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All parent reviews for Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Age
3
Average rating based on 6 parent reviews:
  • 33% say violence is an issue
Parent of 5 and 7 year old
April 9, 2008
 
A hit with my 3 yr old
It's a cute movie for the family. The only "scary" part is with Diesel chasing down some of the trains with his claw, but my 3 year old handled it surprisingly well. He said that Diesel is a mean train, and that in the end he winds up in a ditch. It has some cute moral lessons about responsibility, families sticking together, and Peter Fonda is wonderful as the gruff, reluctant grandfather. The little girl is adorable, and all of the human characters are cute. My son had no trouble following the plot - and I welcomed a slightly complex plot from a kids' movie. Fine for 3 +.

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Parent of 5 year old
April 9, 2008
 

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Educator and Parent of 13 and 18 year old
April 9, 2008
 
Scarier than you might expect
My 4 year old loves to play with the Thomas trains and so I took him to see this movie. It was way too scary. Diesel has a menacing, chomping steam shovel to chase Thomas and his friends with. He's also got a really scary laugh. Too much emphasis on scary bullying and there isn't really a clear lesson or message from the story. Definitely don't make this among the first feature films for your preschooler to see.

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Parent of 3 year old
March 24, 2010
 
My son loves this and I do to
I really like this movie. My son loves Thomas and this is our favorite. Diesel can be a little scary and there is one scene where Percy gets scared in the dark. It did not bother my son who usually scares very easily. I love the people in this movie, I actually remember when Shining Town was on PBS and wish they would rerelease those shows.

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Parent of 5 year old
January 16, 2010
 
Terrible
This movie is awful. It is so absolutely bad, I can't even begin to describe it. Alec Baldwin is completely miscast. Peter Fonda is terrible. It's just complete rubbish.

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Parent
March 28, 2012
 
Learning about sadness
One of the themes is sadness - and how to respond to it with kindness. This provides an opportunity for parents to talk with their preschoolers about this emotion. The mean behavior displayed by Diesel isn't over-the-top. It's helpful for children this age to know that "bad guys" exist on the planet.

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