Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Movie Review

Raise the jolly roger in Sodor!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 4, 2015

Ahoy! Thomas the Train's latest adventure is off the rails! When Thomas (voiced by Joseph May) is disciplined for risky behavior on the tracks that leads a derailment, he's sent off his regular branch line to work on a new one still under construction, a line the other trains fear may mean the closure of their regular route. Replacing him is a fresh, young, energetic, and inexperienced tank named Ryan (voiced by Eddie Redmayne). Thomas, determined as ever to prove his worth, gets to work but fails to realize that the line has been closed due to unstable ground. He and his load go crashing into a sinkhole where he's suddenly face-to-face with a long-buried pirate ship! The line's owner, Sir Topham Hatt (viced by Keith Wickham), carefully removes the ship from the hole and intends to display it for all to enjoy. But when a cranky, greedy sailor named John (voiced by John Hurt) and his troubled boat Skiff (voiced by Jamie Campbell Bower) arrive looking for the Pirate treasure that must be around there somewhere, Thomas finds himself caught up in a race for buried treasure that could be his ticket back to his old line or the end of the line for his long and storied career!

What would you do with a happ-y train-car?

The little engine that could finds himself in what may be his most dangerous adventure yet. Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure looks like a regular Thomas adventure and, in many ways, it plays out like one, particularly in the early going when it's more about Thomas' temperament. However, there's a darker side, too, and not just considering that the film's villain can seemingly only work after dark. The film plays with some darker themes, including a little skiff that's essentially a slave to a demanding, rude, captain who places his own self above others. He's a slimy, greedy type who sees others only as obstacles or, perhaps even worse, tools at his disposal to get what he wants. The action is a little more daring, too. Thomas finds himself in several sticky situations that pose real threats to him, and not just when he's replaced on his line. He falls into sinkholes, winds up in water, and certainly earns a few dings along the way. But at its core, the film remains true to the basic values of teamwork, appreciating others, and self worth while still holding onto the most fundamental of all Thomas stories that see characters fall by the wayside only to get back up, learn a valuable lesson, and move on stronger than ever.

The film can be a little sluggish, even at just a shade over an hour long, but that observation is coming from someone around 30 years removed from the target audience age, so take it with a gain of salt. The kids will probably love the movie if they've adored Thomas' previous adventures. It's just as colorful and familiar, with a lot of the action combining big machines that love to chat, race, and make innocent jabs at one another (or, usually innocent, anyway...there's still some deeper rivalries, Thomas loses his temper, and so on and so forth in the same vein as previous entries). Where this film stands apart, however -- and it's something the parents will appreciate more than the kids -- is by way of the voice acting. Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure enjoys a trio go guest headliners who will be immediately recognizable to film fans, including Jamie Campbell Bower (Mortal Instruments: City of Bones), Oscar nominee John Hurt (Midnight Express), and Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The theory of Everything). Each of them bring a vocal dynamic to the film that's appreciably a step up for the franchise while still effortlessly blending into the familiar world.

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure pulls onto Blu-ray with a good all-around 1080p transfer. It can be a little soft around the edges, due to the nature of the animation style, but generally the image is pleasantly crisp with nicely defined textures, evident particularly in tight shots where some of the instrument gauges in the trains, the exterior paint jobs, gravel along the tracks, and trees -- basically the essential environmental elements plus some of the more intimate details -- all reveal about as much information as there seems to be in the source animation. There's not much of a depth to the image; even in the classic shots where two or three trains appear in parallel for a chat, there's an inherent flatness to the picture. Colors are suitably cheery, with natural greens and train car and engine paint jobs the most readily evident throughout. There's a good bit of earthy support colors, like gray gravel and brown dirt, throughout the movie. Nighttime scenes reveal adequate black levels. Minor aliasing appears from time to time, but it's not at all a distraction.

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure chugs onto Blu-ray with a quality DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Everything is presented in a nicely balanced delivery, with music, effects, and dialogue seamlessly blended together for a complete experience. Musical delivery is healthy, wide, and pleasing with crisp notes and a positive support at the bottom. There are many directional effects throughout, mostly by way of trains pulling and racing side to side or front to back or some combination thereof, but also when things like cave-ins send debris flying all over the listening area. Support effects, like splashing water or drifting thunder, are effortlessly intergraded and delivered. Dialogue is clear and plays with a natural center focus.

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure contains two sing-along music videos (1080p) -- Never Overlook a Little Engine (2:15) and We Make a Team Together (2:14) -- and Guess Who? puzzles (1080p, 2:13) that challenge viewers to identify the characters in several puzzles before they're automatically assembled on the screen. Included with purchase is a DVD copy of the film as well as a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure is a welcome reprieve from typical Thomas fare, even if the basic "lessons learned on the tracks of life" angle still applies. The plot is a stretch and not much is explained to satisfaction, but the new villain is fun, if not a little scarier than normal, and the lost treasure angle allows the film to journey into a few new places beyond the confines of the train tracks. The voice acting is strong and features several high profile names in key roles. Universal's Blu-ray release of Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure is typical of the series, featuring bright and detailed 1080p video and aggressive multichannel lossless audio. Supplements are limited to two sing-alongs and puzzles that make themselves, but the kids should enjoy them, and the movie. Recommended to families with Thomas fans, young and old alike.