| This article is about the special. You may be looking for the music album, the e-book or the paperback book. |
- "It's like Farona and Frederico said, 'First-time racers always derail', but I'm not a first-time racer anymore!"
"Wow Kana! Does that mean you're gonna race for the Sodor Cup?"
"It means I'm going to try... teammate!" - ― Kana and Thomas
Race for the Sodor Cup is a 2021 feature-length Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go special. It is the first All Engines Go film and the fifteenth Thomas & Friends film overall.
Plot[]
Super-fast Kana is convinced that her speed is all she needs to win the Race for the Sodor Cup, a competition that draws engines from all over the world. However, when a racing practice gone wrong causes her partner, Kenji, to get hurt, Kana ends up paired with Thomas. Kana and Thomas will discover that it takes teamwork to become the best racers they can be, but is it enough to defeat the international champions and win the Sodor Cup?
Characters[]
- Thomas
- Gordon
- Percy
- Nia
- Diesel
- Carly
- Sandy
- Kenji
- Kana
- Troublesome Trucks
- Bulstrode
- Cranky
- Sir Topham Hatt
- James (does not speak)
- Harold (does not speak)
- Henry (cameo)
- Emily (cameo)
- Annie and Clarabel (cameos)
- Farmer McColl (mentioned)
Returning Character[]
Characters Introduced[]
Locations[]
- Island of Sodor
- The Dark and Windy Tunnel
- Knapford
- The Maintenance Yard
- The Tunnel of Zoom
- Wellsworth Intersection
- Norramby Beach
- Harwick
- Sodor Wildlife Sanctuary
- Suddery
- The Funnel Tunnel
- Brendam Docks
- Blue Mountain Hills
- Vicarstown Lighthouse
- The Dark Woods
- McColl Farm
- The Old Mines
- Crumble Canyon
- Cannonball Curve
- Quickdraw Bridge
- Whiff's Recycling Plant (map only)
- Callan Castle (map only)
- The Windmill (map only)
- The Mainland (map only)
Cast[]
UK[]
- Aaron Barashi as Thomas
- Will Harrison-Wallace as Gordon, Cranky and Bulstrode
- Henri Charles as Percy
- Dai Tabuchi as Hiro and Kenji
- Sade Smith as Nia
- Henry Harrison as Diesel
- Eva Mohamed as Carly
- Holly Dixon as Sandy
- Chloe Raphael as Kana
- Humberly Gonzalez as Farona (original dub)
- Thomas Santoro as Frederico (original dub)
- Addison Holley as Riff (original dub)
- Evany Rosen as Jiff (original dub)
- Jessica Carroll as Riff, Jiff and Farona (re-dub)
- Matt Coles as Frederico (re-dub)
- Jai Armstrong as the Troublesome Trucks
- Bruce Dow as Sir Topham Hatt (original dub)
- Tom Dussek as Sir Topham Hatt (re-dub)
US[]
- Meesha Contreras as Thomas
- Neil Crone as Gordon
- Charlie Zeltzer as Percy
- Kintaro Akiyama as Hiro and Kenji
- Talia Evans as Nia
- Shomoy James Mitchell as Diesel
- Jenna Warren as Carly
- Glee Dango as Sandy
- Ava Ro as Kana
- Humberly Gonzalez as Farona
- Thomas Santoro as Frederico
- Addison Holley as Riff
- Evany Rosen as Jiff
- Cory Doran as Cranky and the Brown Troublesome Truck
- Jamie Watson as Bulstrode and the Green Troublesome Truck
- Bruce Dow as Sir Topham Hatt
Songs[]
| Screenshot | Title | Composers | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
When I Go Fast | Julie Fader | 18 March 2022 |
| In this high octane pop song, Kana demonstrates her electric speed, complete with a thumping synth bass line. | |||
 |
The Training Song | Annelise Noronha | 25 March 2022 |
| A calming song as Hiro explains to Kana and Thomas that speed isn't everything. | |||
 |
Look It's Us | Hill Kourkoutis Damhnait Doyle |
1 April 2022 |
| A triumphant, uplifting pop song as Kana and Thomas see the finish line in sight. | |||
Bonus Features[]
UK/IRL/AUS[]
- Sing-Along Songs - When I Go Fast, The Training Song, and Look It's Us
US/CAN[]
- Sing-Along Songs - All Engines Go, I'm Gonna Chug, and When I Go Fast
- Shorts - Muddy Thomas, Surprise!, and Confetti Kerfuffle
JPN[]
- Sing-Along Song - All Engines Go Theme Song
- Let's Race Shorts - The Egg Race, The Bell Race, The Flag Race, The Obstacle Race
- Race for the Sodor Cup Trailer
Advertisements[]
UK/IRL[]
- "The Biggest Friends of All" Brand Advertisement
- "Trains and Cranes Super Tower" Advertisement
Trivia[]
- Going by production order, this is the twenty-seventh production of the first series.
