| This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the Slovenian VHS/DVD or the Take Along DVD. |
- "Make way for an important engine!"
"You wouldn't feel important if one of these trees crashed on you. You'd feel hurt."
"Rubbish! It wouldn't dare!"
"You should be careful, James. Trees can be just as powerful as engines."
"Pah! Now, if you'll excuse me, the Fat Controller needs me to pull the Express." - ― James, Percy and Terence about trees
James and the Trouble with Trees is the fifth episode of the fifth series. In the US, it aired with Make Someone Happy in an episode of Storytime with Thomas.
Plot
One evening, Thomas the Tank Engine has been working hard all day at the coal yards and is covered in coal dust. He is disappointed when he cannot receive a washdown due to a broken hosepipe, as a bath would make him feel much better and is afraid that the other engines will make fun of his dirty paintwork. But, luckily for Thomas, when he comes back to the sheds, he finds James boasting; he is being given a new coat of paint the next day, as the Fat Controller has told him that he is the pride of the line. Henry contradicts James by saying they are all the pride of the line. When Thomas crossly declares that he is the one who needs a new coat of paint, James retorts that he is not a pleasant sight and would not understand the needs of a really important engine, leaving Thomas fuming.
While James is being repainted the next morning, Henry is shunting some trucks, only for them to unintentionally run into a few solid boxes and causing the first two to come off the tracks. James suggests he should go talk to a tree instead if he cannot push trucks properly, especially since he loves his own forest. Henry tells James that the Fat Controller has been inspecting the Island and removing trees that are too close to the line in order to prevent potential trouble. James claims that, if he came upon a tree, he'd just push it aside but Henry is not convinced. Later, James meets Thomas, Percy and Terence while in the forest removing trees. Percy and Terence try to warn him about how trees can be just as powerful as engines and hurt them, but this irritates the vain red engine as he ignores them and sets off for the station to pull the Express.
However, when James arrives at the station for his coaches, the Fat Controller orders him to fetch an important heavy goods train instead. James complains that he has been repainted and asks if Thomas or Percy can do it as they are dirty and like working with trucks but the Fat Controller tells him that really useful engines do not argue. This puts James in a very bad mood but, at the docks, the weather has changed for the worse. One of the trucks teases James before he sets off with the train. They soon reach a hill and begin to climb, only for the wind to start blowing an old tree that is by the side of the line, causing it to slide onto the tracks due to the heavy rain weakening the soil. James quickly stops to avoid hitting the tree and tries to reverse but the train is too heavy. Luckily for him, Thomas comes to his rescue. At first, James is embarrassed and worried that Thomas will tease him but Thomas knows that James needs rescuing. Thomas couples to the back of the train and helps James move out of the way just in the nick of time before the tree falls over.
Back at the yard, James thanks Thomas for rescuing him. Edward arrives and tells them that the Fat Controller says that they are both brave engines. As a reward, Thomas will get a new coat of paint while James will pull the Special Express, making them both very happy.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- James
- Percy
- Terence
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Troublesome Trucks (one speaks, the rest laugh)
- Gordon (speaks in Japanese dub as a goof; cameo)
- Farmer Finney (cameo)
- Mr. Walsh (cameo)
- The Mid Sodor Railway Manager (cameo)
Locations
- The Coal Mines
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Gordon's Hill
- Kirk Ronan
- Brendam Docks
- The Unsafe Tree Hill
- Wellsworth
- Henry's Forest (mentioned)
Trivia
- According to the film slates:
- The scene with James collecting his trucks at Brendam Docks was filmed on 18 September 1997.
- The scene with James and the Fat Controller on the Kirk Ronan Station set was filmed on 14 October 1997. The close-up shots of the Fat Controller during that scene were filmed on 16 October 1997.
- The ending scene on the Wellsworth Station set was filmed on 22 October 1997.
- The first scene of Thomas at the Coaling Plant was filmed on 3 and 4 December 1997.
- The scene with Thomas, James, Percy and Terence at Henry's Forest was filmed on 10 December 1997.
- The scene on the Unsafe Tree Hill set and the close-up shots of James' crew and Thomas' whistle were filmed on 12 and 15 December 1997.
- The close-up shot of Thomas' driver saying that there's a problem with the hosepipe was filmed on 16 December 1997.
- This episode was originally meant to be the third episode of the fifth series during filming.
- This episode is inspired by an event that occurred during David Maidment's time as stationmaster of Aberbeeg in Monmouthshire, Wales. During a stormy night in November 1964, a tree slid down a bank and stood upright in the middle of the track between the station and Ebbw Vale, with a 72XX 2-8-2 tank engine struggling to reverse its heavy train away from it.
- The title is a potential reference to the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles".
- This episode marks Terence's first speaking role since the third series episode, Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure.
- This episode marks the only appearance of the Unsafe Tree Hill.
