Thomas and His Friends Help Out

Thomas and His Friends Help Out, re-released as Friends Help Out in 2009, is a US VHS/DVD featuring five first season episodes, three second season episodes, and three third season episodes narrated by George Carlin. It was distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1996, again in 2002, and released on DVD in 2003. It was released under the title, Helping the Friends for Brazilian audiences.

1996 VHS
Thomas, Gordon, Sir Topham Hatt, and the rest of the gang have learned many lessons about lending a helping hand. They have selected their favorite stories to create this special "best of" collection - all about helping.

PEEP! PEEP! Hop on board as a heavy snowfall strands the villagers-and Harold, Terence, Thomas, and Percy come to the rescue. Watch as Percy brings Annie and Clarabel home safely through a thunderstorm, and cheer on James as he tries his best to pull a very long train.

2002 VHS
PEEP! PEEP! According to Sir Topham Hatt: "Helping out is one of the best ways to show that you're Really Useful Engine." That's why it's so important for Thomas to race to the rescue when one of his friends needs a "helping hand," or in Thomas' case, a "helping buffer." This special collection of stories highlights your Sodor friends proving that sometimes friendship is stronger than fear as they help out those in need. Remember when Trevor was almost scrapped? Cheer on Thomas, Harold, Terence and Percy as they rescue villagers from a heavy snowfall, and find out what happens down at the mine. All Aboard!

2003/2009 DVD
PEEP! PEEP! According to Sir Topham Hatt: "Helping out is one of the best ways to show that you're a Really Useful Engine." That's why it's so important for Thomas to race to the rescue when one of his friends needs a "helping hand," or in Thomas' case, a "helping buffer." This special collection of stories highlights your Sodor friends proving that sometimes friendship is stronger than fear as they help out those in need. Remember when Trevor was almost scrapped? Cheer on Thomas, Harold, Terence and Percy as they rescue villagers from a heavy snowfall, and find out what happens down at the mine. All aboard for non-stop DVD fun and excitement!

2008 DVD
ALL ABOARD! According to Sir Topham Hatt, "Helping out is one of the best ways to show that you're a Really Useful Engine." That's why it's so important for Thomas to race to the rescue when one of his friends needs a "helping hand," or in Thomas' case, a "helping buffer." This special collection of stories highlights your Sodor friends proving that sometimes friendship is stronger than fear as they help out those in need.

Portuguese
PIUIIIII! PIUIIIII!

Segundo Sir Topham Hatt, "Ajudar é uma das melhores maneiras de mostrar que você é realmente um trem prestativo." Por isso, é tão importante para Thomas correr para resgatar um amigo quando ele precisa de uma "mão amiga," ou neste caso, de um "pára-choque amigo." Esta coleção especial de histórias mostra seus amigos de Sodor provando que a amizade é mais forte que o medo quando eles ajudam quem precisa. Lembra-se quando o Trevor quase foi parar no ferro-velho? Junte-se a Thomas, Harold, Terence e Percy enquanto eles socorrem pessoas de uma forte nevasca e descobrem o que acontece na mina. Todos a bordo para esta viagem sem escalas em um DVD divertido e empolgante!

English Translation
PEEEEEP! PEEEEEP!

According to Sir Topham Hatt, "Helping is one of the best ways to show that you are really a helpful train." So it is so important for Thomas who runs to rescue a friend when he needs a "helping hand," or in this case, a "bumper friend." This special collection of stories shows your friends of Sodor proving that friendship is stronger than fear when they help those in need. Remember when Trevor was almost stop in the junkyard? Join Thomas, Harold, Terence and Percy as they rely upon people of a heavy snowfall and discover what happens in the mine. All aboard for this nonstop trip on a fun and exciting DVD!

US

 * 1) Edward Helps Out
 * 2) Foolish Freight Cars
 * 3) Thomas, Percy and the Mail Train
 * 4) Thomas Breaks the Rules
 * 5) Down the Mine
 * 6) Percy's Promise
 * 7) Trouble in the Shed
 * 8) Donald and Douglas
 * 9) Saved from Scrap
 * 10) Bertie's Chase
 * 11) Thomas and Percy's Mountain Adventure

Brazil

 * 1) The Help of Edward
 * 2) Freight Cars
 * 3) The Mail Train
 * 4) Thomas Violates the Law
 * 5) Towards the Mine
 * 6) The Promise of Percy
 * 7) The Strike
 * 8) The Twins Scots
 * 9) New Beginning
 * 10) Help
 * 11) A Christmas Story

Bonus Features

 * Character Gallery from Best of Thomas
 * Link to The official website

Trivia

 * This is the last US DVD to open with the Grace & Wild Interactive Development and Gullane Entertainment logos.
 * The 2003 DVD was released along with Percy's Chocolate Crunch as one of the first DVDs to feature the HiT Entertainment Logo.
 * This release contains one episode from each of the first eleven Thomas videos released in the US (from Thomas Gets Tricked and Other Stories to Percy's Ghostly Trick and Other Thomas Stories).

Goofs

 * The front and back of the 1996 VHS features two images from No Joke for James, but that episode is not featured on the release.
 * On the DVD cover there are paint chips on Thomas' roof.
 * At the end of Foolish Freight Cars, the line, "After that performance, you deserve to keep your red coat" is cut out but restored in digital releases.
 * Percy's Promise and Foolish Freight Cars are out of sync; the former is due to the audio being taken from Trust Thomas and Other Stories, where the first few seconds of the opening on said release are cut, while the episode on this release is shown in its full form.
 * At the very end of Trouble in the Shed, as the ending theme starts, the top of the credits begin to appear over the picture, but it then cuts off to the nameboards.
 * On the 2008 DVD and sound book covers, an image of Edward is used, albeit with Thomas' face over it.
 * In the DVD menu, Gordon's tracks are standing on top of the bushes and so are Bertie's wheels.
 * In some releases, when the narrator says "Long ago" in Down the Mine, the audio cuts out.
 * The first five seconds of Saved from Scrap and the first three seconds of Foolish Freight Cars are cut out.
 * On Netflix and Hulu, the credits from the New Series are used.
 * In digital releases, after Donald and Douglas, Duncan's nameboard is shown twice.
 * In the DVD booklet, it listed that Thomas' Trackside Tunes and Other Thomas Adventures was available on DVD, but it was not released on DVD until 2008.
 * In the Brazilian Cover, it shows Henry instead of Percy with the parachute in the water
 * George Carlin is credited as the narrator in the opening credits of the Brazilian DVD.

DVD Packs

 * Totally Thomas Volume 3
 * Ultimate Thomas Collection
 * Thomas and his Friends Help Out and Percy Saves the Day and Other Adventures 2-pack
 * Thomas and his Friends Help Out and Stop, Train, Stop! 2-pack
 * Thomas and his Friends Help Out and Thomas' Trackside Tunes Double Feature