- This special marks the first of many things:
- The first full-length special to come out of the franchise since Big World! Big Adventures!, as both Digs & Discoveries and Marvellous Machinery were simply comprised of extended episodes from the original series.
- The first All Engines Go production to be released in the UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.
- The first special since The Great Race where the runtime is 60 minutes.
- The first special in where Toby does not appear since The Adventure Begins.
- The first US/Canadian DVD since Misty Island Rescue not to have the scene selection menu.
- The first US/Canadian DVD since Calling All Engines! not to have the language selection menu nor the Spanish dub.
- The first special in the franchise's history in which Henry, James and Emily do not have speaking roles since their introductions.
- The first special in where Emily has a number.
- The first special in which Edward does not make any sort of appearance at all and where Neil Crone is part of the voice cast in the special since Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
- Hiro's first speaking role in a special since King of the Railway and his first appearance in a special since Journey Beyond Sodor.
- The first special since Hero of the Rails in which Annie and Clarabel do not have any speaking roles since their introductions.
- Kenji, Kana, Sandy and Bulstrode's first appearances in a special.
- The first special to have two directors.
- The first special to be redubbed in the UK.
- The first All Engines Go DVD released in Japan.
- The first special in the franchise's history to take place entirely on Sodor and in where Thomas does not leave Sodor since Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
- This special marks the only appearances of many things:
- The only special to have Rick Suvalle as a producer.
- The only special directed by Jason Groh.
- The only special where Bruce Dow, Addison Holley, Evany Rosen, Humberly Gonzalez, and Thomas Santoro voice Sir Topham Hatt, Riff, Jiff, Farona, and Frederico in the UK.
- The only special in All Engines Go to introduce new characters.
- Farona and Frederico's only speaking roles.
- Hiro's only physical appearance in All Engines Go until the fourth series episode, Art Engines Go!.
- The only special to have Shomoy James Mitchell as Diesel in the US dub.
- The only All Engines Go US/Canadian DVD to have shorts and the only US DVD to have bonus features.
- The only All Engines Go DVD released in the UK and Australia. In the case of the UK, it is also the final DVD release of the entire franchise in the UK to date. This is likely due to Mattel pulling the plug on DVD releases in the UK.
- This special marks last of a few things:
- The last US/Canadian Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go US/Canadian DVD to have music on the menus.
- The final special released during former US DVD and Video game Narrator Robin Smith's lifetime.
- An exclusive preview of the special premiered in Drayton Manor's Thomas Land in the UK from 4 to 5 September 2021.
- Sir Topham Hatt saying "Welcome to the 77th running of the Sodor Cup!" is likely a reference to the 77th anniversary of The Railway Series.
- Percy splashing into the sea at Harwick is similar to how he splashed into the water in the original second series episode, Percy Takes the Plunge.
- The plot has some similarities to the 2016 special, The Great Race.
- At the beginning of the special, Nia makes a reference to the first series episode, Music is Everywhere.
- The events of this special are later mentioned by Kana in the second series episode, Fast Friends.
- According to Rick Suvalle, there was a scene where Hiro was meant to be referred to as Master of the Railway, but ended up being cut due to either time or children misunderstanding.[1]
- To tie into the special, the official YouTube Channel have released short video series called Let's Race, which sets in the same theme as the Sodor Cup race itself.
- This special aired on 8 July 2022 on Nick Jr. in the UK and Ireland, and was repeated on 9 July.
- During the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the special was repeated on Channel 5 followed by other family films including Stuart Little, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Emoji Movie and Sing on 19 September 2022.
- The UK DVD and TV releases is played at a slightly faster speed than the US Netflix release, causing the audio to be played at a slightly higher pitch.
