Meet the Characters!

Meet the Characters!, also known as Meet Thomas' Friends, are a series of promotional videos that tie into Big World! Big Adventures! and Series 22. The videos are narrated by John Hasler and Joseph May as Thomas in their respective dubs and focus on a specific character, their personality and country of origin, with some specific scenes using specially-shot footage if there is no such footage in the archives. They are available as DVD extras and uploaded to the official Thomas and Friends YouTube channels for both the US and UK. The characters being focused on are either new characters from Big World! Big Adventures! and Series 22 or returnees from The Great Race. The first video was released on 24th August 2018.

In 2019, a second set of these videos were produced for further new characters and returning characters from The Great Race in Digs and Discoveries and Series 23. Currently, the roster is strictly Italian, with the Brazillian characters absent from the lineup.

Description
Meet Ace, a super cool super fast racing car from Australia! The video was released on 24th August 2018 in the UK and 13th September 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Ace
 * Flying Scotsman
 * Nia
 * Sidney
 * Annie and Clarabel

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Vicarstown Bridge
 * Ffarquhar
 * Mauritania
 * The Sahara
 * Brazil
 * Amazon Rainforest
 * Australia

Episodes

 * Big World! Big Adventures!

Trivia

 * The events of Big World! Big Adventures! are mentioned in this video.

Description
Meet Nia, a steam engine Thomas met on his big world adventure! The video was released on 31st August 2018 in the UK and 8th September 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Nia
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Porter
 * Rebecca
 * Salty
 * Cranky
 * Carly
 * Big Mickey

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Knapford Yards
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Brendam Docks
 * Kenya

Episodes

 * Big World! Big Adventures!
 * Counting on Nia

Trivia

 * The events of Big World! Big Adventures! are mentioned in this video.
 * The sequence of Nia arranging the trucks at Brendam Docks was reused in Counting on Nia.

Goofs

 * In the "scrapbook" scenes, the flag of South Africa is used instead of the flag of Kenya.

Description
Meet Beau, a really cool mining engine that works in the wild west! The video was released in the UK on 7th September 2018 and on 4th October 2018.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Beau
 * Ace
 * Cowboys and Cowgirls

Locations

 * United States
 * Morenci Loop
 * Island of Sodor

Episodes

 * Big World! Big Adventures!

Goofs

 * When Beau rotates around, his leading pony truck does not move and faces the same direction throughout as Beau spins.

Description
Meet Hong Mei, a blue tank engine just like Thomas! The video was released on 14th September 2018 in the UK and on 27th September 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Hong-Mei
 * An An and Yin-Long
 * Yong Bao

Locations

 * China
 * The Chinese Railway Bridge

Episodes

 * Number One Engine

Description
Meet the beautiful and majestic Yong Bao from China! The video was released on 20th September 2018 in the US and 2nd November 2018 in the UK.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Yong Bao
 * James
 * Emily
 * Rajiv
 * Carlos
 * Shane
 * Ivan
 * Lei

Locations

 * The Mainland
 * The Great Railway Show Yard
 * China
 * Chinese Railway Shunting Yard
 * Himalayas

Episodes

 * The Great Race
 * Yong Bao of China
 * Runaway Truck
 * Thomas and the Dragon

Trivia

 * The events of The Great Race are mentioned in this video.

Description
Noor Jehan is so elegant and glamourous. The video was released on 21st September 2018 in the UK and 29th November 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Rajiv
 * Noor Jehan

Episodes

 * Trusty Trunky
 * Tiger Trouble
 * Thomas Goes to Bollywood

Locations

 * India
 * Indian Railway Shunting Yard
 * Varkala Railway Station

Trivia

 * This is the only video in which the main subject of the video does not speak.

Description
Meet Rajiv - the most glamorous steam engine on the railway! The video was released on 28th September 2018 in the UK and 22nd November 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Rajiv
 * Ashima
 * Noor Jehan
 * Charubala
 * The Indian Actor

Locations

 * India
 * Varkala Railway Station

Episodes

 * Trusty Trunky
 * Tiger Trouble

Trivia

 * The events of The Great Race are mentioned in this video.

