New Thomas and Friends?!

Just to answer LGBMATT question.

Hit Entertainment made the announcement many month ago and the news was printed in UK Newspapers. "Thomas Moves to Canada" I think was the title so you can look it up.
One had a small blury picture of what might be full CGI Thomas.

Basically the whole production has changed over to CGI/3D, animation are to be done by Nitrogen Studio.
And both the US and UK will have the same Narrator Pierce Brosnan.

Mstnoodle
 
LGBMATT said:
I liked the old times when it was the original Thomas and Friends when it was still called Shining Time Station. And they had Mr. Conductor(Ringo Starr/George Carlin) who was the narrator. I think I still have the VHS of the Shining Time Station Christmas version when Ringo Starr was the narrator. I should make a youtube vid honoring the old Thomas and Friends. LOL

Matt
Click to expand...

Original? Maybe in the US... :)

In Aus/UK we just had straight 'Thomas the Tank Engine'. When Thomas and the Magic Railroad came out, very few had seen the 'Shining Time Station' series, and hence were a little lost over the whole 'real location' parts of the story. Well, I know I was very lost at how a UK railway was related to a US station/railway... We just enjoyed watching Thomas without any 'real' people :)

but I have to agree, it's really sad that Thomas is going CGI. Just completely loses the whole basis for the show, the imagination part!
Zec
 
S301 said:
Original? Maybe in the US... :)

In Aus/UK we just had straight 'Thomas the Tank Engine'. When Thomas and the Magic Railroad came out, very few had seen the 'Shining Time Station' series, and hence were a little lost over the whole 'real location' parts of the story. Well, I know I was very lost at how a UK railway was related to a US station/railway... We just enjoyed watching Thomas without any 'real' people :)

but I have to agree, it's really sad that Thomas is going CGI. Just completely loses the whole basis for the show, the imagination part!
Zec
Click to expand...
That thomas goes completely to CGI. wel I have one reason for that Money! they want to save them selfs money (I mean if they want an new engine it costs money but if it is on the computer it ain't)
 
jordynator said:
That thomas goes completely to CGI. wel I have one reason for that Money! they want to save them selfs money (I mean if they want an new engine it costs money but if it is on the computer it ain't)
Click to expand...

If they want a new engine for the CGI it also costs money. 3D artists don't come cheap! :) There will be many hours of work involved in making the 3D models shown in the CGI show. Granted, they can be re-used a fair bit, which is where the saving will be. But, to get it started, it will be extremely expensive. In a sense, way more expensive than starting with a model railway.

Zec
 
I don't know how true what I say next will be, but I think at the time Britt Allcroft created Shining Time Station in order to help appeal the series to the US. Would American kids be interested about a show about British steam engines?

Well I know the answer is yes, but maybe at the time it was a risky operation.

Just as a side note, the way I see the 'Magic Railroad', it's really a portal shortcut from the USA to the UK. (If you can call Sodor part of the UK that is)


The main reason for the move to CGI is to provide more variety to the show.
And to cut costs in props and sets and time to construct item.

Let's face it, it is easier to open a file of say Tidmouth Sheds in CGI then trying to reconstruct the set every time they need it.

We all know that the TV series start off building a set, film the scenes needed, and then tear it down to build another needed set.

With now, as far as I know, they mostly have one of each of the engines and such.
Where as with CGI, they can animate Thomas and his friends in way more scenes at the same time.

There is also the advantage of easily redoing scenes in CGI.
The Thomas team must take ages rebuilding set to do all those crashes, and repairing the models to. Since the models do take quite a lot of 'abbuse'.
Which adds to the time when they had to do the scene again if something went wrong.

But even though I'm saying all these main wonderful advantages,

I for one still wish they could have keep using the models just for a little longer as 2009 is roughtly 25 years since the first TV series episode, and it would have been nice to show that even 25 years, they can still use models and not high tech CGI to create the stories.

Mstnoodle
 
Mstnoodle said:
I don't know how true what I say next will be, but I think at the time Britt Allcroft created Shining Time Station in order to help appeal the series to the US. Would American kids be interested about a show about British steam engines?

Well I know the answer is yes, but maybe at the time it was a risky operation.

Just as a side note, the way I see the 'Magic Railroad', it's really a portal shortcut from the USA to the UK. (If you can call Sodor part of the UK that is)


The main reason for the move to CGI is to provide more variety to the show.
And to cut costs in props and sets and time to construct item.

Let's face it, it is easier to open a file of say Tidmouth Sheds in CGI then trying to reconstruct the set every time they need it.

We all know that the TV series start off building a set, film the scenes needed, and then tear it down to build another needed set.