- The UK DVD and TV releases is shorter by approximately 3 minutes as a result.
- The Japanese release uses the All Engines Go Theme Song.
- The special was nominated in 2023 for the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Sound. [2]
Goofs[]
- In some scenes of the film, Nia is missing her coal bunker.
- In the overhead view of Brendam Docks, James is missing his buffers, couplings, dome, whistle, cab windows, cab side cutouts, lamp, lining and one of his tender axles.
- In one scene, Emily is missing her tender.
- At Knapford Station, at the start line and when Sir Topham Hatt is looking at his tablet, Henry's lamp is missing.
- In one scene, James' lamp is on the wrong side.
- In the top view of the Haystack Race, Frederico and Jiff have gained buffers in their front.
- In the UK dub, after Sir Topham Hatt says "I think this machine needs new batteries", the sound of the spectators sighing is not here.
- In the UK release, the US dub credits appear at the end as opposed to the UK dub.
- The Troublesome Trucks are not featured in the US credits for the voices.
- In a scene where Riff, Jiff, Farona, Frederico, Kana, and Thomas couple up to their flatbeds with a boat, Jiff, along with Frederico couple up behind their flatbeds even though their front couplers are absent and therefore should be rear-facing.
- Riff and Jiff's voices incorrectly swap after the former says that the track broke.
- When the sing-along versions of the songs were released on the Official UK YouTube Channel, the US dub was used instead of the UK dub.
- This error also occurred on the UK/AUS DVD.
- Despite the film being called "Rennen um den Sodor-Pokal" in Germany, the competition is referred to by its original name "Sodor Cup".
In Other Languages[]
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Arabic | سابق للفوز بكأس سودور ! |
| Bulgarian | Състезание за купата на Содор |
| Croatian | Utrka za Sodorski kup |
| Czech | Závod o Sodorský Pohár |
| Danish | Sodor-cuppen |
| Dutch | Race om de Sodor Cup |
| Estonian | Sodori karikas |
| Finnish | Sodorin kilpa-ajot |
| French | La course pour la coupe de Sodor |
| German | Rennen um den Sodor-Pokal |
| Greek | Αγώνας για το Κύπελλο Σόντορ |
| Hungarian | Verseny a Sodor-kupáért! |
| Italian | Pronti per la Sodor Cup |
| Japanese | めざせ！夢のチャンピオンカップ |
| Korean | 소도어컵 레이스 |
| Latvian | Sodoras kausa sacikstes |
| Lithuanian | Sodoro taurės lenktynės |
| Mandarin (China) | 索多島盃競速大賽 |
| Mandarin (Taiwan) | 多多島盃競賽 |
| Norwegian | Sodor-cupen |
| Polish | Wyścig o Puchar Sodoru |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | A Corrida Pela Taça Sodor |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | A Corrida Pela Taça de Sodor |
| Romanian | Cursa pentru Cupa Sodor |
| Russian | Гонка за Кубок Содора |
| Serbian | U trci za nagradu ostrva Sodor |
| Slovenian | Dirka za Sodorjev pokal |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Carrera por la Copa de Sodor |
| Swedish | Den stora tågtävlingen |
| Turkish | Sodor Kupası Yarışı |
| Welsh | Ras Cwpan Sodor |
Merchandise[]
- Push Along (discontinued)
- Motorized (discontinued)
Releases[]
Home Media[]
Online[]
- Netflix (View on Netflix)
- Sky Store (UK and Ireland only) (View on Sky Store)
- Paramount+ (UK and Ireland only)
References[]
| Companies | Mattel Studios (Mattel Television) | |
|---|---|---|
| Directors | Jason Groh | Campbell Bryer | Sean Jeffrey | |
| Producers | Rick Suvalle | Suzie Gallo | |
| Staff | Episode writers | Directors | Producers | |
| Composers | Erica Procunier | |
| Locations | Nelvana | |
| Characters | All Engines Go characters | All Engines Go-only characters | |
| Series | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Specials | Main | Race for the Sodor Cup | The Mystery of Lookout Mountain | The Great Bubbly Build | The Christmas Letter Express | Sodor Sings Together |
| Other | The Biggest Friends of All | |
| Mini Series | Short Story Adventures | Watch Out, Thomas! | Thomas & Friends Storytime | Let's Race | Train School | All Aboard! | Sodor Mystery | |