20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio currently owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio was formed in 1935 due to a merger between Fox Film Corporation and 20th Century Pictures, which were founded in 1915 and 1933 respectively. They distributed Thomas & Friends DVDs in the United States and Canada from the ninth to eleventh series on behalf of HiT Entertainment from 2006 until 2008, after which video distribution in the US and Canada was moved to Lionsgate.
The company also operated a channel named FOX Family from 1998 to 2001, which aired reruns of Shining Time Station as well as Storytime with Thomas and Mister Moose's Fun Time, which both featured Thomas stories as a regular segment.
Releases
Original Releases
Tales from the Tracks (May 23, 2006)
Come Ride the Rails (September 12, 2006)
Milkshake Muddle (February 6, 2007)- Carnival Capers (August 7, 2007)
- Hit Favorites: Winter Wonderland (November 20, 2007)
- HiT Favorites: Springtime Fun! (January 29, 2008)
- Engines and Escapades (March 4, 2008)
- HiT Favorites: Summertime Fun! (May 13, 2008)
- The Great Discovery (September 9, 2008; Dropped)
HiT Re-releases
- Steamies vs. Diesels and Other Thomas Adventures (2006 DVD re-release)
- It's Great to be an Engine! (2006/2007 DVD re-release)
- Thomas' Sodor Celebration! (2006 DVD re-release)
- Songs from the Station (2006 VHS/DVD re-release)
- Calling All Engines! (2006 VHS/DVD re-release)
- Track Stars (2006 DVD re-release)
Double Features
- Bob the Builder: Bob's Favorite Adventures/Thomas & Friends: It's Great to be an Engine!
- Bob the Builder: Yes We Can!/Thomas & Friends: Songs from the Station
- Bob the Builder: Scoop's Favorite Adventures/Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines!
DVD Packs
- All-Aboard for Adventure! (May 15, 2007)
- Steam Engine Stories (October 16, 2007)
- Train Loads of Stories (January 8, 2008)
- 4-Disc DVD Box Set (July 1, 2008)
Mainstream Releases
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 1
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 2
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 3
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 4
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 5
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 6
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 7
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 8
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 9
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 10
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 11
- Thomas and Friends - Volume 12
- Thomas and the Stinky Cheese
- Engines and Escapades
- Thomas and the Lighthouse
- Thomas Is Done to the Sea
- Hero of the Rails
- Misty Island Rescue
- Blue Mountain Mystery
- King of the Railway
DVD Boxsets
Trivia
- As shown in an early trailer for The Great Discovery, Fox was originally going to distribute the movie in the US and Canada, but Lionsgate was instead chosen to distribute the movie and all future DVD releases on behalf of HiT Entertainment until 2014.
- The brake sound effect used in the first two seasons of Thomas & Friends was originally used in Fox films such as The Sand Pebbles, Emperor of the North and the original Planet of the Apes.
- 20th Century Studios also owns The Simpsons, which Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, Pierce Brosnan and Olivia Colman have guest starred on. The Simpsons has also made references to Thomas the Tank Engine before.