Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels Blu-ray Movie Review

Is this title really useful?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 11, 2011

Chances are if you’re reading this review you have a young child you’re madly struggling to keep entertained. If you don’t have a sense of humor about your child, or perhaps more to the point, about the sorts of entertainment you utilize to keep your child entertained, you may well want to skip the body of this review and proceed straight to the technical merits of this presentation. I say this because having a sense of humor, and an admittedly cynical, jaded one at that, is about all that kept my parental head above water when my sons were young enough to revel in the exploits of Thomas the Tank Engine and his many friends. Let me just make a perfunctory over generalization about Thomas and any other multi-media enterprise which may captivate your child in their younger years: it’s a plot. It’s a plot to hypnotize your child and then introduce him or her to a universe of tie-in merchandise that must (must) be purchased in order to maintain any semblance of domestic peace and tranquility. Yes, Thomas started life as a book series before it ever matriculated to the small screen and your neighborhood toy store. But that doesn’t matter in the long run. It’s a plot, and there’s no getting around it. Let your small child watch a few episodes of Thomas and Friends (if indeed you can get away with only watching a few) and then take said child to the local toy emporium and see if you can resist their plaintive wails to bring home any of the many Thomas trains and paraphernalia. What’s the big deal, I hear some of you asking. Ah, gentle naïve parent: take a look at the price tag. The first time one of my boys wanted a bunch of Thomas trains (and assorted merchandise), I, like any gentle naïve parent said, “Sure!” and started picking up a number of pieces to delight my child. Then I gazed upon the price sticker. Thankfully my low dose aspirin kicked in and prevented me from experiencing total coronary arrest, but that didn’t stop my consumer-tastic son from demanding that Thomas and Friends accompany him home. “How about these?” I timidly asked, pointing at a somewhat (somewhat) less expensive knockoff train set that might fit the bill. “No!! I want Thomas!” was the reply, which perhaps should have been expected. So parents of young kids, take it from someone who has been there and done that. It doesn’t matter if it’s Thomas, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Disney, or anything else that travels the airwaves and also frequents the toy department: it’s a plot.

Speaking of plot, if you’re a fan of Thomas and Friends, you already know this show out-Seinfelds Seinfeld for being about nothing. In any typical Thomas outing one or more of the trains will probably do something stupid or foolhardy, some minor trouble will result, the offending train will see the light, and all will be put right in the end. It’s of course gentle, sweet natured “lesson” drama meant for the very young, and that’s exactly what we get here. A number of new trains come to Sodor Island (does anyone else feel that that name is strangely similar to Mordor?) and Thomas, trying to be a good host by welcoming these newcomers, ends up ignoring hapless Percy. That leaves Percy, not the sharpest engine around, at the mercy of the semi-devious Diesels, who are sick and tired of living in a dilapidated rat infested warehouse while the Steamies have all the latest conveniences at their beck and call. A couple of fires threaten the island, but of course all works out fine in the end.

My tongue is about to be firmly planted in my cheek, and my over analytical bent on full display, but there has always been an element or two about the entire Thomas enterprise which has bothered me. First of all, my kids can’t have been the only ones to turn to their parents and blithely ask, “Dad, how do the trains turn around if they’re on a track?” Little lapses in logic like that firmly divide the prime Thomas audience (I’d say up to about six or seven, tops) from the kid too old to just relish in the “magic,” such as it is. But more troubling is this emphasis on being “really useful.” Is this some sort of British socialist plot, on top of the worldwide capitalist plot to deprive hard working parents of their hard earned cash? Doesn’t being “really useful” boil down to being a cog in the wheel, a faceless worker drone, an entity judged more by what he does than who he is? It doesn’t help that my least favorite musical theater composer of all time, Andrew Lloyd Webber, named his production company Really Useful Group after the Thomas phrase. (Now you rabid Phantom fans—and my wife is among your number—needn’t waste any time emailing me with your rage. I actually loved Jesus Christ Superstar but have come to the conclusion Webber then suffered an unannounced stroke which left him only able to mimic Puccini, and not very well).

Still, for younger children you could do a lot worse than the sweet and gentle world of Thomas and Friends, unless of course you’re a parent reading bedtime stories by Ayn Rand to your child and might think twice about this anti-Objectivist “really useful” claptrap. Younger kids are enchanted by the largely melodrama-free world of Thomas and his comrades, and Day of the Diesels stays within that framework very well. The film has a bright visual ambience and the typically engaging narration with occasional character voice work, and should do very well entertaining the very youngest viewers in your household.

Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Thomas and Friends: Day of the Diesels huffs and chuffs (save me, please) onto Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This is another nice looking CGI-fest which doesn't offer a wealth of textural detail but which does sport incredibly bright colors, all of which pop magnificently in this high definition presentation. There are also a number of quasi-3D effects sprinkled throughout the film, especially in the lovely opening shots which have bright red flowers in the foreground spatially separated from the background which includes Thomas chugging along. Line detail is excellent if not overwhelming and while some midrange shots are not as crisp as might be expected from a computer generated image, close-ups are suitably sharp and clear.

Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Thomas and Friends: Day of the Diesels is presented with a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that may not provide oodles and oodles of immersion but which offers some excellently robust fidelity and the occasional well placed sound effects. There are lots of panning effects utilized here as various trains toddle along from one side of the frame to the other, and the two fire sequences offer some great crackling spark sound effects which are sprinkled around the soundfield. Otherwise, though, this is largely a front-centric mix anchored by the pleasing narration and occasional character voice. There's nothing too incredible about any of this, but it's certainly above average for the typical kiddie fare.

Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Game: Fiery Flynn to the Rescue (SD). Your tot can use the remote's directional arrows to help accomplish tasks. The narrator is unflinchingly kind even if you repeatedly press the wrong button. I know it's meant to build self-esteem, but the cynic in me would have loved to have heard him exlaim, "No, you stupid idiot! I said put the water in the bucket with the blue diamond!"
• Karaoke Songs: Day of the Diesels (1080i; 2:45) and Hear the Engines Coming (1080i; 2:07)
• Steamies and Diesels – Learn How They Work! (1080i; 2:16) is a brief introduction as to how these two different types of engines work.
• Sneak Peek: Hero of the Rails App (SD; 2:57). Just in case you don't have enough Thomas in your life already, those fine folks at Hit Entertainment have developed an iPhone and iPad app. It's the Apocalypse, I tells ya.

Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You can't say you weren't warned. If you submit to this nefarious plot, you can kiss your hard earned paycheck goodbye and be huffing and chuffing yourself till the end of time to make ends meet. But really, isn't your kid worth it? Of course, I've joked rather liberally through this review, but there is something ineffably sweet about Thomas and Friends, especially if your little guy or girl is younger than five or six (I'd say seven, tops). Day of the Diesels is more of the same, but kids of course thrive on the familiar, so that's an extra selling point. The lessons aren't especially subtle and some of this "really useful" stuff is a little troubling, but for those with younger kids, this is a fine if not especially inspired Thomas outing.