Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Rating:
Summary: 3 y.o twins love it - but are now saying "GET OUTTA MY WAY!"
Review: It is definitely for the under 5 crowd, and they will sit through this unlike many other movies. It captivates them, and I can handle watching it, but the boys did learn the "GET OUTTA MY WAY!" phrase from Deisel 10 and I am not thrilled about that. Especially when repeated in the preschool yard!

Rating:
Summary: My four-year-old LOVES this movie
Review: My son, age 4, is also sort of obsessed with trains. He LOVES Thomas, but also loves those long, boring documentary-type videos that just show train after train after train... And so he's willing to sit through a lot of dialog just to get to the next train. When we rented this movie, he watched it NINE times in the three days we had it, and cried his heart out when we had to return it (that's why we've now bought it...)

If your child needs more stimulation and is really looking for a movie that just focuses on the trains alone, this one probably isn't the one for you. But if he/she is older, or can focus on a little more intricate story line, give this one a try. This is one of those movies that just really works for some kids, and really doesn't for others. If you don't want to shell out the ten bucks or so and take a chance, then I recommend renting it at your local video store first, and then you'll know if it's worth the investment.

Rating:
Summary: The trains were cute but this movie's awful
Review: For some reason I can't fathom my daughters love this movie, but sitting through it is painful. The little boy in the movie should consider another career, and Peter Fonda is more wooden than the trains (although if you're in the right mood his performance is almost funny, but mostly it's just painful). Alex Baldwin tried, but the script and the direction kept this movie from being anything more than dismal. The Thomas series is much more entertaining and well-written. Do yourself a favor and don't spend money on this dog.

Rating:
Summary: If your child loves Thomas...
Review: ...then there's a good chance they will love this movie. My daughter is 2 1/2 and LOVES this movie. She knows many of the parts by heart. Many other reviews state the poor acting but this is a kids video. Some of the lines (and acting) are corny, but my daughter loves those scenes. I can't tell you how many times we have watched it. I still enjoy watching it with my child. It is a great children's video and I would buy it as a gift for other Thomas fans. Because of this video we bought the wooden railroad with the characters from the movie including Lady, Diesel/Pinchy, Thomas, James, etc. She now watches the movie and acts it out with her toys. FUN, FUN, FUN!

Rating:
Summary: My Thomas FANatic Loves This Movie
Review: I have to admit that I held off buying this movie for my son simply because the reviews have been so bad, but I ultimately broke down and purchased it last week. My 3.5 year old Thomas fan loves it (I on the otherhand think it's not so great, but it's not for me right).

After watching the standard Thomas DVD's (over and over again) I think he mostly enjoys the fact that Thomas and his friends are interacting with real people. There are real people riding in the trains and real people on the Island of Sodor which is a welcome change to the wooden ones whose mouths don't move :) It is also neat to see a lot of different trains and hear them talking (Toby, Annie and Clarabel all talk for instance) which never happens in the regular DVD's.

I will admit that the only thing worse than the story (which is totally confusing) is the acting. Peter Fonda is so bad you will actually laugh out loud. But in the end it is the trains that are the real stars of this movie and if you have a Thomas fan in the house - you won't regret spending the $9.99 (less than the price of one train) to add this one to your DVD collection.

Rating:
Summary: 2-Year-Old is Unimpressed
Review: My son, who is almost three, is the quintissential Thomas fan. He watches the videos over and over, quotes dialogue, acts out the stories, and I've lost count of how many Thomas engines and accessories he has.

He can't stand this movie!

He was first introduced to Thomas by a promo for this movie on one of his Bear in the Big Blue House videos. He was so fascinated by Thomas that he'd watch the Bear movie just to see the promo. We bought him a couple of Thomas videos, and he was hooked. When he finally got the Thomas Movie on a special occasion, he was thrilled -- until he actually watched it. It's nothing like his "Thomas & Friends" videos.

And that's the problem -- this isn't really a "Thomas" movie at all; it's a "Shining Time Station Movie." And since my son has never seen "Shining Time Station" (he was born well after PBS dropped the show) he has no idea who "Mr. Conductor" is, or "Stacey Jones" -- and he's never seen live actors interact with the engines on the Island of Sodor! He watched it once; he still has it, but he's not at all interested in seeing it again. He seems to find it disturbing...

If your child remembers Shining Time Station, he (or she) will probably like this movie. But then again, if your kid remembers Shining Time Station, he (or she) is probably too old for Thomas. It probably won't appeal to kids who have only been exposed to the Thomas & Friends videos.

Maybe that's why it's selling (or not) for less than $10. Unfortunately, Amazon's review system won't let me give it less than one star.

Rating:
Summary: Writers were on drugs
Review: Try not to expose your children to one of the worst written children's movies of all-time. The people involved in this production somehow got decent actors, but spent no money on the script. It's all over the map, makes no sense at all and is painful even for children to watch. My son loves Thomas, but could not follow this. There are plenty of other Thomas stories that actually have a coherent narrative. Choose any of those instead of this train wreck.

Rating:
Summary: A child's perspective
Review: I have to agree with all the other reviewers that this is a child's movie and my 2 1/2 year old loves it. We rented it, and my son was beside himself when we took it back. He perfers to watch this instead of the other shows. He loves the singing and he loves D-10, he yells "he is bad" he is not afraid of him, he laughs at him. I happen to think that Alec does a great job and it is a cute fantasy movie. You have to think outside the box. Our family is huge fans, and I am glad this movie is available and I would love to see them do another.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding film!
Review: Our kids love this one, can't see it enough! And it actually has plot, a star cast, and excellent special effects!

Rating:
Summary: This is the best movie for Toddlers and Preschool
Review: After reading all of the bad reviews for this movie, I almost didn't buy it. I sure am glad that I did because this is a really cute movie!! I truely enjoyed watching this with my son. It is a wonderful movie for young children!! Other reviewers have gone on and on about how terrible Peter Fonda's acting is. To me, I don't see what the big deal is, he is not seen in that much of the movie until the end. And as another reviewer pointed out this is a child's movie. Kids don't care how well he acts... They are only watching to see the trains.

As for Diesel 10, when he first appeared in the movie my 3 year old (only been 3 a couple of weeks)laughed. He did not seem bothered at all until the end when Diesel is chasing Thomas and Lady. Even then, all he did was scream go faster Thomas. So unless you have a really sensitive child, I think that most little ones can tolerate him. Let's face it, there are much worse and scarier villians in other children's programs than Diesel 10.

Several reviews said the plot doesn't make sense or it is all over the place. I just have to plain disagree. It made perfect sense to me. I did not find myself lost as to what was going on at any time during this movie. It does not have your typical Thomas plots that teach a moral lesson with little 4 or 5 minute segments. However, there are plenty lessons to be learned throughout the course of the movie, such as have courage, good triumphs over evil, don't give up...etc... So I am not sure why so many had such negative things to say about "the moral lessons".

I am accustomed to watching movies repeatedly with my son, and I must say that I believe this one will be easier to sit through than some of the others that I have suffered through over and over!! Buy this because it is worth every penny.