Thomas' Magical Birthday Wishes is the first out of four mini series with thirteen episodes of online videos made to celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Railway Series.[1] It revolves around Thomas using his thirteen magical birthday wishes to help his friends while they set up a surprise birthday party without his knowledge. The shorts are written by Eric Branscum, and the series features the UK voice cast in both dubs as opposed to redubbing the shorts with American actors. The shorts use an animation style that is more cartoony than that of the main series, and feature the voices of John Hasler, Rob Rackstraw, Rachael Miller and Yvonne Grundy. Rackstraw and Miller also substitute the UK voice actors for many of the featured characters.
Trivia
- John Hasler and Yvonne Grundy were only voice actors not to voice more than one character in the series.
- James and Toby were the only roles that Rob Rackstraw had voiced in the main series prior. Likewise, Rebecca was the only featured character Rachael Miller had voiced in the main show.
- Throughout the videos, all the vehicle characters do not have crews.
Thomas and the Ants!
Thomas and the Ants! is the first video in the series. It was originally released on 2nd May 2020.
Plot
Some ants have taken the food Percy was supposed to deliver to the Animal Park, so Thomas decides to use one of his magical birthday wishes to become as small as an ant and get the food back.
Characters
Locations
- Sodor Animal Park (mentioned)
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as Percy
Trivia
- Rob Rackstraw voices Percy in this video instead of Nigel Pilkington.
- In a first in the franchise's history, Thomas can deform his shape in cartoonish stretching.
Goofs
- Throughout the video, Percy's lamp irons are positioned incorrectly.
Video
Thomas and the Balloons!
Thomas and the Balloons! is the second video in the series. It was originally released on 9th May 2020.
Plot
When Rebecca loses her balloons, Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to become as light as a balloon and help out Rebecca.
Characters
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rachael Miller as Rebecca
Goofs
- Rebecca has Raul's whistle sound.
Video
Too Many Thomases!
Too Many Thomases! is the third video in the series. It was originally released on 16th May 2020.
Plot
Nia is trying to put up a tent but needs nine other engines to help her out before the party guests arrive, so Thomas uses his birthday wishes to create eight other Thomases to help himself and Nia out.
Characters
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Yvonne Grundy as Nia
Goofs
- In some shots, Nia's funnel can be seen clipping through the top of the tent.
Video
Thomas the Submarine
Thomas the Submarine is the fourth video in the series. It was originally released on 23rd May 2020.
Plot
When Cranky accidentally drops a crate into the ocean, Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to become a submarine and find the crate.
Characters
Locations
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as Cranky
Trivia
- Rob Rackstraw voices Cranky in this video instead of Matt Wilkinson.
- This is the first video where Thomas helps a non-Steam Team member.
- As a submarine, Thomas' funnel was reused from Nia's fantasy in the twenty-fourth series episode, A New Arrival.
Video
Super Bubble Thomas!
Super Bubble Thomas! is the fifth video in the series. It was originally released on 30th May 2020.
Plot
James is given the responsibility of cleaning Knapford Station, but he runs out of soap, so Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to clean the station from inside a soap bubble.
Characters
Locations
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as James
Trivia
- The goods section next to Line 6 of Knapford Station is replaced by brick walls.
Video
Thomas and the Monkeys
Thomas and the Monkeys is the sixth video in the series. It was originally released on 6th June 2020.
Plot
Thomas comes across Rosie, who is having trouble rounding up some monkeys who run away from her every time she tries to catch them, so Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to turn himself invisible and entice the monkeys back into the animal park.
Characters
Locations
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rachael Miller as Rosie
Trivia
- Rachael Miller voices Rosie in this video instead of Nicola Stapleton.
Goofs
- In one shot, part of Rosie's chassis is clipping through her smokebox.
- When Thomas says "What monkey can resist a floating banana?", his siderods do not move.
Video
Thomas the Giant
Thomas the Giant is the seventh video in the series. It was originally released on 13th June 2020.
Plot
Thomas comes across Henrietta, who is looking for Toby after the coupling chain broke on Gordon's Hill. Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to turn himself into a giant so Toby can see him and then reunite with Henrietta.
Characters
Locations
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as Toby
- Rachael Miller as Henrietta
Trivia
- Rachael Miller voices Henrietta in this video instead of Maggie Ollerenshaw.
- This is the first video where Thomas helps a former Steam Team member and the first to feature more than two speaking characters.
- Buffering sound effects from the model series are used when Thomas' voice makes Henrietta shake.
Goofs
- When Thomas starts growing, he straddles over the track on Henrietta's left. When he finishes growing, he is no longer over the track and is instead beside it. He returns to his original position after Toby finds them.
Video
Thomas the Helicopter
Thomas the Helicopter is the eighth video in the series. It was originally released on 20th June 2020.
