Thomas (franchise)

The Thomas franchise is a set of movies, spin-offs, TV series, and video games which generally revolve around Thomas, Percy, James, Gordon, Henry, Sir Topham Hatt and other characters. The series is characterized by its fantastical mixed fantasy setting, as well as its blend of colorful, kid-friendly designs and pop-culture references.

The four films have been released 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010. The first two were commercial successes, while the third and fourth were mixed reviews.

Thomas the Great Discovery (2001)
Sir Topham Hatt lives in his house and meets Thomas the Great Discovery, a blue inquisitive engine who wants to have an adventure. When countless people are banished to Sir Topham Hatt's house by Lord Finfwack, Sir Topham Hatt and Thomas set off on a quest to get a crown for Finfwack and compete in a spelling bee. Thomas introduces Sir Topham Hatt to his fellow engines, Percy, James, Gordon and Henry. Sir Topham Hatt and him go to find the crown in the castle, and they start to bond. On the way back they find themselves face-to-face with a hunter who tries to shoot them, they fall off a waterfall and they are safe, but the critters there yell at Sir Topham Hatt for bringing them to the hunting grounds, until Sir Topham Hatt accuses Thomas of lying about knowing the way back. An angry Sir Topham Hatt storms off and Thomas goes home discouraged. Percy and the other engines talk to him and convince him to talk to Sir Topham Hatt, so they get on the giant hamster from the castle and ride all the way to Lockit. Thomas goes to Sir Topham Hatt and tells him Finfwack is planning to kill him he and Lord Finfwack fight and Finfwack falls to his death, Sir Topham Hatt tells Thomas he wants him to live with him. They form a railway and live happily ever after.

Thomas's Shed Karaoke Dance Party (2001)
The Engines do a party at the new shed.

Thomas 4D (2003)
A attraction at Universal Studios Orlando Florida.

Thomas and Tillie (2004)
Thomas is living with his brothers, Percy, James, Gordon and Henry with their newly adoptive father, Sir Topham Hatt. they find an invitation to a royal ball with Sir Topham Hatt's parents to celebrate their marriage, an event that Thomas is reluctant to participate in. They travel to the island of Sodor to meet them. Sir Topham Hatt's father, Don makes no effort to get along with Thomas and the others. Thomas feels sad and wonders if Sir Topham Hatt feels happy living with him. He suddnely developes a crush on Tillie, The Little Engine That Could and wants to live happy with her and Sir Topham Hatt. As everyone goes their separate ways, Don is accosted by the Fairy Gothelmother (Jennifer Saunders) and Charming, who is her son. The two retell the prince's adventures and how he overcame many obstacles to become Sir Topham Hatt's son, but in vain. They reprimand Don for breaking an old promise that Charming would be able to be adopted by Sir Topham Hatt, and demand that he find a way to get rid of Thomas. Harold arranges for Thomas and the others to join him in the woods only to strand them there. The trio sneak into the Fairy Gothelmother's potion factory and steal a Happily Ever After potion that Thomas believes will raise Tillie's love for him.

Thomas: Cousin Nevill (2007)
Thomas sets out on a quest to bring back the new king, along with Percy, James and Henry. As they're sailing off, Sir Topham Hatt runs to the dock and announces to Thomas that he is going to turn their shed into an orphanage and he is going to be a father. Shocked, Thomas begins to have nightmares about his future children on the journey to find Nevill.

Thomas: Naughty Crane (2007)
The Christmas Special of the series that premiered on the American television network ABC on November 24, 2007. Mike the Crane ends up on Santa's naughty list.

Thomas: Gordon Returns (2010)
Gordon finally returns from the works after being gone for such a long time and goes on an adventure.

Thomas's Scary Stories (2010)
The engines have a spooky story telling contest for Halloween.

Henry's Christmas Karaoke (2010)
Henry suggests everyone sing Christmas carols.

The Legend of James (2016)
The Legend of James is a computer-animated American action comedy film that was released on September 15, 2016.

The Legend of James 2: The Next Semester (2023)
A possible upcoming sequel to The Legend of James, it is possible it will release 2023.

Movie adaptations
Each of the four Thomas films has received its own tie-in platformer title.


 * Thomas the Great Discovery (2001) (launch title for the Xbox; the only Thomas game to be rated K-A for Kid to Adult.)
 * Thomas and Tillie (2004): Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and Windows Published by Activision.
 * Thomas: Cousin Nevill (2007) Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance,and iOS. Published by Activision.
 * Thomas: Gordon Returns (2010) Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and iOS.

Spin-offs

 * Thomas Kart (2009): iPhone, iPod Touch Was the first Shrek game to be exclusive to mobile phones.
 * DreamWorks Super Star Kartz (2011): Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS. Published by Activision.
 * The Legend of James (2016) Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS. The final DreamWorks animation game released for traditional consoles (not counting mobile apps), until How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

Thomas: Family Matters
A Graphic Novel of the series, Ape Entertainment has also released under KiZoic label five full color comic books.

The Railway Series
The original Children's book series which the franchise is based on by the Reverend Wilbur Awdry and his son, Christopher.

Trivia

 * The Thomas franchise has become among the most popular highest-grossing franchises alongside Toy Story, Despicable Me, Shrek, Ice Age, The Finding Films and The Finding Meow-Meow films.
 * Certain memes on the internet featuring Thomas have become popular.