Considering how brilliant
Journey Beyond Sodor was, I thought I'd tackle last year's Thomas special another time. This time, I have a more interesting view on
The Great Race. Does this special live up to its title?
(Special thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the image)
12. The Great Race.
Written by Andrew Brenner.
Aired: UK: 5 September 2016. AUS: 7 September 2016. US: 13 September 2016.
One day, Thomas is pulling the local train along the Main Line. As he puffs along the line, he hears Gordon behind him. Annie and Clarabel try to tell him not to do anything, but Thomas wants to race Gordon to the next signalbox and picks up speed, flying along the line and making it to the signal first, narrowly winning. When Thomas comes to a stop at Vicarstown, he expresses desire to go along the Vicarstown Bridge and visit the Mainland again, when all of a sudden, he sees an unfamiliar green engine with two tenders backing down on the train beside him. Thomas introduces himself to the new engine and tells him about the time he and the other famous engines of Sodor went back to the Mainland, to which the new engine says that he did not know Sodor had any famous engines; the engine then recognizes Gordon, who begrudgingly introduces Thomas to his brother, the Flying Scotsman. Flying Scotsman tells Gordon that he has been invited to take part in the Great Railway Show on the Mainland and that he will be competing in the race. He explains to a curious Thomas that the Great Railway Show is an event in which engines compete to see who is the fastest, the strongest and whatnot, but he does not know if any Sudrian engines will be going. Thomas wants to go and Flying Scotsman tells him that, with any luck, he might be able to, before departing for the Mainland with his passenger train.
Word of the Great Railway Show soon spreads across the rest of Sodor and all of the engines – large and small - want to go and participate in the events. Thomas especially wants to go, but the bigger engines laugh at him, believing that he is not big enough to compete in the events. The Fat Controller says that he does not know who to take to the show and even when he does choose, most of the engines will still have to do their normal jobs and orders the engines to get back to work. That evening, Thomas grumbles to Percy as he shunts Henry's train, believing that he will be left behind to do shunting while the Great Railway Show is held. Percy tries to compliment Thomas on his knowledge of shunting, but Thomas is still down. Just then, Philip rolls into the yard and tells Thomas that if he wants to go to the show, then he should put his mind to it, just as he had done when he had supposedly beaten Gordon in a race.
The next morning, Thomas is feeling a lot more cheerful and believes that if he is able to go as fast as Flying Scotsman, then he might have a chance of being taken to the show. Just then, Caitlin thunders by, which gives Thomas an idea: if he was streamlined like her, then he could go much faster. Thomas thunders down the line and imagines that he is a streamlined tank engine zooming all over the island, but overshoots the platform at Knapford when he rushes through the station too fast. When Thomas backs into the station, he suggests his streamlining idea to the Fat Controller, who agrees that it is an excellent idea... for Gordon. Thomas is dismayed.
Later that day, Diesel is collecting a large amount of crates from Brendam Docks. When Cranky asks what he plans to do with the crates, Diesel refuses to tell him and leaves. As soon as Diesel leaves, Thomas arrives with a small goods train, disappointed that the Fat Controller did not use his idea for himself, to which Cranky laughs. Just then, a ship docks at the railway dock and from the ship emerge twelve international engines, all of different liveries, designs and nationalities. As they make their way through the docks, the Dock Manager stops them. The international engines are all participating in the Great Railway Show, but the Dock Manager tells them that they are on the wrong island. Realising their mistake, the international engines return to the ferry and Thomas tries to get information out of them until a large American tender engine named Vinnie bumps him out of the way. As the ship sails away, Thomas begs for the engines to take him with them, when just then, the last international engine bumps into Thomas, causing him to hang dangerously over the dock. The workmen chain the engine to Thomas, then the engine pulls Thomas safely onto the rails again. The dockyard engines are relieved, but Thomas is cross and begins to give the engine a piece of his mind for being reckless, but when he sees how beautiful the engine is, he is left speechless. The engine apologises and says that she did not see Thomas behind her and after Salty introduces Thomas to her, she introduces herself as Ashima. Thomas is still cross with Ashima and swiftly leaves the docks.
