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“What's a Santa Claus?"
"Santa Claus is someone who drops presents down chimneys during Christmas time."
"I wonder if..."
"No! Chimneys, Percy! Not funnels!”
― Percy and Thomas discussing Santa Claus

Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure, retitled Thomas and Percy's Mountain Adventure on some North American and New Zealand releases, is the twenty-sixth and final episode of the third series.

Plot

Thomas might be seen puffing happily along the line, possibly heading towards the small town of Ulfstead, snuggled deep in the heart of Sodor, to greet the villagers. One cold and snowy morning, Thomas promises to bring them plenty of parcels.

It is December and Christmas is near. However, the blizzard arrives within a week and Thomas is about to get an extra post truck. Percy is unhappy that he cannot help but his chance comes when Thomas is forced to give Percy his job in favour of another. Thomas is not pleased with the change but Percy is delighted and sets off.

ThomasandPercy'sChristmasAdventure44

"You're the best Santa Claus this village has ever had!"

As he makes his way to the village, a fogman flags him down. He explains that the village is snowed under and that they need snowploughs, workmen and a helicopter, so Percy has to leave his trucks on the sidings and go back quickly. Thomas and Percy work together to save the villagers and Harold and Terence join in; Terence clears the snow and Harold drops food supplies for them. They call the team "the best Santa Claus the village has had", which confuses Percy. Thomas explains that Santa is the man who brings gifts during the Holidays. Percy looks at his funnel, wondering if Santa could go down funnels and, after Thomas clarifies that Santa goes down chimneys, he remembers that he has left the post vans in a siding.

Henrietta is loaded up with paint pots and parcels that night after Thomas and Percy puff home, while Toby sneaks her along with the villagers on board into the yard. When the engines wake up the next morning, they are surprised to find the sheds decorated and repainted with some parcels that lay everywhere. They all agree that it is the best holiday they have ever had on Sodor.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • Stock footage from the third series episode All at Sea is used.
  • This episode was heavily edited specifically for its airing on Shining Time Station to remove all references to Christmas and replace them with references to Thanksgiving, since the Shining Time Station Season 3 episode that it aired on ("Billy's Party") was a Thanksgiving-themed episode and there were no Shining Time Station Season 3 Christmas episodes planned. The conversation where Percy asks Thomas who Santa Claus is was also removed from the US dub entirely. As a result, the re-synced US dub is the shortest episode of the entire show, running at four minutes and twelve seconds, not counting the cut opening of the second series episode Bertie's Chase in the Shining Time Station episode, Washout. The US release is also the first series finale of Thomas & Friends to not mention Christmas, despite retaining plenty of Christmas content.
  • While the plot stayed the same as the UK dub, the French release of this episode had been shortened, just like the US dub. This can be observed as the scene where Thomas explains to Percy who Santa Claus is was removed. This episode therefore is the shortest one of the French dub to date, with a running time of four minutes and thirteen seconds.
  • A deleted scene that shows Thomas passing the windmill in this episode was later used in the sixth series intro.
  • In one scene of Thomas and Percy, the latter is seen wearing a different version of his smiling face, which would later make frequent appearances in the fourth series.
  • In the restored version, the scene when Percy leaves his post train in the sidings and goes backwards to get help is shortened and the next scene when Percy arrives at Harold's airfield is extended.
  • This episode marks the last of several things:
    • The last episode which Tommy Boyd introduced before his departure on 2 December 1992.
    • The last appearance of Lower Suddery until the sixth series episode, Jack Frost.
    • The last episode video edited by Lee Myung-pil for JEI TV in South Korea.
    • The last episode narrated by Pedro D'Aguillón Jr. in Latin America (for Shining Time Station), Radovan Vaculík in the Czech Republic, János Bata (for Minimax) and József Kerekes (for JimJam) in Hungary.
    • The last episode in the UK to include any kind of Christmas carols until the eighteenth series episode Duncan the Humbug.
    • The last episode to air on CITV in 1992. A repeat of the previous episode was used instead as the final episode until the sixth series episode No Sleep for Cranky on 6 January 2003.
    • The last episode released on home media in Turkey until the release of Extraordinary Engines on DVD in 2017.
    • Brendam Docks' last appearance without Cranky, as he would be introduced in the fifth series premiere, Cranky Bugs.
  • This is one of the only episodes to have a significantly different plot on US, Canadian and some New Zealand releases compared to the original UK episode.
  • This episode was last broadcast in Australia on Christmas Eve 2003 on ABC.
  • This episode marks the only appearance of Brendam Goods Station.
  • This is one of two episodes from the third series that were originally written by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton, the other being All at Sea.
  • Big Mickey, a fishing boat, the crawler tractor and the Fuel Depot Manager's office building from Tugs appear in the episode.
  • On the end credits of the Shining Time Station episode, Billy's Party, the back cover of Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and Other Thomas Adventures, the Holiday Express DVD, Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 3 and the Roku Channel, the UK title is used, the Shining Time Station end credits include the caption (Revised) as it was possible Mountain replacing Christmas had yet to happen.
  • This episode uses the same opening theme from the third series episode Bulgy.
  • This episode was never released on DVD in South Korea.

