- "Anytime, sir! Whenever you need help, just ask for Cheeky Monkey Thomas!"
- ― Thomas saying the final lines of the series
Thomas' Animal Friends is the twentieth and final episode of the twenty-fourth series. It is also the final Thomas & Friends episode aired overall, ending the original series at 584 episodes, across 37 years of airing.
Plot
The Fat Controller asks Thomas to help at the animal park for the day and realises that it also involves being decorated as a monkey. Soon, Thomas collects two coaches so that he can pick up the passengers who wanted to see the new monkey habitat.
After some of the other engines say he looks silly, Rebecca encourages Thomas to imagine them as animals if they laugh at him. Thomas learns that others' opinions should not stop him doing what he loves.
After collecting his passengers from Vicarstown, Thomas makes his way back to the animal park. When he passes by Gordon, James, Percy, and Rebecca; he imagines them as animals. Thomas imagines Gordon as an elephant, James as a lion, Percy as a rare and gentle panda, and Rebecca as a leopard.
When Thomas arrives at the Animal Park, the Fat Controller thanks him for doing a good job and also thinks it is good to have a cheeky monkey on hand for times.
Characters
- Thomas
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Rebecca
- Diesel
- Salty
- Cranky
- Carly
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Caitlin (cameo)
- Porter (cameo)
- Skarloey (cameo)
- Big Mickey (cameo)
- Albert's Wife (cameo)
- Little Thomas (cameo)
Locations
- Island of Sodor
- India (mentioned)
Cast
UK
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Keith Wickham as Gordon, Salty and the Fat Controller
- Rob Rackstraw as James
- Nigel Pilkington as Percy
- Rachael Miller as Rebecca and the Children
- Kerry Shale as Diesel
- Matt Wilkinson as Cranky
- Lucy Montgomery as Carly
US
- Joseph May as Thomas
- Kerry Shale as Gordon and Diesel
- Rob Rackstraw as James
- Christopher Ragland as Percy
- Rachael Miller as Rebecca and the Children
- Keith Wickham as Salty and Sir Topham Hatt
- Glenn Wrage as Cranky
- Lucy Montgomery as Carly
Trivia
- This episode is the official series finale of the Thomas & Friends television series, as it was the last episode ever aired. Despite this, Thomas and the Royal Engine serves as the series finale in production order, as it was the final episode produced.
- The episode marks the first of four things:
- Gordon's first appearance in a series finale since the twenty-second series episode, Hunt the Truck.
- James' first appearance in a series finale since the twentieth series episode, Over the Hill.
- Percy's first appearance in a series finale since the nineteenth series episode, Wild Water Rescue.
- Sir Topham Hatt's first appearance in a series finale since the twenty-first series episode, Confused Coaches.
- This episode marks Rebecca's only speaking role in a series finale.
- As this is the final episode of the series aired overall, this episode also marks the final for several things:
- Thomas' final episode with a leading role in the original series.
- The final episode animated by Jam Filled Toronto.
- The final episode made using CGI animation.
- The final episode told from Thomas' point of view, and thus the final episode narrated by John Hasler in the UK and Joseph May in the US.
- The final episode of the Big World! Big Adventures! rebrand, as well as the last to fall under the aforementioned subtitle.
- The final episode written by Davey Moore.
- The final episode directed by Ian Cherry.
- The final episode produced by Ian McCue and to have David Stoten as the head writer.
- The final appearances of Caitlin, Porter, Rebecca, Big Mickey, Albert's Wife and Little Thomas.
- The final appearances of Thomas, Gordon, James, Percy, Diesel, Salty, Skarloey, Cranky, Carly and Sir Topham Hatt in the original series.
- The final episode to have all voice actors featured in this episode as part of the voice cast.
- The final episode to feature a fantasy sequence.
- The final episode to feature music composed by Chris Renshaw.
- The final episode to have a runtime of seven minutes.
- The final episode to feature the song, Let's Dream at the end for this series.
- The final episode taking place on Sodor in which Thomas pulls the Red Branchline Coaches instead of Annie and Clarabel, as well as the first time since the eighth series episode, Thomas Saves the Day.
- James' final appearance and Cranky's final speaking role in a series finale until the All Engines Go episode, The Smells of Sodor.
- The events of the episode, Shankar's Makeover are mentioned.
- The Motorized Sodor Safari themed included the animal costumed forms of Thomas, Percy, James and Gordon from this episode. Rebecca, however, was left out. Interestingly, there was a leopard-themed TrackMaster Percy variant based on the twenty-second series episode, Tiger Trouble, despite him not actually appearing in that episode.
- Emily and Nia are the only reformed Steam Team members to not get an animal design due to them not appearing in this episode.
Goofs
- In the aerial shot of Brendam Docks, Carly's base extends in length.
- James' right side is silver in the last shot of Crovan's Gate.
Merchandise
Motorized
Push Along
Capsule Plarail
Magazine Stories
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Home Video Releases
UK/IRL
AUS/NZ
- Animal Adventures
In Other Languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Thomas en Zijn Dierenvrienden |
| Estonian | Toomase Loomadest Sõbrad |
| Greek | Ο Τόμας και οι φίλοι του τα ζώα |
| Hebrew | החיות החברות של תומס |
| Hungarian | Thomas állati barátai |
| Italian | La scimmietta Thomas e i Suoi Amici Animali |
| Japanese | トーマスとどうぶつきかんしゃ |
| Latvian | Tomasa Draugi - Dzīvnieki |
| Lithuanian | Tomo Draugai - Gyvūnai |
| Polish | Zwierzęcy przyjaciele Tomka |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Os Amigos Animais do Thomas |
| Russian | Новый образ |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Los amigos animales de Thomas |
| Spanish (Spain) | Unos amigos un poco animales |
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 | |