Later that afternoon, Thomas vents about Ashima to Percy while he shunts trucks in the yard. Thomas believes that Ashima was jealous of him or is a very pushy engine, but Percy asks why she would bother rescuing him in that case. Philip advises Thomas to stay away from Ashima, believing that she is nothing but trouble. However, as Thomas is taking the local train that day, he meets Ashima when he stops to pick up some passengers. Ashima missed the ferry and does not know how to get to the Mainland by rail. Annie and Clarabel both tell her that Thomas wants to go too and that they should go together. Thomas refuses to aid Ashima and leaves, cross that Annie and Clarabel told her that he wanted to go to the show. Annie and Clarabel both tell him it is true and after Thomas asks how Ashima is so special to begin with, both coaches admit to liking her paintwork. This gives Thomas another idea and he thunders along the line. Meanwhile, Ashima is lost and tries to ask an engine how to get to the Mainland, but nobody stops to see her. When Ashima reaches Maron, she finds Annie and Clarabel sitting on a siding. Both coaches tell Ashima that Thomas cancelled their train and left them on the siding, but neither of them know where he went.
Meanwhile, Thomas races into the Steamworks and requests Victor to repaint him for the Great Railway Show. Knowing that the men are busy working on Gordon's streamlined casing, Victor is hesitant, but when Thomas begs him to do it, he reluctantly gives in. Meanwhile, at the Dieselworks, Diesel announces his plan to Den, Dart and Paxton: if he disguises them underneath large crates, then he can add them to a long line of trucks. He would then demonstrate his strength by pulling the trucks, while in reality, Den, Dart and Paxton would be doing most of the work. Diesel believes that his plan will convince the Fat Controller choose him for the strength competition instead of Henry. Once the diesels and the trucks are arranged, they leave on their own leaving Diesel to chase after them.
Back at the Steamworks, Thomas has been set up to be repainted, when suddenly, he sees the Fat Controller arriving to inspect Gordon. Thomas tries to reverse, but he knocks over the paint buckets and brushes, causing the paint to spill all over him and for the Fat Controller to see him. When the Fat Controller approaches him, Thomas suggests that he repaint one of his engines with a new livery for the Best Decorated Engine Parade. The Fat Controller thinks Thomas' idea is brilliant, but tells him to go back to work on his branch line. When Thomas arrives at Maron, Emily and James show up and both engines tell him that they have been selected to be repainted. When Thomas asks where Annie and Clarabel are, Emily tells him that Ashima took them.
Meanwhile, Ashima is taking Thomas' passenger train along his branch line, when Thomas manages to catch up to her at Maithwaite. Thomas berates Ashima for taking his coaches without his permission, but the two coaches scold Thomas crossly for leaving them at Maron without telling them where he went. As Ashima heads back to Knapford, Thomas follows after her and tells her that he was trying to get himself repainted for the Great Railway Show. As the two travel along the branch line, Ashima tells Thomas that every engine she has known are different from each-other in their own unique ways and tells him that he should just be himself. When the two engines reach Knapford, Ashima asks Thomas if he is good at shunting and suggests that he participate in the shunting challenge, which piques his curiosity.
The next morning, Thomas wakes up before the other engines and heads to Knapford to practice his shunting. However, when he arrives at the station yard, Diesel oils into the yard with his train of trucks and the disguised diesels, blocking the junction and preventing any engines from leaving or entering the yard. As Diesel refused to move the trucks, Thomas decides to push the trucks aside so that he can practice his shunting. However, when Thomas blows his whistle, the diesels mistake the sound of his whistle for Diesel's horn and they begin to push him out of the yard. Thomas tries to stop, but the diesels push him out of the yard, causing him to crash into Norman at the junction.
Later that day, the Great Railway Show is due to begin and the Fat Controller has selected the engines that he wants to take to the events. Henry will be competing in the strength competition, Emily and James have been repainted for the best decorated engine parade and Philip is carrying the Sudrian flag. Victor tries to keep Gordon in the Steamworks to undergo his final safety check, but Gordon refuses to stay any longer and emerges from the Steamworks, sporting a new streamlined casing and a shiny silver emblem, telling the other engines that from now on, he will be known as the “Shooting Star."
