Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway - The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway - The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 21, 2013

Tone is notoriously hard to discern in the printed word, and so for those who didn’t quite get that I had my tongue firmly planted in my cheek in my reviews of Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue, Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels, and Thomas & Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery, let me just make it abundantly clear that I actually love Thomas and all the other creations of the late Reverend Wilbert Awdry. I also love the fact that as a parent of now teenaged kids I no longer have to shell out copious amounts of cash to get my rabid completist children the latest Thomas tchotchke. Like so many other multimedia enterprises aimed at children, I just can’t help thinking that Thomas and Friends is something of a racket (or in this case, track-et—sorry, couldn’t resist), designed (or at least reformulated for modern times) as a device to separate parents from their hard earned cash with a variety of toys, books, and of course videos. (Is it mere coincidence that this Blu-ray comes replete with several ads for other Thomas products, including everything from apps to a motorized train set? I think not.) At least the Thomas franchise does so with a “kinder, gentler” ethos that makes it a usually charming and worry free way for parents to keep their children entertained.

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway touts itself as a “movie”, but it’s actually barely an hour long, really more like a “very special episode” of the long running television iteration of the franchise. It’s a typically sweet and lesson filled adventure that finds a long gone “nobleman” from the Island of Sodor returning to a gigantic castle on the island, and a mysteriously missing golden crown. Parents will be able to see every plot “twist” coming from a country mile off, but younger kids should be delighted in the whimsy and occasional faux danger this outing offers. As with most other Thomas videos, this one has various musical elements and also introduces a new character or two (which means toy versions will soon be appearing on wish lists being thrust at parents sooner rather than later).

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway boasts a vividly colorful and sharp looking AVC encoded 1080p image in 1.78:1. As with most Thomas outings, there's a certain textureless aspect to the train engines themselves, but many of the backgrounds offer nice detail. This outing also has a nicely detailed storybook element in the early going which is quite nice looking.

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 offers some nicely consistent surround activity, both with regard to the chugging train engine noises as well as the ubiquitous music and songs. Fidelity is excellent, with dialogue and effects presented cleanly and with good prioritization.

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Search for the Lost Crown Game


• It's Gonna Be a Great Day Karaoke Music Video (1080p; 2:14)


• Searching Everywhere Karaoke Music Video (1080p; 2:14)


• Working Together! Karaoke Music Video (1080p; 2:15)


• Guess Who? Puzzles

Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is another gentle and effortlessly sweet entry in the long running Thomas franchise and it should certainly entertain younger tots with is colorful characters and easy to follow story line.