(Summary compiled from information from Wikipedia, Thomas and Friends Wikia, and The Lost Media Wiki):
Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British-American fantasy adventure film by Britt Allcroft, its director, producer and writer. Starring Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Didi Conn, Russell Means, Cody McMains, Michael E. Rodgers and the voices of Eddie Glen and Neil Crone, the film is based on the British children's book series The Railway Series by The Rev. W. Awdry, its televised adaptation Thomas & Friends, and the American series Shining Time Station. It was co-produced by Gullane Pictures/The Britt Allcroft Company and the Isle of Man Film Commission. The film was distributed by Destination Films in the United States and Icon Film Distribution in the United Kingdom.
Its story is centered on Lily Stone (Wilson), the granddaughter of the caretaker (Fonda) of an enchanted steam engine who is lacking an appropriate supply of coal, and Mr. Conductor (Baldwin) of Shining Time Station, whose provisions of magical gold dust are at a critical low. To ameliorate these problems, Lily and Mr. Conductor enlist the help of Thomas the Tank Engine (Glen), who confronts the ruthless Diesel 10 (Crone) along the way.
When Thomas and the Magic Railroad was first released in the U.K. where critics were unfamiliar with the characters from Shining Time Station, the film was accused of "Americanizing" Thomas. Critical reception in the U.S. was somewhat better, but still mostly negative, in stark contrast to the praise given to the original Shining Time Station, which was an award-winning show. General criticism of the film has been directed towards its plot, characterization, acting and special effects.
The film's critical and commercial failure led Allcroft to resign from her company, Gullane Entertainment (originally The Britt Allcroft Company) in September 2000. Two years later, Gullane was acquired by HiT Entertainment, which the television rights to Thomas were passed onto.
In a 2007 interview, director Britt Allcroft commented the finished film was drastically changed from what it was originally going to be the way she had written it. The perceived "laziness" in the plot was due to a major villain being cut from the film.
A major character, 'Pete Tiberius Boomer' (short nickname as P.T. Boomer or Pete Boom), portrayed by Canadian actor Doug Lennox, was originally portrayed as the main antagonist, but Boomer was deemed too frightening for younger audiences and therefore was entirely cut out from the film before its release. Because of P.T. Boomer's absence from the final film, the plot elements that had been driven by him went unexplained.
P.T. Boomer is described in the original cut of the script as being "a drifter through choice" and was intended to be Burnett Stone's adversary, the real culprit responsible for why Lady went too fast and crashed, not Diesel 10 as altered in the final cut. Jealous of the relationship that Burnett had with Tasha (Lily's Grandmother), Boomer bullied Burnett into allowing him to take Lady for a run and crashing her in revenge. After the accident, Boomer fled Indian Valley and Burnett spent years trying to restore her to no avail. He returns now a good forty years later a bitter and dark character, hell-bent on completing his revenge by finding and destroying Lady for good.
When audiences complained about him being "too scary" (a weird claim when the secondary villain is literally a Diesel with a claw) he was cut out at the last minute, explaining the laziness of the movie's final cut and Diesel 10 was rewritten as the main antagonist. This cut was so close to the release, that one of the previews even contained Boomer briefly, falling off the viaduct along with Diesel 10. Coloring books contained references to him by name as well.
Boomer was seen in the movie in the form of two cameos, part of his confrontation with Burnett is seen by a distance as Stacy and Lily arrive in their car. Audibly the scene is re-dubbed so that Burnett is giving directions to a lost biker. The biker clad in an overcoat presents a dark contrast and appears somewhat menacing. Boomer is also visible on the back of Diesel 10's cab during the chase scene toward the end (the original ending had Boomer land on the back of Diesel 10 through the magic buffers).
(Continued in next post, due to word count)
Its story is centered on Lily Stone (Wilson), the granddaughter of the caretaker (Fonda) of an enchanted steam engine who is lacking an appropriate supply of coal, and Mr. Conductor (Baldwin) of Shining Time Station, whose provisions of magical gold dust are at a critical low. To ameliorate these problems, Lily and Mr. Conductor enlist the help of Thomas the Tank Engine (Glen), who confronts the ruthless Diesel 10 (Crone) along the way.
When Thomas and the Magic Railroad was first released in the U.K. where critics were unfamiliar with the characters from Shining Time Station, the film was accused of "Americanizing" Thomas. Critical reception in the U.S. was somewhat better, but still mostly negative, in stark contrast to the praise given to the original Shining Time Station, which was an award-winning show. General criticism of the film has been directed towards its plot, characterization, acting and special effects.
The film's critical and commercial failure led Allcroft to resign from her company, Gullane Entertainment (originally The Britt Allcroft Company) in September 2000. Two years later, Gullane was acquired by HiT Entertainment, which the television rights to Thomas were passed onto.
In a 2007 interview, director Britt Allcroft commented the finished film was drastically changed from what it was originally going to be the way she had written it. The perceived "laziness" in the plot was due to a major villain being cut from the film.
A major character, 'Pete Tiberius Boomer' (short nickname as P.T. Boomer or Pete Boom), portrayed by Canadian actor Doug Lennox, was originally portrayed as the main antagonist, but Boomer was deemed too frightening for younger audiences and therefore was entirely cut out from the film before its release. Because of P.T. Boomer's absence from the final film, the plot elements that had been driven by him went unexplained.
P.T. Boomer is described in the original cut of the script as being "a drifter through choice" and was intended to be Burnett Stone's adversary, the real culprit responsible for why Lady went too fast and crashed, not Diesel 10 as altered in the final cut. Jealous of the relationship that Burnett had with Tasha (Lily's Grandmother), Boomer bullied Burnett into allowing him to take Lady for a run and crashing her in revenge. After the accident, Boomer fled Indian Valley and Burnett spent years trying to restore her to no avail. He returns now a good forty years later a bitter and dark character, hell-bent on completing his revenge by finding and destroying Lady for good.
When audiences complained about him being "too scary" (a weird claim when the secondary villain is literally a Diesel with a claw) he was cut out at the last minute, explaining the laziness of the movie's final cut and Diesel 10 was rewritten as the main antagonist. This cut was so close to the release, that one of the previews even contained Boomer briefly, falling off the viaduct along with Diesel 10. Coloring books contained references to him by name as well.
Boomer was seen in the movie in the form of two cameos, part of his confrontation with Burnett is seen by a distance as Stacy and Lily arrive in their car. Audibly the scene is re-dubbed so that Burnett is giving directions to a lost biker. The biker clad in an overcoat presents a dark contrast and appears somewhat menacing. Boomer is also visible on the back of Diesel 10's cab during the chase scene toward the end (the original ending had Boomer land on the back of Diesel 10 through the magic buffers).
(Continued in next post, due to word count)