Description
Shane is a large and powerful steam engine. The video was released on 5th October 2018 in the UK and on 25th October 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Shane
 * Aubrey and Aiden

Locations

 * Australia
 * Kakadu National Park
 * Pine Tree Station

Episodes

 * Outback Thomas

Trivia

 * Tim Bain voiced Shane in this video as opposed to Shane Jacobson.

Description
Meet Rebecca, a steam engine who has recently come to work on the Island of Sodor! The video was released on 12th October 2018 in the UK and 18th October 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Rebecca
 * Marion
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Nia
 * Winston
 * Sir Topham Hatt

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Knapford
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Mainland

Episodes

 * Confusion Without Delay
 * What Rebecca Does

Description
Meet Shankar, a hardworking diesel engine from the Indian railway! The video was released on 19th October 2018 in the UK and 6th December 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Shankar
 * Tiger Hunters

Locations

 * India
 * Indian Railway Shunting Yard
 * Varkala Railway Station

Episodes

 * Trusty Trunky
 * Tiger Trouble

Trivia

 * The events of Tiger Trouble are mentioned in this video.

Goofs

 * In the UK narration, the music at the start of the video is distorted.

Description
Meet Tamika, a historic steam engine from Australia! The video was released on 26th October 2018 in the UK and 13th December 2018 in the US.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Tamika

Locations

 * Australia
 * The Kuranda Rainforest

Episodes

 * Banjo and the Bushfire

Description
Isla is from Australia, just like Shane. She is brave and flies. The video was released 1st November 2018 in the US and 9th November 2018 in the UK.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Aubrey and Aiden
 * Isla
 * Dr. Claire
 * Shane

Locations

 * Australia
 * The Outback Mine
 * The Old Rickety Bridge

Episodes

 * Outback Thomas
 * Kangaroo Christmas
 * Cyclone Thomas

Description
Meet Ashima, a friend of Thomas from India.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Ashima
 * Rajiv
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * The Indian Breakdown Cranes

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * The Watermill
 * India
 * Indian Railway Shunting Yard
 * Varkala Railway Station

Episodes

 * The Great Race
 * Trusty Trunky

Description
Lorenzo is a vintage locomotive. He was once a fast and impulsive engine, but in a bid for notoriety and desperate to find treasure, he would rush into archaeological digs without taking the time to understand his surroundings - which led to him being trapped in a disused dig... until Thomas rescues him!

He loves the sound of his own voice and being the center of attention, especially while singing operatic ditties with his small coach, Beppe. Whilst his speaking voice may be deep, Lorenzo has a classical tenor singing voice.

Beppe is Lorenzo's small coach - he loves to sensationalise situations and idolises Lorenzo. Beppe and Lorenzo are like an operatic double act and often break out into song. Beppe sings the bass notes to Lorenzo's tenor voice.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Lorenzo
 * Beppe
 * Gina
 * Stefano

Locations

 * Italy
 * The Colosseum
 * The Italian Station
 * The Italian Shunting Yard
 * The Italian Scrapyard
 * The Italian Mine

Trivia

 * This is the first short to introduce two characters at the same time (Lorenzo and Beppe).
 * As of this short:
 * A snippet of Set Friendship in Motion plays at the start of each video.
 * Throughout each video, an instrumental of The Journey Never Ends plays.

Description
Gina is an enthusiastic and passionate engine who loves her homeland of Italy. She's a loyal friend to Thomas but can get a little disgruntled with him when he makes silly remarks about her beloved country's history.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gina
 * Beppe
 * Jack
 * Alfie
 * Oliver
 * Max and Monty
 * Brenda

Locations

 * Italy
 * The Colosseum
 * Leaning Tower of Pisa
 * The Italian Mine

Description
Stefano is a huge amphibious vehicle who can transport engines and other vehicles around the world. He is a bit of a showboat and loves to wow people with his amphibious ability, and revels in their surprise. He is a confident performer and raconteur who likes to tell stories and sees himself as a boat of the world. Stefano can be quite charming and gentle and is not really as full of himself as his pompous manner might suggest. There is a genuine warmth to his larger-than-life, friendly personality, and he truly cares about others.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Lorenzo
 * Stefano
 * Gina
 * Beppe

Locations

 * Italy
 * The Italian Seaside Station