Still have this VHS where it came with the Thomas toy that used to be part of the Subway toy meal collection. The tape is so memorable to me. It got me interested in Magic Stars (which still remain a firm favourite for my tummy :P ). It was just so different from the TV series videos that I had that I knew that I was in for something special. Can remember seeing Thomas's funnel chugging past the screen with the clouds of steam and feeling so happy he was definitely in this and that I wasn't being duped. xD
In all honesty, this is one of my favorite openings to a UK VHS relating to Thomas, because it's different from the ones we've been used to seeing pre-1998.
That is a fair point. It's very unique when compared to other Thomas and Friends releases, probably due to it being a movie rather than for a TV release. Honestly, I was caught off guard when I prepared for this in Video Memories. I completely blanked on a fair number of things in the pre-movie promos. The Big Loader and Magic Stars mostly. I actually forgot the Big Loader was a thing back in the late 90s.
From what I recall, the American VHS had promos for Trumpet of the Swan (never seen), Dragon Tales (used to watch a bit on PBS back in the day), Bear in the Big Blue House (barely watched), Madeline (never saw nor cared to watch), Muppets from Space (can't remember if I ever saw it), Elmo in Grouchland (which I liked, but I thought Follow That Bird was the better Sesame Street movie), Stuart Little (good movie), and an ad for several Thomas books (which was different from the one from 2001, which I believe is more familiar to your average American Thomas fans). The promo, as I recall, had a different voiceover, the dialogue was different, it featured clips from TATMR, and it had the Thomas theme playing in the background. I used to have a Big Loader, but I remember Terence's claw looking a bit weird. If it were being made these days, they'd swap out Terence for Marion, who is a steam shovel with a bucket that can load the coal. As for the movies, I know you have little to no knowledge of them; though I figured the only one you'd probably like is Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, considering you're a fan of Scooby-Doo. I thought it strange that a Scooby-Doo fan hadn't seen this one; perhaps I mistook that for one of the SD movies you already do have (not Cyber Chase, but one of the other ones)
Oddly enough, I don't own Alien Invaders, despite it being probably one of the most popular movies in the series... I think anyway. It does sound right though, for it to appear as a promo, it came out about 3 months after Magic Railroad.
Takes me back. I had this video as a kid and can remember the opening ads like it was yesterday. Can't go wrong with Magic Stars and Big Loader. I had a Thomas & Friends Big Loader too. Magic Railroad may be an acquired taste to put it mildly, but 8-year old me didn't care about it's flaws back in 2000. All that mattered was that Thomas was on the big screen!
It's a movie that you can enjoy as long as you're willing to make fun of the garbage plot. As a kid, you just go with whatever the film throws at you, but when you grow up, you rewatch it and you go "That's a stupid plot choice..."
@@Gondarth Yep, that's it in a nutshell. When you're a kid, all the flaws just go over your head. When you're an adult, the flaws are plain to see. As it is, the film can still be enjoyed when you just want a laugh. The film to it's credit does contain some good laughs. Pretty much any scene with Gordon, Diesel 10, Splatter & Dodge is comedy gold. I can vividly remember seeing the film in the cinema back in 2000. It was on a Friday evening, school seemed to drag on forever but after school I was rewarded by a double does of Thomas & Friends, as my aunt taped a load of series 2 episodes off Nick Jnr which I watched when I got home, then my mom took me to Star City to watch Magic Railroad. Ah, that was a good evening!
I always remembered being scared shitless by the Scooby-Doo teaser on this VHS. I was only four or five at the time and the way everything moved and flashed, and the freaky music…yeah, you can understand why it traumatised me back then. I was always constantly afraid to sleep at night whenever I saw it
Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) (Redub) Cast: Narrated by Josh Gad. Josh Gad as Mr. Conductor, Neil Patrick Harris as Burnett Stone, Cailey Fleming as Lily Stone, David Tennant as Mr. C. Junior, Ian Armitage as Patch, Didi Conn as Stacy Jones, Keegan-Michael Key as Billy Twofeathers, Doug Lennox as P.T. Boomer. (In cameo appearance, via archive footage) Voice Cast: John Hasler as Thomas the Blue Tank Engine, Nigel Pilkington as Percy the Small Green Saddle Tank Engine, Rob Rackstraw as James the Red Mixed-Traffic Tender Engine, Colin Feore as Toby the Brown Steam Tram Engine, Britt Allcroft as Lady the Small Victorian-styled Tank Engine, Teresa Gallagher as Annie & Clarabel, Keith Wickham as Henry the Green Tender Engine, Bertie the Bus and Harold the Helicopter, Kevin Frank as Dodge the Oily Green British Rail Class 08 Diesel Shunter, Neil Crone as Gordon the Blue Express Tender Engine, Diesel 10 the Evil British Rail Class 42 Warship, Splatter the Light Purple British Class 08 Diesel Shunter and a Tumbleweed.
