| This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the magazine story. |
- “I've really messed up."
"It's not your fault. The elephant ran off because it was scared. Everything here must seem very strange to it.” - ― Nia and Belle
Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant is the seventh episode of the twenty-fourth series.
Plot[]
Nia is given the job of bringing an elephant to the Animal Park but hits a problem; the elephant does not like steam engines. Nia tries all sorts of ways to get the elephant to agree with her and go to the park, but she is not able to. She finally thinks of a way to succeed, and when she does, she is given the job of helping out at the animal park.
Characters[]
- Gordon
- Percy
- Belle
- Nia
- Rebecca
- Daisy
- Sir Topham Hatt
- The Elephant Carer
- Rosie (cameo)
- Diesel (cameo)
- Luke (cameo)
- The Teacher (cameo)
- Headkeeper Jack (cameo)
- Thomas (narration only)
Locations[]
- Island of Sodor
- The Mainland
- Kenya (mentioned)
Cast[]
UK[]
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Keith Wickham as Gordon and the Fat Controller
- Nigel Pilkington as Percy
- Teresa Gallagher as Belle
- Yvonne Grundy as Nia
- Rachael Miller as Rebecca
- Tracy-Ann Oberman as Daisy
- Rob Rackstraw as the Elephant Carer
US[]
- Joseph May as Thomas
- Kerry Shale as Gordon
- Christopher Ragland as Percy
- Teresa Gallagher as Belle
- Yvonne Grundy as Nia
- Rachael Miller as Rebecca
- Tracy-Ann Oberman as Daisy
- Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt
- Rob Rackstraw as the Elephant Carer
Trivia[]
- The opening montage of animals are all references to past episodes, the seventeenth series episode Luke's New Friend, the nineteenth series episode Toad and the Whale, the twentieth series episode Diesel and the Ducklings and the fourth series episode Bulls Eyes.
- According to Ian McCue, this episode was originally going to be in the twenty-first series and then the twenty-third series after the twenty-first series was cut short. Additionally, it was simply called The Unfriendly Elephant. Logically, this would mean that it was altered to suit Nia, as the twenty-first series was before she was introduced. It is currently unknown who got the major role in the original version before Nia arrived.
- This episode marks the last of a few things:
- Belle, Luke and Headkeeper Jack's last appearances.
- The last episode in which Thomas does not physically appear at all outside narration.
- When trying to get the elephant into her animal wagon, Nia sings an alternative version of Enda Ulale. This alternative version of Enda Ulale was performed by Yvonne Grundy instead of Patricia Kihoro.
- Nia mentioning how she encountered very difficult elephants before could be a likely reference to Big World! Big Adventures!, in which she and Thomas once encountered an elephant that was blocking their line.
- This episode was never aired in Germany and South Korea.
- In the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Baltic Russian dubs, the UK dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.
Goofs[]
- In the US dub, when Belle says, "No, I haven't," she has her UK voice.
- In the UK dub, when Nia comes to the elephant with the apples on the Vicarstown Bridge, she calls the elephant's truck a car.
Merchandise[]
Motorized[]
Nia and the Elephant Set
Magazine Stories[]
Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant (2023/2024)
Home Media Releases[]
UK/IRL/AUS[]
In Other Languages[]
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Brazilian Portuguese | Nia e a elefanta hostil |
| Czech | Nia a bázlivý slon |
| Dutch | Nia en de Dwarse Olifant |
| Estonian | Nina ja Pahur Elevant |
| Greek | Η Νία και ο εχθρικός ελέφαντας |
| Hebrew | ניה והפילה הלא חברותית |
| Italian | Nia e l'Elefantina Testarda |
| Japanese | ニアとあたらしいゾウさん |
| Latin American Spanish | Nia y la elefante desconfiada |
| Latvian | Nia un Nedraudzīgais Zilonis |
| Lithuanian | Nija ir Nedraugiškas Dramblys |
| Polish | Nia i Uparty Słoń |
| Russian | Ниа и слон |
| Spanish | Nia y una elefanta desconfiada |
| Turkish | Nia ve Huysuz Fil |
External Links[]
| #01 Emily's Best Friend | #09 Thomas' Not-So-Lucky Day | #17 Gordon and Rebecca, Coming Through! |
| #02 Thomas' Fuzzy Friend | #10 Ace's Brave Jump | #18 Kenji on the Rails Again |
| #03 The Great Little Railway Show | #11 Nia's Bright Idea | #19 Cleo the Road Engine |
| #04 Thomas and the Forest Engines | #12 Cleo's First Snow | #20 Thomas' Animal Friends |
| #05 Emily to the Rescue | #13 Sonny's Second Chance | Special #01 Thomas and the Royal Engine |
| #06 Shankar's Makeover | #14 Thomas and the Inventor's Workshop | Special #02 A New Arrival |
| #07 Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant | #15 The Inventor's Spectacular Bridge | Special #03 World of Tomorrow |
| #08 James the Super Engine | #16 Yong Bao and the Tiger | |