Goofs

  • On the Korean Thomas & Friends Volume 2 VHS, the English title had a wrong spelling as "Adwenture".
  • James' face appears to be missing when he is struggling to pull the tankers out of the snow.
  • In the Japanese dub, Douglas is mentioned when it is Donald who is shown.
  • At the beginning of the episode, the edge of the set can be seen through the stream.
  • At Brendam Goods Station, Percy's right lamp iron is missing.
  • When Percy's driver says "What's that?" the mail trucks are nowhere to be seen.
  • In the close-up of the fogman, the studio is reflected in his lamp.
  • Harold simply drops the parcels without any parachutes and thus some of them hit the people after bouncing on the ground.
  • Because the conversation where Percy asks Thomas who Santa Claus is was removed from the US dub, the narration becomes entirely out of sync with the footage, music and sound effects. In versions where the footage is properly cut to sync up with the narration, it is instead the music and sound effects that are out of sync after that point.
  • In the first shot, Annie appears to be facing backwards, but in a deleted scene, she is facing the correct way.
  • The exterior shots of Tidmouth Sheds show it with the usual six berths, but in the interior shots, eleven tracks are shown.
  • A deleted scene included in the song Toby shows that the tracks in the sheds end in front of the engines.
  • At the end of the episode, Donald and Douglas' whistle sounds can be heard, but neither twins are nowhere to be seen.
  • In the close-up of James and Henry at the end of the episode, some small scale figures have plastic bases under their feet.
  • Percy's eyes are misaligned throughout most of the episode.

Quotes

Thomas: Driver said there's lots of post for the village. I'll need an extra truck for it all.
Percy: It's not fair, you're not leaving any post for me.
Narrator: But Percy's chance had come.
Thomas' Driver: There's been a change of plans. The Fat Controller needs us at the big station. Percy, you are to take Thomas' train to the village.
Thomas: I won't be able to say Happy Christmas to all my friends.
Percy: Don't worry. I'll do it for you.
Thomas: It's not the same. [leaves]

Percy's Driver: What's that?
[a fogman is seen down the line, holding a red light]
Fogman: The village is cut off by snow! We need snowploughs, workmen and a helicopter. Leave your trucks in the sidings and go back quickly.
[later, at the airfield]
Percy: Peep, peep! Wake up, lazy-wings, the mountain villagers need your help. They're stranded.
Harold: Whizzo! I like an emergency to keep me warm. [leaves to rescue the villagers]
Percy: Now, what's next? [sees Thomas with Terence and a works train]
Thomas: Come on, Percy. Follow me.
Narrator: The two engines battled their way through the snow.

Terence: [about the snow] Lovely stuff.

Toby: We've brought lots of hot drinks and food for the villagers.

[after the village is saved]
Villagers: Well done, Percy! Well done, Thomas! You're the best Santa Claus this village has ever had!
Percy: What's a Santa Claus?
Thomas: Santa Claus is someone who drops presents down chimneys at Christmas time.
Percy: [looks up at his funnel] I wonder if...
Thomas: [laughs] No! Chimneys, Percy, not funnels! Which reminds me, your post train is still back at the siding, isn't it?

Narrator: When the engines woke next morning, they could not believe their eyes. The sheds have been repainted and decorated. Parcels lay everywhere. The engines whistled in delight and everyone agreed that it was really a Happy Christmas.

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Albanian Aventurat e krishtlindjeve të Tomasit dhe Persit
Brazilian Portuguese Uma história de Natal
A aventura de Thomas e Percy na montanha
Chinese Mandarin 托马斯和培西的圣诞冒险
Czech Tomáš, Percy a vánoční dobrodružství
Danish Thomas og Percys juleeventyr
Dutch Het kerstverhaal van Thomas en Percy
Finnish Tuomaksen ja Pekkan jouluseikkailu
French L'aventure de Noël de Thomas et Pierre
German Ein tolles Weihnachtsabenteuer
Greek Χριστουγεννιάτικη περιπέτεια
Hungarian Thomas és Percy karácsonyi kalandja
Italian Un regalo inatteso
Japanese ぼうけんいっぱいのクリスマス
Korean 즐거운 크리스마스
Latin American Spanish La aventura navideña de Thomas y Percy
Norwegian Thomas og Percys juleeventyr
Polish Tomek, Piotrek i świąteczna przygoda
Romanian Thomas, Percy și petrecerea de crăcuin
Russian Томас и рождественское приключение Перси
Serbian Tomas, Persi i božićna avantura
Slovenian Tomaževa in Poldijeva božična pustolovščina
Swedish Thomas och Percys juläventyr
Turkish Thomas ve Percy'nin Yeni Yıl Macerası
Ukrainian Томас, Персі і Різдвяна пригода
Welsh Nadolig Tomos a Pyrsi

Merchandise

Home Video Releases

UK

UK DVD Packs

WAL

US

CAN

  • Percy's Ghostly Trick and Other Thomas Stories (shortened)
  • Thomas and His Friends Help Out (shortened)
  • Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and Other Thomas Adventures (full)
  • Ultimate Christmas (full)
  • Holiday Express (full)

US/CAN DVD Packs

AUS

  • Escape and Other Stories (Direct-to-VHS)
  • The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
  • Series Three

AUS DVD Packs

NZ

ZA

IND

MYS

LATAM

BRA

ITA

NL

GER

GER DVD Boxsets

NOR

DK

SWE

FIN

SVN

SRP

GRC

GRC DVD Boxset

TUR

THA

JPN

JPN DVD Boxset

KOR

CHN

HK

Episode

References



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