious, and the acting is just plain awful. I have no idea why Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda took these roles unless (1) they never read the script or (2) somebody backed a truckload of money up to their door. I would have rated it a zero if I could. Just plain bad. Don't waste your money.
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