At the Dieselworks, Diesel berates his lackeys for mistaking Thomas' whistle for his horn. Dart tries to defend himself by claiming that it was hard to hear properly under the crate, but Diesel is not convinced and biffs him against Happy Hook, claiming that if he was under a crate, he could still tell the difference between the two sounds. Suddenly, Happy Hook drops one of the crates on top of Diesel and the diesels laugh. When the turntable lowers down, Diesel is held up in the air by Happy Hook until he is released, dropping onto the rails. Unable to tell where he is going, Diesel rolls out of the Dieselworks and his friends follow after him.
Meanwhile, Sir Topham Hatt tells Thomas that he saw how eager he was to take part in the Great Railway Show, but he should have known better than to pull so many trucks on his own. He reveals to Thomas that he originally planned to take him to the show to compete in the shunting challenge, but because he is damaged and needs repairs, Percy will have to take part in the event instead. Thomas is disappointed and so is Percy, who did not want to compete in the shunting challenge at all. Just then, Ashima arrives at the Steamworks and also feels sorry for Thomas, saying that the incident at Knapford was not his fault. As the Sudrian engines begin to leave for the Mainland, Ashima decides to tag along with them so that she will not get lost again and says goodbye to Thomas. The Sudrian engines and Ashima pass through Vicarstown and arrive on the Mainland, where they arrive at the railway show venue. Ashima wishes the Sudrian contenders good luck and puffs away. Just then, Gordon notices Flying Scotsman nearby and decides to show off his new streamlined look to him. Flying Scotsman believes Gordon is being ridiculous, but Gordon says that he will think otherwise once when he wins the race.
Back at the Steamworks, Thomas is still feeling depressed. Victor tries to cheer him up and tells him that there are still several engines staying on Sodor, when Kevin rushes over with a small part on a pallet and asks him what it is. Victor identifies the part as Gordon's safety valve, then realises that, much to his horror, Gordon was not fitted with his safety valve during his safety check; if Gordon ran at high speeds without the valve, then his boiler could overheat. As he is the only engine capable of getting it to the Mainland, Thomas is sent to the Great Railway Show to bring Gordon his safety valve, despite not being fully repaired. As he approaches the Vicarstown Bridge, Thomas notices that the drawbridge is being raised up for an oncoming ship and decides to jump the bridge. He lands on the track opposite to the one he was originally on, nearly derailing but quickly regaining his balance. Samson passes with a goods train and notices Thomas. Thomas realises that he is going in the same direction as Samson means that he is on the wrong track. He is switched onto several different lines to avoid colliding with Connor, Hiro and Sidney. As Thomas makes it safely through the crowd of engines, the signalman faints.
Meanwhile, Percy is unsure about how he will perform in the shunting challenge, while Gordon is confident that he will win his event. Just then, Philip shows up and tells Gordon that he has found the track for the race and reverses. As he backs up, Philip nearly runs into Vinnie, who tells him to keep out of his way if he does not want to be “recycled." Shortly after that, Thomas arrives at the railway show venue and is in awe by what he sees. Thomas notices a blue tender engine in the distance and rushes over to see if it is Gordon, but when he pulls up alongside the engine, he is instead faced with a female German engine named Frieda. As the strength competition occurs, Thomas spots Gordon in the distance and calls out to him, but Gordon cannot hear him over the other engines and the best decorated parade blocks his path.
After the strength competition is finished, Philip asks Henry how he did, but Henry reveals that he came in last place. Meanwhile, the participants of the best decorated parade line up as the judges make their final results. James is almost certain he will win, but much to his disappointment, Rajiv is declared the winner. Emily asks Ashima why she was not a part of the best decorated parade, to which Ashima replies that she will be in the shunting challenge.
Thomas eventually meets up with Henry, Percy and Philip and informs them about Gordon's missing safety valve. The three engines lead Thomas to the starting line of the Great Race, where the racers are lined up and ready for the race to begin. Thomas rushes over to Gordon and tells him about his safety valve problem, but Gordon refuses to stick around to have it fitted and as soon as the race starts, he takes off. At first, Gordon seems to be doing well, but as the race continues, his streamlined casing begins breaking apart and he becomes red in the face. Knowing his brother is in danger, Flying Scotsman begs for Gordon to stop, but Gordon refuses and keeps pushing on. Eventually, the heat becomes too much for Gordon and his boiler explodes, forcing him to drop out of the race. Flying Scotsman slows down as he passes his brother, feeling sorry for him, before continuing the race. As the race draws to an end, Spencer and Etienne both fight for first place, but Etienne suddenly overtakes Spencer and shoots through the finish line, winning the new race and setting a new rail speed record.
