Best movie of this year hands down!

A different way of telling a story

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

If you would like your brain to seize from a combination of nonsense, saccharine, and pity for the relatively famous actors phoning their way through one of the worst films you've ever seen, please watch Thomas and the Magic Railroad, a movie I'm ashamed I have the authority to dub easily the worst of the Thomas universe movies. One reels imagining the piles of drugs and vats of alcohol that Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda (whose outstanding performance as a chronically depressed man who only wants to love the female train whom he failed to protect decades ago will leave you saying "...what?") consumed to get through this ordeal. Hopefully, the same was not necessary for Mara Wilson, slumming it up with her B+list brethren. Unwatchable for the intelligent youth (upon hearing of the cinematic horror I encountered, a work colleague said that his 4/5 year old son summed it up, "Dad, the story didn't even make any sense!"), but good enough for my kid, apparently. Blondie McMagicNephewOrWhateverOfAlecBaldwin is actually kinda trying, and Didi Conn does not shame herself. But these efforts cannot make a dent...Alec Baldwin talking like an insane person to a non-sentient bat and ball is a low point in a movie made entirely of nadirs.

Thomas the Tank Engine is a precious memory that many young adults and older parents hold dear to their youthful days. Either if it was narrated by Beatles' drummer, Ringo Starr in the U.K. version, or by comedian, George Carlin in the American version, the show was, and still continues to be a wide success among aging toddlers. So it is of no surprise that at the beginning of the 21rst century that the cheeky steam engine was given a theatrically released film. Sadly, Not many people have found it appealing; however, I am one of those few people who actually did.Shocking to me, I don't understand why so many people hate this movie. Yes there are a couple of areas that were not perfect before the filming began, but don't all great projects have their setbacks. And really, there are only a couple issues. But I'm going to forgive it because this film should not be trashed for such small errors. The movie is also partially narrated Mr. Conductor, Alec Baldwin, the third most recognized conductor to tell of Thomas' adventures from the TV show.The problem is that Mr. Conductor starts losing the magic in his gold dust and he must find it quickly. The gold dust is what keeps him from traveling between his world and the Island of Sodor (Thomas' world). And the only people who can help him uncover this secret is a girl and her grandfather. The little girl, Lily is played by the no more in showbizz actress Mara Wilson. Her grandfather, Burnett is played by veteran actor Peter Fonda. And let's not forget that Mr. Conductor has a relative, Jr. (Michael E. Rogers), who joins the crew as well. Even Didi Conn from the original Shining Time Station (1989) TV show, which aired the Thomas and Friends adventures, reprised her role for this movie.There are other actors like Russell Means who doesn't have a big role but do add to the nostalgia of the film. What ticks people off about this film is the acting and characterization. And that's just the human part of the film. I didn't find it out of place at all. Baldwin is considered to be at his worst but I found him fairly entertaining. Fonda is bashed for being to down in the dumps, but I found his performance quite emotional because some people become depressed when losing a family member; it happens. I sympathized with him.Lily and Jr. were thought to be of no importance to the story at hand either. But to me, I found Lily a character that children could connect to. And Jr. may not have been the most convincing character but he did have a number of funny moments. The other thing viewers and professional critics alike did not enjoy were the trains themselves. Apparently audience wanted to see moving mouths. But why do that? The TV show wasn't like that. Why would you want to change something that's classic to bad? Ever hear of "If it ain't broke don't fix it"? It's good that they kept it that way, otherwise it probably would have done worse. Of course, NOW the new series of Thomas and Friends have moving mouths so I hope all of you mopes are happy.The reason why the mouths did not move was that Britt Allcroft, who also happened to be the director of the popular TV show, also directed this movie. I mean, what more could a fan ask for? I give credit to Allcroft, I believe she put in the most effort into making this film as good as it was. She even provided a voice to one of the trains. Speaking of which, this is the last thing people were not happy with; one of the Thomas' friends does not show in this film because his physical train model was not available and the trains all have different voices instead being narrated by Mr. Conductor. Guess what? Not everything's perfect.Actually, the voice actors do a swell job being the trains. Edward Glen as Thomas was a good match. His voice didn't sound too old or too young. Neil Crone as Diesel 10 was a good match too. In fact, Crone's voice made Diesel a very comical villain. Kudos to them! And the film score by composer Hummie Mann was done brilliantly. Mann is able to combine all the right tones with each scene and it even includes The Shining Time theme song in his tracks as a reoccurring theme. It helps the movie a lot.As the only theatrically released film of Thomas the Tank Engine, it should be respected for its good performances and storyline. The characters a very likable and the music excels it to the max.

Like my reviews for Fred the Movie and Beverly Hills Chihuahua, I have absolutely nothing to say for the summary of my review. Why are Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda in a stupid and brainless movie like this one? This isn't Toy Story, this is Thomas the freaking Tank Engine! Well, Thomas the Tank Engine was one of my childhood favorites and I always watched it on video. But, I have one question I got stuck in my head ever since I watched the trailer: HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE A MOVIE OUT OF A TRAIN WHOSE LIPS DON'T EVEN MOVE AT ALL?!!! First of all, Peter Fonda is too freaking depressing to be in a kid's movie like this! Don't ever let this guy star in a remake of the 1980's Pound Puppies cartoon series anytime soon. And then there's Alec Baldwin, who plays a conductor who looks like he's high on crack and screams "Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle!". Is it me or is this "Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle" phrase infecting people after they watched the Nostalgia Critic episode reviewing this movie? Then, there's Marla Wilson, who smiles with her mouth open throughout the whole movie. I swear this girl looks like she has autism or Aspergers! There's a whole lot more, but I'm going to wrap up this review: A horrendous script, generic music, crappy special effects, and Peter Fonda's depressing performance are the reasons why I hate this movie and why this movie should never, ever, ever, ever, EVER been made in the first place! And if you disagree, what kind of drugs were you on when you watched this movie?

Well, a Thomas movie has been made with a great cast and the version that we have was good, but could it have been better? The answer is yes. But it is still good the way it is. There is a nice plot that has everything one would want in a Thomas movie or any kids movie for that matter. What I don't like is how a good portion of the film is unreleased and may never be seen. But until I see the final cut, I think that one that we have now is good. It has the hero's quest, a determined bad guy, and things you can relate to. I liked it because it was a good interpretation of the character from the Thomas franchise and has an understandable plot. While I do hope for the full version of the movie, what we have now is good.