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Parents' Guide to

Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!

By Joly Herman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Reboot of train series has modern vibe, classic lessons.

TV Cartoon Network Kids' Animation 2021
Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!- Scene #1
  • Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!- Scene #2
  • Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!- Scene #3

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 14 parent reviews

Debra D.
Debra D. Adult
October 28, 2021
age 2+

Disgrace To The Legacy Of Reverend Awdry and Thomas The Tank Engine

I personally very strongly feel that Mattel absolutely does not understand the great appeal of Thomas and Friends at all!!!! What makes Thomas and Friends so unique is that the way show is done. Thomas and Friends is an extension of The Railway series of books which has magnificently beautiful illustrations. These illustrations are the way the Reverend W Awdry saw his creation as real trains that are alive. He was very atamit that Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends TV show retain the quality look of the books in the Railway series of books. Staying true to their British heritage!!!! Trains in real life have a drive, a fireman and a crew that takes care of their maintenance and up keep to keep the engines in safe good work order. Thomas and his Friends has been around for 75 years. You just can’t take something so iconic as Thomas the Tank Engine and change it so drastically!!!! It is like taking the characters from Sesame Street and Star Wars, making them silly, jumping around doing back flips and all kinds of things they NEVER did in their original incarnation. Thomas The Tank Engine and his Friends are so beloved by people in the Autism community, that Thomas has become a mascot for Autism. The way Thomas and Friends is done, where there is NO jumping around, no doing back flips, no quick movements Ect which cause anxiety in people with Autism. The #1 reason Thomas and Friends is so beloved by the Autism community is the slower, easy going, easy to understand, predictability of the show. Thomas is extremely comforting to people with Autism. I have read that when autistic kids see the 2D Thomas they ask where is Thomas? The 2D Thomas is not the Thomas they all know and dearly love!!!! Other reasons Mattel fails to understand, is that Thomas is a child’s first interdiction into the world of model trains and railfaning which can last a life time and lead to careers in the railroad industry. Mattel fails to understand that the older Thomas fans that grew up watching Thomas now have kids of their own and want to share their love of Thomas with them. Also what Mattel has failed understand is these same people still love Thomas as much as they did when they where kids. Mattel must do what Disney has done with is characters, make products and clothing for the whole family, not just the kids. Mattel is going to realize with the release of the documentary film An Unlikely Fandom about all of the adult fans of Thomas and Friends. This is a market that Mattel has completely missed!!!! This is why I very strongly feel that Mattel is going to lose Billions and Billions of dollars on their 2D Thomas and Friends. Then Mattel is going to absolutely regret their decision to change Thomas and Friends in the first place and Mattel only has themselves to blame.
Nikola Stamenkovic
Nikola Stamenkovic Adult
December 20, 2021
age 5+
This is very bad
See all 14 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THOMAS & FRIENDS: ALL ENGINES GO!, Thomas is a tank engine who helps move needed items around Sodor with the help of his friends. He sometimes takes matters into his own hands, or goofs around, which can get him into trouble with Gordon, the head engine, or Cranky, the crane who's in charge of moving large items onto the engine's carriages. His friends, James, Percy, Hiro, Emily, Nia, and others, all have special abilities. But will Thomas be able to avoid trouble when what he really wants to do is have fun?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (14 ):
Kids say (20 ):

It's not the same, of course, but the question is: Can Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! stand on its own in the Thomas the Tank Engine empire? This show is animated, and its upbeat, diverse cast and adventures that end in moral lessons will attract new fans. But the old guard will note that the show has lost some of the depth of the original series. And they may be right.

There's nothing here that's offputting for young kids. They'll be engaged in the adventures and challenges that Thomas and his friends face. But parents who grew up with the original show might miss some of the deliberateness and detail that the original series embraced. The fans of the original show might argue that these cartoon engines could be any old engines acting out adventures on the screen. As cute, fun, adventurous as this series might be to young viewers, it has lost some of the character that the original show enjoyed.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about perseverance in Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!. What would happen if Thomas and his friends gave up? Would anything get done?

  • This show has toys related to it. If you saw these toys in the stores, would you want to buy them?

  • Teamwork is the name of the game for Thomas and his friends. What happens in the show when the engines don't work together?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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