At the shunting yard, Percy is still feeling doubtful about how he will perform in the shunting challenge; he is afraid that he will lose and wants Thomas to do it instead, since he is already at the show. Philip notices Thomas in the distance and tries to get his attention, but does not pay attention to where he is going and bumps into Vinnie, irritating him. Philip runs away from Vinnie and bumps Carlos away from a coal hopper, causing coal from the chute to pour down and cover Vinnie in coal dust. Infuriated, Vinnie begins to chase Philip around the yard. As this happens, Emily and Percy both tell Thomas about the shunting challenge and Percy explains that he is too scared to compete in the event. Thomas advises Percy to be confident by being himself, but he claims that "he is being himself" and tells him that he wants him to participate in the event. Thomas is doubtful that he will do any better, but agrees to do it anyway.
As the shunting challenge begins, Thomas does not do so well, but once when he gets the hang of it, he begins racing against his rivals in record time, shunting several trucks around the yard effortlessly. Just then, Philip races through the yard, still trying to run away from Vinnie. Vinnie derails two of Gina's flatbeds, then bumps Philip and corners him near a turntable well, forcing the shunting challenge to be put on hold. Before Vinnie can push Philip into the turntable well, Thomas and Ashima couple up to him and hold him back, allowing Philip to escape. Once Philip is free, Vinnie's resistance becomes too much for the two tank engines; Thomas' coupling snaps, launching Vinnie into the points, which are set against him. Vinnie comes off the tracks and runs into an electricity pylon, which collapses on top of him.
Once Vinnie is dealt with, the shunting challenge resumes. As the event draws to an end, Thomas and Ashima are both ahead of the other competitors and only need to add their brake vans to their trains. However, just as he is about to win the race, Thomas notices that one of Gina's derailed flatbeds is lying on Ashima's track and orders for the points to be switched, crashing into the flatbed and allowing Ashima to win. Ashima is very surprised Thomas sacrificed his chance of winning and tells him that she would not have cared if he had won instead. Just then, the judges make a special announcement: instead of choosing one winner, they will be choosing two, declaring that both Thomas and Ashima are the winners of the shunting challenge, the former winning due to his excellent sportsmanship. As Thomas is congratulated by the other engines, the Fat Controller walks over; he was not aware Thomas was at the Great Railway Show until the shunting challenge started, but has heard all about what he has done and congratulations to him. When Thomas looks back at Ashima, he is surprised to find her missing. Meanwhile, Flying Scotsman and Gordon return to the railway show venue. Flying Scotsman tries to cheer him up, but Gordon is feeling down and rejects his “Shooting Star” name. Flying Scotsman admits that the race was a disappointment, but also admits that his opinion on Sudrian engines has improved significantly. As the Flying Scotsman leaves, Gordon is irritated when he calls him his "little brother," due to them being the same size.
That evening, the Great Railway Show has ended. All of the contestants had left, the bleachers have been taken away and the diesel shunters are putting the trucks back in their proper sidings. The Sudrian engines tell Thomas that they have tried to look for Ashima, but cannot search for her any longer as they have to go home. Just then, Thomas notices Ashima taking on coal and goes over to see her. Ashima tells Thomas that she has to take the ferry back to India, but Thomas points out that the ship stops at Brendam Docks, so she can return to Sodor with him to take her boat. With that, Thomas, Ashima and the other Sudrian engines leave the Mainland and return to Sodor, where they go through Vicarstown to find everyone celebrating their return.
During the credits, Cranky, Paxton, Den and Dart look around Brendam Docks for Diesel, who is still under the crate and missing. In the middle of the credits, they hear him screaming on a ship that is leaving the island, begging them to get him off.