- The scene of the tree sliding down the embankment is similar to the scene in the 1970 British film adaptation of E. Nesbit's classic children's novel, The Railway Children, when the three children watch trees sliding down a cutting, causing rocks to fall onto the rails.
- Scrap pieces of the Märklin Engine and the goods engine from Tugs can be seen at Wellsworth at the end.
- This is the last episode to feature Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Vans with faces.
- When James says, "Make way for an important engine!", Duck's theme is used.
- In the US and international dubs, when the Troublesome Trucks derail, the crash sounds are different from the UK dub.
- Henry's statement that the Fat Controller is having trees that are close to the line removed for fear that they will end up causing trouble might have been a response to Wilbert Awdry's criticism of the third series episode, Henry's Forest. Part of his criticism of the episode was about the trees being too close to the line and thus, could catch fire from sparks out of Henry's funnel.
- This episode marks the second time visible rain effects are used since the third series episode, Percy's Promise.
- In the US, this episode aired before A Better View for Gordon, meaning the American audience may not have known about Gordon's View at Kirk Ronan unless they had already seen said episode on the Cranky Bugs and Other Thomas Stories release.
- Pre-filmed deleted footage from Put Upon Percy is used.
- The Take Along deluxe play scene pack based on this episode features James with his wincing face, even though he was wearing his shocked face when nearly colliding with the tree in the actual episode.
Goofs
- The coal dust on Thomas disappears and reappears throughout the episode.
- James has his fourth series whistle sound when he leaves the forest, Kirk Ronan and the docks.
- In the Japanese dub, Henry has Gordon's voice during the scene at Tidmouth Sheds.
- Percy's face is crooked in the scene of him and Thomas looking cross.
- When James is being repainted, one of the painters' heads is on backwards.
- When Henry is shunting the trucks, he is coming from a dead end.
- James is about to pull the Express, however it instead consists of three Red Stroudley Coaches at Kirk Ronan.
- At the shunting yard, the two trucks to James' right move positions between the wide and close-up shots.
- After James exits Brendam Docks, the trucks lose their faces.
- In one of the first close-ups of James looking shocked, his face is dry but in the next close-up of him looking shocked, his face is wet. Also, the edge of the set can be seen.
- When James' driver applies his brakes without hitting the old tree, his pony truck wheels derailed. Interestingly, the first take of the same shot also reveals that the pony truck was actually placed on the tracks but the take went unused in the final cut.
- From James' point-of-view when he stops in front of the tree, the camera was obviously wet, as a white smudge mark can be seen across the tree trunk.
- When James says "Oh, Help! Go Away!", his eyes are slightly wonky
- In the second and third close-ups of James looking shocked, a white light is seen in the top-left corner and James is also on the other side of the set as the tree can be seen behind him.
- When Thomas is being coupled up to the brake van, he is some centimetres away from it but his buffers are touching the brake van's buffers when he whistles to James he's ready.
- When Thomas and James start to back away from the old tree:
- Thomas' driver's head looks up (possibly coming off its joints).
- The tree is standing up again.
- James' brake pipe is crooked.
Quotes
- James: If you can't push trucks properly, Henry, why not talk to a tree instead? You know how much you like the forest.
- Henry: As a matter of fact, bossy boiler, the Fat Controller is inspecting the island for trees that are too close to the line. He's worried they might cause trouble.
- James: Ha! If I came upon a tree, I'd just push it aside!
- Henry: Really?!
- James: Make way for an important engine!
- Percy: You wouldn't feel important if one of these trees crashed on you. You'd feel hurt.
- James: Rubbish! It wouldn't dare!
- Terence: You should be careful, James. Trees can be just as powerful as engines.
- James: Pah! Now, if you'll excuse me, the Fat Controller needs me to pull the Express.
- Truck: Your colour's nice, James. Pity about your face, though!
In Other Languages
| View content | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Merchandise
Home Video Releases
UKUK DVD PacksWALUS
CAN
US/CAN DVD BoxsetAUS
AUS DVD Packs
NZ
ZA
MYS
ITAGERGER DVD BoxsetNORDKSWESVNGRC
GRC DVD BoxsetTHAJPN
KOR
HK
TWN |
Episode
Reference
| #01 Cranky Bugs | #10 Toby and the Flood | #19 Happy Ever After |
| #02 Horrid Lorry | #11 Haunted Henry | #20 Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday |
| #03 A Better View for Gordon | #12 Double Teething Troubles | #21 A Surprise for Percy |
| #04 Lady Hatt's Birthday Party | #13 Stepney Gets Lost | #22 Make Someone Happy |
| #05 James and the Trouble with Trees | #14 Toby's Discovery | #23 Busy Going Backwards |
| #06 Gordon and the Gremlin | #15 Something in the Air | #24 Duncan Gets Spooked |
| #07 Bye George! | #16 Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach | #25 Rusty and the Boulder |
| #08 Baa! | #17 Thomas and the Rumours | #26 Snow |
| #09 Put Upon Percy | #18 Oliver's Find | |