Rating: 
Summary: Hello! It's for young kids!
Review: First of all, most of you people are reviewing this movie as if it meant something to you as an adult. This movie is for kids under 5, end of story. Yes, it has a corny story, but kids that young don't care. My 2 1/2 year old son loves Thomas and had a few other videos before this. He has Diesel, but never played with him until seeing this movie. Now he loves Diesel. He knows he's bad, but now he can add another dimension to his playing with his other trains. He will sit through the whole 80 minutes and then want to watch it again. As with other reviewers saying their 5 yr old cried and was scared when he saw Diesel, I don't know what to tell you. The only time my 2 1/2 yr old cries during this movie is when it ends and I won't let him immediately watch it again in the same sitting. I gave the DVD 4 stars because it lacks any bonus material or games that the other Thomas videos have, but then again, it is a theatrical movie and should be treated as such. Besides, I only spent $8 at Toys 'R Us so it was worth my money since my child loves it and it keeps his interest. Let's not forget this movie is a young kids movie made for young kids. If you're an adult watching this without a kid, for your own enjoyment, then there's something wrong with you.
Rating: 
Summary: A Train Wreck of a Film
Review: My son was very excited at the prospect of this film when it came out in theatres. He was about five years old and had to be carried screaming from the theatre when the evil diesel made its appearance. I am sorry to say that in typical boy fashion, he recently decided he had to prove he was not afraid of Diesel and asked me to get this for him. I did, and now I feel like I should be carried screaming from the room. The plot, such as it is, is incoherent and completely contrary to the purpose of the original Thomas stories, which were all about hard work, determination, teamwork and honesty. Very bland unmagical Anglo-Saxon qualities, but good ones to have and good ones to teach to your children. This movie, on the other hand, seems to have nothing to do with those corny virtues and everything to do with the Conductor's quest for some sort of magic gold dust. The acting is leaden, but I don't know that the actors themselves are to blame. I'm sure they were all expecting a better script. Honestly this film seems to have more in common with The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" than it does with any of the previous Thomas stories. It's sloppy, disjointed, with all sorts of weird hallucinogenic touches, like the conductor talking into a phone made of flowers. The story also seems to make my son very hyper (something the original Thomas stories never did) -- he even seems to have more trouble sleeping if he watches it. I'm sorry I let him have it, plan to "lose" it as soon as possible, and only wish he still had the good taste he had when he was five and hated the thing!!!
Rating: 
Summary: My son loves this movie but I don't!
Review: My son loves the movie, but I can't stand it. Movie is 90min long- it's the perfect movie length for when your child gets up at 5:30am on a Saturday morning and the parent need some extra sleep. It's also nice to have a full length movie about Thomas as a change from the shorter Thomas stories. As an adult watching the movie, the acting is HORRIBLE! It's painful to watch at times- I really wish they had spent a little more time/money on the film- it could have been great. Additionally, this was the first exposure my son (3yo) had to a villian (Diesel10)- he was frightened the first time we watched it- if I had known that the movie was going to frighten him, I would have better prepared him for it. I have also noticed behavorial changes with my very laid back son after he has watched the movie. He becomes aggressive/angry when he plays with his trains (like how Diesel10 is in the movie)compared to how he plays with the trains when he hasn't seen the movie for some time. So even though my son does love this movie, and asks for it often, I very rarely permit him to watch it. I don't like the change in his behavior after the movie. I think an older child would really like the movie, and I'm sure my son will still love the movie a few years from now.
Rating:
Summary: My 3 year old son loves it
Review: My 3 year old son is a huge Thomas fan and he's absolutely addicted to this dvd. We've had it for several months now and he's probably watched it over 20 times. That of course means I had to watch it many times over as well. It's actually not a bad movie, even though I've seen it a ton of times I still enjoy it (I'm 30 years old). My only big complaint is the acting is absolutely horrible. Kids probably don't care, but it bothers me some. The actors could at least act like they are into it. The worst offender is Peter Fonda - its like he's reading all his lines off cue cards.
I've seen some reviews saying their child was traumatized by Diesel 10. My son had the opposite reaction. He now runs around the house chasing me screaming "Diesel 10", using his hand as pinchy. Pretty funny. He tries to push me off the couch onto the carpet saying he's pushing me in the water like Diesel 10 does in the movie.
Highly recommended for any child that is into Thomas. Even grownups can have a little fun with it to.
Rating:
Summary: I don't think I would like to be involved in this.