Plot
Harold has broken down whilst making a delivery to the Mainland, and with the Vicarstown Bridge out, Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to turn himself into a helicopter and make Harold's delivery for him, as well as finding an engineer.
Characters
Locations
- Island of Sodor
- Vicarstown Bridge (mentioned)
- The Mainland
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as Harold
Trivia
- This is the first video in the series to use YouTube's premiere function.
- Rob Rackstraw voices Harold in this video instead of Keith Wickham.
- This is the first video in the series to feature a human character, albeit only a minor one at the end.
- The rotors are reused from an animation sequence from You Can Only Be You. In this video, however, the rotor shaft is mounted in Thomas' funnel instead of his dome.
Goofs
- The station is missing two of its doors.
Video
Thomas the Rescue Engine
Thomas the Rescue Engine is the ninth video in the series. It was originally uploaded on 22nd June 2020 before premiering five days later on the usual date.
Plot
Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to help Belle put out a burning barn that she cannot reach.
Characters
Locations
- Sodor Bakery (mentioned)
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rachael Miller as Belle
Trivia
- This is the first video in the series not to be uploaded first on a Saturday, albeit only as an unlisted video in a playlist.
- Rachael Miller voices Belle in this video instead of Teresa Gallagher.
- Thomas' equipment includes Flynn's horns, sirens, ladder, headlights and winch, Butch's wheels and Belle's water cannons.
Video
Thomas and the Lighthouse
Thomas and the Lighthouse is the tenth video in the series. It was originally released on 4th July 2020.
Plot
On a cloudy day, a lighthouse by the shore stops working, so Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to help Skiff and become as bright as a lighthouse and guide the ship away from the rocks.
Characters
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as Skiff
Trivia
- Rob Rackstraw voices Skiff in this video instead of Jamie Campbell Bower.
- This video shares its title with an episode from the eleventh series.
Video
Thomas Full Speed Ahead
Thomas Full Speed Ahead is the eleventh video in the series. It was originally uploaded on 1st July 2020, before premiering ten days later on the usual date.
Plot
Gordon breaks down on the Main Line with a train full of passengers, so Thomas uses one of his magical birthday wishes to become super fast and get them to their destination on time.
Characters
Locations
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as Gordon and Percy
Trivia
- Rob Rackstraw voices Gordon and Percy in this video instead of Keith Wickham and Nigel Pilkington respectively. Additionally, this is the first time a character other than Thomas has appeared in more than one video.
- This is the second time someone other than Gordon has said “Oh, the indignity.”
- A reference to The Adventure Begins is made when Thomas says "Wake up, lazybones!".
Goofs
- When Thomas whistles at Gordon, no steam comes out of his whistle.
- Gordon says he has an express coach, when he actually has more than one. Additionally, only one of the coaches has visible passengers.
- The station is missing two of its doors and bulletin boards. Also, the window frames are painted red instead of white.
- Percy's lamp irons are incorrectly positioned as in "Thomas and the Ants".
Video
Thomas the Rubber Band
Thomas the Rubber Band is the twelfth video in the series. It was originally released on 18th July 2020.
Plot
When James is running out of control, Thomas wishes himself to become elastic so he can stop James before he crashes into the station.
Characters
Locations
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rob Rackstraw as James and Sir Topham Hatt
Trivia
- Rob Rackstraw voices Sir Topham Hatt in this video instead of Keith Wickham.
- This is the first video where Thomas helps a human character. It is also the first time he has helped someone a second time.
- The goods section next to Line 6 of Knapford Station is replaced by brick walls, just as in Super Bubble Thomas.
Goofs
- Thomas's siderods clip through his frames when James collides with him.
- In the German version:
- The apostrophe on the title card is misplaced and it says "Thomas 'magische Geburtstagswünsche".
- James lost his Texan accent he had in his previous video. Instead, Sir Topham Hatt gained the accent.
Video
Thomas the Elephant
Thomas the Elephant is the thirteenth and final video in the series. It was released on 25th July 2020.
Plot
When Emily loses a baby elephant, Thomas sets off to find him, using a magical birthday wish to turn into an elephant and help the little animal.
Characters
Cast
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Rachael Miller as Emily
Trivia
- Rachael Miller voices Emily in this video instead of Teresa Gallagher.
- The baby elephant is animated in a more cartoony design, most notably having larger eyes than in real life along with more spheroid proportions.
- Emily has Henry's whistle sound, similar to how she also had between the eight and sixteenth series.
Video
In Other Languages
Language | Title |
---|---|
Brazilian Portuguese | Desejos Mágicos de Aniversário do Thomas |
German | Thomas' magische Geburtstagswünsche |
Italian | I Desideri Magici del Compleanno di Thomas |
Polish | Magiczne życzenia urodzinowe Tomka |
Russian | Волшебные пожелания день рождения Томаса |
Spanish | Deseos Mágicos de Cumpleaños de Thomas |
References