Parents' Guide to

Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

More suspense, peril, and potential scares than usual.

Movie NR 2015 65 minutes
Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Movie: Scene #1
  • Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Movie: Scene #2
  • Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Movie: Scene #3
  • Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Movie: Scene #4

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 5 parent reviews

MTTC
MTTC Adult
December 4, 2022
age 14+

LORE

This truly is a masterpiece of cinematography, untouched lore, previously left alone stakes, and a GNR engine. Characters: Thomas, the pack, The Fat Director, and a lot of "new" characters such as Rex, Mike & Bert, Ryan and sailor John. The last of which, uses DYNAMITE AND AN ORE AGAINST THOMAS!!! Ryan is the GNR engine I mentioned earlier, although they look way better in green than purple. Plot: There is a new extention up to Harwick being built. Thomas' misbehaving made The Fat Director make him help build the extention. Thomas ignored some danger signs which caused him to fall down a sinkhole with a ship at the bottom. Later, Ryan gets some bad coal which causes the dynamite he was pulling to light. Luckily, Thomas pushes it into the hole. Meanwhile, Thomas finds John and Skiff, who are looking for some treasure. However, Marion finds it first. John blamed Thomas. Then that night, John Blows Up The Fat Director's Office To Steal The Treasure! Then Thomas chased John and Skiff. John attacked Thomas with an ore, then threw dynamite at him. He and Skiff unfortunately get away, however the heavy chest sinks Skiff. In the end, the extention is finished, sailor John is arrested, and all is well. Violence: Stated above. Consumerism: Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends is one of the most marketed book series/TV show on the planet. Smoking: ALL STEAM ENGINES LITERALLY HAVE A SMOKE STACK!!!!!!! Conclusion: It's the best movie of the franchise, 10/10 Should watch.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
MM8006
MM8006 Parent of 4 and 6-year-old
January 21, 2023
age 4+

Some moments of peril but overall lighthearted fun

Pretty typical Thomas movie. Some mild peril with the dynamite threatening to blow up the trains and the bad guy tying escape. Overall a fun watch for a wide range of kids. My 4 year old said she thought pirates were scary but wasn’t phased by the movie

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Just as Controller Sir Topham Hatt builds a brand-new branch line on Sodor Island, Thomas (Joseph Hay) is his most mischievous self in THOMAS & FRIENDS: SODOR'S LEGEND OF THE LOST TREASURE. Though he knows Sir Topham Hatt (Keith Wickham) is counting on him, Thomas races Bertie at top speed, causes a train to derail, shows up late for work, and gets huffy and jealous when the Controller introduces him to Ryan (Eddie Redmayne), a shiny new steam engine. When one of Thomas' naughty deeds uncovers a long-lost pirate ship and destabilizes the land, all of Sir Topham Hatt's new branch construction plans go awry. To make matters worse, Sailor John (Sir John Hurt), a greedy treasure hunter, sneaks onto the island hoping to find the legendary riches from the lost ship. Finally realizing that he's made some pretty serious mistakes, Thomas comes to his senses and sets out to fix all the damage he has caused.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (8):

Too many story elements and an excessive number of suspenseful and action-filled scenes will make this Thomas entry less satisfying than most for very young kids. Gentleness and simplicity, usual trademarks of the franchise, have given way to more jeopardy and even some complex emotions. Though Thomas is often mischievous and gets into trouble, in this story he's jealous, a braggart, and quite destructive. Production values are solid, on a par with Thomas' always appealing animation and characterizations.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why Thomas behaved so badly when Ryan, the new engine, came to work on the island. What was Thomas afraid of? How did Thomas' actions make matters worse for everyone?

  • The long-buried pirate ship was attached to a legendary story. What is a "legend"? In this tale, did the legend turn out to be true?

  • Why is it important for parents and kids to be aware of marketing strategies when toy companies make movies to help sell their products, and vice versa? How does the introduction of new characters in this movie (such as Ryan and Sailor John) give the Thomas toy franchise a boost?

Movie Details

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