Animation
This was the last special to have been animated by Thomas' current animation team when they were called
Arc Productions, since they went bankrupt in August, the same month this special came out in cinemas before getting its DVD releases. Thankfully, the studio was bought out by
Jam Filled, and now operates as
Jam Filled Toronto. And I have to say, they really outdid themselves with this special.
Also, in one scene, Thomas' fantasy showed him painted in lightning, reminiscent of the cover for the David Bowie album,
Aladdin Sane. Sadly, David Bowie was taken away from us in January last year.
New Characters
Flying Scotsman: Considering only his tenders appeared in Tender Engines due to how expensive it was to build his entire model for that episode, I guess he can count as a new character in this special. I have to say, he has a brilliant render, even if both his tenders have 6 wheels each. His livery is like all the liveries he's had throughout his life blended together. And his face kind of reminds me of the face Gordon had in the first 2 seasons of the TV series. Flying is voiced by Rufus Jones, who did an outstanding job voicing the world's most famous real locomotive.
Ashima: Nothing to say about her except I'm a bit neutral on her. Sure she looks pretty and has a beautiful singing voice performed by Tina Desai, but I kind of feel she could've had more effort. Maybe she could've become a mountain engine considering her basis. And the other positive thing about her is her livery, being reminiscent of Indian textiles.
Rajiv: The only thing we got out of him is that he just won the "Best Decorated Engine" competition. And the one thing that proves he's also Indian is his funnel being orange, white and green, the colours of the Indian flag.
Yong Bao: The only thing we got out of him was that he was made to compete in the "Best Decorated Engine" competition, and he lost. He had no speaking roles. However, the one positive thing about him is his basis and livery, red with yellow writing, lining and tiger on his tender, and green running board and buffer beams being considered China's luckiest colours.
Ivan: The one thing we got out of him was that he competed in the "Shunting Competition". And he was voiced by Bob Golding. The other notable thing about him is his livery, blue, red and white, being the colours of the Russian flag.
Raul: Just another one who was there for the "Shunting Competition". And he was voiced by Rob Rackstraw. The one thing that is notable about him is that he's painted yellow and green with a blue diamond containing his white number, all the colours of the Brazilian flag.
Gina: She only had one line and her only other role was being in the "Shunting Competition". And she was voiced by Teresa Gallagher. 2 notable things about her are that her livery, green with red wheels, are some of the colours of the Italian flag, and her voice just shows that Teresa's running out of voices since Gina's voice is just Emily's with an Italian accent.
Frieda: The only things she did in this special were for Thomas the Tank Engine to mistake her for Gordon, considering she's blue, and considering she's also voiced by Teresa Gallagher, her voice is just Emily's with a German accent, and she was there to compete in the "Strength Competition". And her streamline skirt and her tender contain the German flag.
Carlos: Even if this engine won the Strength Competition in the first Great Railway Show, he barely did anything in this special apart from compete in the "Best Decorated Engine" competition, ending up losing. And you can tell David Bedella voiced him since his voice is just Victor's. Makes enough sense since he's Mexican, and Mexico is a country that speaks Spanish. And it's strange he burns coal despite that his prototype is made to burn oil.
Etienne: The first character on the TV series to gain a moustache, and the only competitor who's not a Steam Engine. The only interesting things about him are that his paintwork is White, blue and red, the colours of the French flag, and he's voiced by Rob Rackstraw. Also, he won the "Great Race".
Axel: For some reason, this Belgian engine's face reminds me of that of Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. Also, Axel's paintwork is black and red with yellow stripes, the colours of the Belgian flag. And you can tell he's voiced by Rob Rackstraw as his voice is just Toby's voice with a Belgian accent. Also, he competed in the "Great Race" and lost.
Shane: The one locomotive I was so looking forward to. He's got an interesting basis, and he's an Australian locomotive, painted in the livery DieselD199 hoped for, green with gold stripes, since those are Australia's sporting colours. It's so disappointing that we got nothing out of him in this special except for his competition in the "Strength Competition". I just hope he won that competition!
Vinnie: This is the one character I truly hate! He's a bully, he's an arrogant brat, he has no charisma, and he picks on the small for no reason at all, and what he did to Philip was so uncalled for! The only interesting thing about him is his basis, and the fact he's voiced by John Schwab, who voices the red Class 08 Diesel Shunters on the mainland now.