With now, as far as I know, they mostly have one of each of the engines and such.
Where as with CGI, they can animate Thomas and his friends in way more scenes at the same time.

There is also the advantage of easily redoing scenes in CGI.
The Thomas team must take ages rebuilding set to do all those crashes, and repairing the models to. Since the models do take quite a lot of 'abbuse'.
Which adds to the time when they had to do the scene again if something went wrong.

But even though I'm saying all these main wonderful advantages,

I for one still wish they could have keep using the models just for a little longer as 2009 is roughtly 25 years since the first TV series episode, and it would have been nice to show that even 25 years, they can still use models and not high tech CGI to create the stories.

Mstnoodle
Click to expand...

If I remember right They don't deconstruct the layout every time. They just roll it away and bring in the next. What is costy is their idea to make new areas for Thomas. The more new areas on the island they make the more they have to pay to build it. If they just stopped and stuck with what the have now they could do a lot.

Imagination? I've already noticed a decline in imagination in the new generation. With Thomas going CGI it doesn't help slow the decline anymore.
 
LGBMATT said:
~skip

@Pic: I got from my agriculture classroom last year. It is one of the few quotes I can remember, and it really says something. (Although I need to work on following it:hehe: .) Why do you ask?

Matt
Click to expand...

I ask because I think that that quote is a very good one. If more people followed those words we wouldn't live in such a terrible world. And maybe people would have more respect for each other. Just my thought.

Pic
 
K4driver said:
The rev is rolling in his grave. This is disgusting on so many levels. Bring back the crashes and make it watchable for ANY age. I am 16 and still will watch the old episodes like The ghost train. but these epi's are so juevinile. The one good thing is they added an american style Locomotive to teh cast.
Click to expand...

What? They don't crash anymore? I like the new engines they've introduced, but I wish they'd go back and have more episodes based on the stories the reverend made that haven't gotten the treatment yet(and fit the new characters into them as well as ones he created).

It's going entirely to CG? I guess that's ok, but what will happen to the models? I do hope the Awry family will preserve them or something. I assume the models will be used as the basis for the CG ones.
 
I'm going to miss those old little r/c models that looked so real not some computer animated stuff. were going to miss all the models that were made by hand and looked so realistic. bye old thomas:'(
 
I'm 16 and still watch Thomas, which contributed to my love of trains. Although I still think when the little kids start to sing in the background is creepy.xD But still a good show R.I.P.
 
They better make it worth it!

First of all, the video on youtube is banned because of a copyright claim.

I hope they put work into it, so it at least reaches Trainz minimum standard of graphics, and they shouldn't remake the landscape, except henry's tunnel which would look better as a double track.

They also shouldn't make them look like plush toys you get from Macdonald's happy meals.
 
Last edited:
Re Thomas the Tank Engine.

Everything has it's place. Thomas the Tank Engine was designed and conceived as a basis for a childrens mythical story.
I fail to see any connection with 'Thomas the Tank Engine' and anything to do with the world of railways, past or present.:o
 
Yeah,

I really hate the new Thomas And Friends for two reasons:

1: the voices are different:'(

2: all the mouths move (and it looks creepy):eek:

P.S. I omly have one comment:

1: after all those freak'n years they finally show an American engine!
 
Last edited:
knil2gni said:
Everything has it's place. Thomas the Tank Engine was designed and conceived as a basis for a childrens' mythical story.
I fail to see any connection with 'Thomas the Tank Engine' and anything to do with the world of railways, past or present.:o
Click to expand...

TTTE used to be completely based on real stories, and the engines all used to be real locos with faces and different names. All the original stories are true, but parents started to complain about crashes and stuff like that, so they're now all thinly disguised moral stories.:'(:'(
 
i hate the new thomas they ruwin a great show by getting rid of the rws stories and putting there own stupid stories with stupid morrels. they put it in stupid cgi which looks terrible:n: .
they also got rid of all the sets from series 1-4.
But worst of all they hire some people to make new stupid themes for the engines. you remember the really great themes from season 1-5.
hit have trashed the rev's & chris' great stories.

DOWN WITH HIT!!!!!!!:D
 
i really miss the old thomas being a huge thomas fan myself allso thoes cgi faces are an insult to the real locos the engines are based on i mean who wants to see a class 08 with an animated pair of lips?

all i can really say is hit is a big fat ugly s**t

sorry for the rather rude remark :hehe:
 
LGBMATT said:
Yes I liked Ringo Starr as the narrator. You are very true. And George Carlin.

@Pic: I got from my agriculture classroom last year. It is one of the few quotes I can remember, and it really says something. (Although I need to work on following it:hehe: .) Why do you ask?

Matt
Click to expand...


I agree with every word.
 
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