This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the DVD. |
- "Oh, no!"
- ― Thomas seeing the new car run away, Arthur's horror for upsetting the fish, Rosie getting covered in mud, Thomas seeing the new car crashed into a haystack.
Thomas and the Runaway Car is the seventeenth episode of the eleventh series.
Plot
Thomas has been given the important job of taking the Fat Controller's new car to the Sodor Show. Gordon has been given the job of taking the bandstand to the show and challenges Thomas to a race. Gordon manages to get a head start and Thomas, in a rush, angrily tells Rocky to hurry up with loading the car onto the flatbed, but Rocky tells Thomas to wait because he needs to be careful. The car is finally placed on the flatbed, but Thomas starts so quickly he does not wait for the Dock manager to couple him up to the flatbed. Rocky and the workmen try to tell Thomas, but he has already gone, determined to beat Gordon.
When Thomas puffs to the top of Gordon's Hill, the flatbed rolls away from him and he chases after it. While Percy is waiting at a signal, Arthur is pulling into a siding with heavy trucks of fish. Percy sees the runaway car approaching and warns Arthur, who ends up backing up much too fast, biffing the buffers with fish flying in the air and splattering all over him. Up ahead, mud is all over the track and Rosie had just left the washdown. The runaway car runs past her which causes mud to fly and splat all over her, making her cross at her predicament.
The flatbed then races past Gordon and goes into a siding crashing into some buffers with the car then flying off and running into a haystack. When Thomas catches up, he is horrified to see what it happened and Gordon, feeling triumphant, chuffs to the show. Thomas realises that not only he lost the race, but the Fat Controller's car will never get to the show on time. He sets off to the Docks to get Rocky, but he stops knowing that he is not strong enough to pull Rocky on his own. When Gordon comes back after delivering the bandstand and winning the race, Thomas begs him to fetch Rocky. Gordon, taking pity on Thomas, is more than happy to help his friend as well as show off his strength. He goes to the Docks, fetches Rocky and brings him over to the hay field. After getting the car back on the flatbed, Thomas thanks Gordon by giving him the car to deliver and they arrive at the show together.
Characters
- Thomas
- Gordon
- Percy
- Arthur
- Rosie
- Rocky
- Sir Topham Hatt (does not speak)
- Lady Hatt (does not speak)
- James (cameo)
- Cranky (cameo)
- Stephen Hatt (cameo)
- Bridget Hatt (cameo)
- Jem Cole (cameo)
- Farmer Trotter (cameo)
- Sodor Brass Band (cameos)
- The Third Mayor of Sodor (cameo)
- "Dusty" Dave (cameo)
- Alice (cameo)
- Two Railway Board members (cameos)
- The Blue-suited Baker (cameo)
- The Boat Engineer (cameo)
- Big Mickey (faceless, cameo)
Locations
Trivia
- The "new" car model is actually the same old one.
- The crowd scene from Toby's Triumph is reused, only with the people changed around slightly.
- This episode was shown in select USA cinemas as part of Thomas & Friends on the Big Screen.
- This episode marks the only appearance of a few faces:
- Arthur's unused wincing face, which was also seen in the DVD game, Arthur's Tricky Travels.
- Rosie's clenched and cross faces; both of which were unused from the tenth series.
- This episode marks the last of a few things:
- The last episode until the sixteenth series episode, Percy and the Monster of Brendam in which the Fat Controller appears, but does not have a speaking role, and thus, the last episode in the model era where he appears but does not speak.
- Rocky's last speaking role until Hero of the Rails, his last speaking role in an episode until the thirteenth series episode, Percy's Parcel, and thus, his last speaking role in the model era.
- Jem Cole's last appearance in an episode until the fourteenth series episode, Jitters and Japes, and thus, his last appearance in the model era episode.
- Arthur's last speaking role.
- Rosie's last appearance in a fully model-filmed episode.
- The flatbed that the new car is on is the same one used for the Breakdown Train, which makes an appearance in this episode when the car passes Rosie.
Goofs
- Gordon's buffer is crooked throughout the episode.
- At the beginning of the episode, Thomas, on his way to Brendam Docks, passes by Gordon who is pulling the Express. However, when Thomas arrives at the docks Gordon is already there hooked up to a flatbed truck.
- In the first close-up of Rocky:
- His left eye (viewers' right) moves up on its own right before the camera cuts to Thomas.
- He is stationery and his piston and cable are not moving even though he is turning while lifting the car because the shot of him was filmed after loading the car on the flatbed.
- When the flatbed rolls away from Thomas, a finger of a crew member is briefly seen releasing the flatbed in the bottom left-hand corner. Thomas' eyes are also misaligned in this scene.
- Arthur goes to the siding several times, when he first appear while pulling fish, when he races backwards to avoid the runaway car and when he crashes into the buffers.
- When Arthur crashes in the buffers, the fish fly low, but in the next shot, the fish suddenly fly high.
- When Thomas passes Arthur, red wires can be seen beneath him.
- Studio equipment can be seen on the top left corner after the runaway car and Thomas past Arthur.
- When the flatbed passes Rosie, it splashes mud all over her, but when Thomas runs by, he does not.
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
UKDVD BoxsetsAUS
DVD BoxsetsUSZASPNGERNOR/SWE/DNK/FINMYSTHA/IDNJPNKORHK
TWN |
#01 Thomas and the Storyteller | #10 Thomas and the Big Bang | #19 Thomas and the Stinky Cheese |
#02 Emily's Rubbish | #11 Smoke and Mirrors | #20 Percy and the Left Luggage |
#03 Dream On | #12 Thomas Sets Sail | #21 Skarloey Storms Through |
#04 Dirty Work | #13 Don't Be Silly, Billy | #22 Cool Truckings |
#05 Hector the Horrid! | #14 Edward and the Mail | #23 Wash Behind Your Buffers |
#06 Gordon and the Engineer | #15 Hide and Peep | #24 Duncan Does It All |
#07 Thomas and the Spaceship | #16 Toby's Triumph | #25 Sir Handel in Charge |
#08 Henry's Lucky Day | #17 Thomas and the Runaway Car | #26 Ding-a-Ling |
#09 Thomas and the Lighthouse | #18 Thomas in Trouble | |