Songs
Will You, Won't You?: This is the one song where almost every character who'd been rendered in CGi at the time got to sing. It's got that classical build up, and it for some reason reminds me of the
Futurama song,
Leela: Orphan of the Stars. Of course I wish they's taken either Edward, Toby, Oliver or Duck to the Railway Show instead of Philip.
Streamlining: This is one song that has you a bit pumped to sing along. It for some reason reminds me of
Don't Stop me Now by the late Freddie Mercury. And sometimes, whenever I sing this, I'd sing "Go, Edward, go! Go, Edward go!" instead of "Go, Thomas, go! Go, Thomas go!" since Edward was the first character in the
Railway Series.
I'm Full of Surprises: It's really surprising that Diesel's subplot was the only really interesting thing about this special. It was comedic, and he was sent away on the ship by accident, and he somehow came back in Season 21.
Also, as far as this song goes, it shows that Diesel really is full of surprises, showing himself as Joker cards, and it's the first song to have vocals from a non-Thomas character. That character being Pauline's boyfriend Waluigi. Okay, I'm exaggerating here, but Diesel really sounds like Waluigi when he laughs.
You Can Only Be You: Another interesting song. It was a bit surreal, but for some reason, it reminds me of the
Phineas and Ferb song,
What Might've Been.
The Shooting Star is Coming Through: I have to say this was an even more interesting reprise of
Streamlining, sung by the newly streamlined Gordon. And for some reason, whenever I hear Gordon the Big Engine sing this in his US voice, I can imagine Chuck singing it. And the Chuck I refer to is a character from a certain truly great children's show that most of us Thomas fans fail to mention,
Budgie the Little Helicopter.
Be Who You Are and Go Far: This was the song that reprises
You Can Only Be You but with every Sodor engine joining in, just showing you don't have to be any better than you already are.
Final Thoughts:
So, does this special live up to its title? Absolutely not! Because the "Great Race" only took up like a third of the "Great Railway Show", and there was barely anything "great" about the entire special!
This special was a dreadful mess, Thomas was a complete whiny unlikable brat who just wanted to go the Great Railway Show, and even going over there when Gordon's safety valve wasn't placed on Gordon.
And speaking of which, when Gordon was completely finished, when you see behind him, he already has his safety valve! If it weren't for this error, Gordon the Big Engine would've won the "Great Race"!
Also, you'd think Flying Scotsman would've gave up on the "Great Race" to help Shooting Star, but no! All he cared about was winning the race!
The only really entertaining part of this was, as I said, Diesel's subplot. Diesel was very comedic here, making a funny "Peep peep!" sound, and even getting trapped in the crate, and sent away!
And Vinnie, he's essentially how you shouldn't do a Steam Villain. They did that right in Journey Beyond Sodor with Hurricane, who actually had charisma. Vinnie had no charisma whatsoever. He's just a brat who likes to throw his weight around.
And as for most of the International Engines, they felt like they were just....here. Sure they looked nice, but this special would've made a lot more sense if they had some famous British Railway engines like the City of Truro, Tornado, Duchess of Hamilton, Green Arrow and Mallard competing in this!
So bottom line, this is the worst Thomas special to date! Yes, I now find it worse than Misty Island Rescue and Day of the Diesels. Because with those specials, considering they came out in an era with the worst writing ever, you expect them to be bad! But this came out in an era with some of the best writing of the franchise since.....ever, you expect it to be "great", but it's not! I was too nice to this special when it came out, but looking even deeper, I realised my mistake. This special really had the potential to be "great", but it came out as an utter mess that could've worked with lots of tweaking!
I would've tweaked this special the following ways:
Make Gordon the main star of the special. He had heaps of potential to be the main star of this special.
I would've featured some famous British Railway engines instead of the internationals.
And as for these International Engines, I just hope they appear in Big World! Big Adventures! next year. If they appear in any episode and have their characters completely explored, then maybe they'll make up for their improper use in this special. If they don't make up for it, then I don't know what to expect.
So overall, The Great Race was false advertising, and it was just a tie in for last year's Rio 2016 Olympic Games. And how did it come out? Again, a great mess!
My rating: 1.5/10.