Review: I don't think I like the direction children's movies are headed nowadays. It seems like everywhere you look, adults are trying to convince kids that anything is possible. You can do anything if you put your mind to it, blah, blah and blah. I wish someone would be honest with kids for a moment and make sure they are fully aware that millions of things absolutely aren't possible, no matter what. For instance, I'm never going to be an underwear model, no matter how many laps I run, or sit-ups I do. Kids need to learn to be disappointed. Kids need to be aware that sometimes, no matter what they do, they're going to fail. Another thing kids need to learn is that if you're a girl, and you grow up to be enormously overweight, no one on Earth wants to see your cellulite-infested, fat ass wearing one of those tiny belly shirts and a pair of hip-hugging jeans. That's another issue altogether though. I'll tackle that one at a later date. Like I was saying, Thomas and the Magic Railroad sends this horrible message to the youth of America. It wrongly tries to teach our children that you can accomplist anything if you simply work hard enough. The next time your kid and his stupid little friend get smashed by a Mack Truck while trying to sprint across a highway interchange in .5 seconds, you can blame it on Thomas and the Magic Railroad. If you hire a talented lawyer, you can also own a majority stake in Anchor Bay Entertainment. After doing many hours of highly train research, I have come to the conclusion that there are exactly 800,000,000 million, quadrillion, zillion, trains in London. Out of this vast number of trains, my studies have shown that approximately zero of them can read English (well, they are making talking trains look entertaining, I find that cool, you know). After diong a few quick calculations, it has come to my attentiont hat there is approximately a negative 345,000,030,000,111,303,030% chance of one train, on Sodor, searching for a magic railroad which is far away. Yet the characters in this movie succeed in doing this failry easily. Is this really the message we want to be sending to our kids? I don't think I want to be involved in this. The people who make Thomas The Tank Engine (The TV show) have finally figured out something the rest of the universe has known for quite some time: Alec Baldwin is a million times coller when you can't see him in all his manly glory. They also cast him perfectly for the role he played. After all, who knows more about trains than Alec? (har har har). Becauase I'm incredibly anal about nearly everything inmy life, (it's nearly impossible for me to concentrate on anything if something is slightly out of place on my desk, whether I'm sitting at it) I had a few other problems with small parts of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Yes, I'm fully aware that it's just a damn cartoon, so just shut up in advance. In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, there is a nasty Diesel named Diesel 10 who wants to destroy the railway. He thinks he won't have enough time by calling his friends Splatter & Dodge but instead calling him Splodge. Uhh, shouldn't that damn thing be lying motionless on the railway? (Do Diesels have claws to make them mean people) What else is there for diesels to harm. They like to tease steam engines. I know it was a joke, and I don't hold it against them but shit like this really bothers me. I'm going to talk to my therapist about upping the dosage of my medication. While Anchor Bay does all right on the Thomas episodes, the way they depict on girls and boys really annoys me. For some reason they all look like very complicated, olive-skinned snowmen. How is it that they can make nearly every other object on Earth look nearly lifelike, but when it comes to making trains, they're more stupider than a 9 year old girl who I like. The characters stick out like a sore thumb gushing unbelievable amounts of blood. Thomas and the Magic Railroad is strictly an average movie that was over-hyped. Thomas was funny in the past.
Rating: 
Summary: Choo-Choo loving 2 Year Old
Review: This movie is really just for toddlers/kids. For an adult to actually try to make any sense out of it or to become involved in the plot or the awful acting, is just ridiculous, although its much more interesting to me than, say, Bob the Builder or Barney. Fortunately for me, my 2-year-old is very active and does not like TV but he loves this movie, it's the longest I have seen him sit still for anything!
Rating:
Summary: Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad
Review: I hate this movie. I really do. My kids love it though, so that's why it gets two stars. This movie makes absolutely no sense to any thinking adult. There are so many errors it's annoying. And the acting...oh, my gosh. If it weren't for Alec Baldwin and the man who plays his nephew, there would be noone in the movie who could act. It's just an all around bad movie that should have gone straight to video. It's not even good enough to be a made for tv movie. But, of course, you kids will love it. And, if you buy it, you will be forced to endure it.s
Rating:
Summary: Thomas did good but they made a lot of mistakes
Review: I thought this movie was pretty good and my sister dubbed it Thomas Square. I still don't know why but I can sit through this one a few times without getting bored. I thought they made a few mistakes in it though. First of all none of the engines have drivers. I know none of the drivers in the story ever had names besides Edward's driver being called Charlie once but Mr Conductor could've called them Sir or Driver or not really address them at all. Second I thought Edward should've been in it. Edward was one of the oringinal engines from the first tape and he could've had a small part. Next I thought it was weird how Thomas would leave Annie and Clarabel in the middle of the line where another engine could run into them. I thought it was neat how each engine had their own individual voices. The acting was good and I was suprised they were able to find the old actors from Shining Time Station. This movie was good and little kids love it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Very Well Done - But I Like it Anyway
Review: There are several moments in this film where the rules of movie craftsmanship are flagrantly violated. But I have to say that this did not detract much from my enjoyment of the film. This is the kind of movie that my kids watch over and over for a week on the VCR while I sort of hover in the background, never really getting to watch the film from beginning to end. I judge these sorts of movies by their ability to engage me without actually involving me to the point where I have to stop doing the dishes. I enjoy trying to figure out what's going on. The rather convoluted (but not at all pointless) plot of this movie was, therefore, an asset in its favor. Similarly, the fact that there isn't enough movie to fill out the plot actually makes the film kind of cryptic and intriguing. And the storyline is fortunately aimed at older children and adults to help them sit through the picture. My fragmented and repetitive viewing style also helps me appreciate some of the isolated great moments in the film, like when Lady emerges from the Magic Railroad. In a sense, I guess I think of the movie as the rehearsal outtakes of a sprawling 5 hour epic that never got made but that would have been great....
Rating:
Summary: Amazing movie, but what's wrong with you people?!
Review: Well I bought this movie, and I showed it to myself and my little 3-year-old. You know what? WE LOVED IT!! And I decided to read what other people thought...and now me and my son wonder why older kids were so scared of this movie. You know, this movie was amazing. Diesel-10 (an English Electric Class 37 & 40 diesel with a claw attatchment) made an excellent villan--easily what you'd expect from a little kid's movie. Real people were in the movie, plus it had a great storyline. So why did people give the movie low ratings? Diesel-10, duh. Their kids were scared at the begining of the movie, where D-10 appears out of nowhere going EXTREMELY fast, and fast stuff is often scary to small kids. 4 new characters are introduced in this movie: Lady (a magic steam engine that creates gold dust) , Diesel 10 (the villian diesel engine with a claw), Splatter and Dodge (Diesel 10's henchmen, and they are extremely lazy). If you find this review useless, good for you.
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