- “Ya, Tōmasu! Boku Gachapin, Nippon kara kitanda! (Hi, Thomas! I'm Gachapin, I came from Japan.)"
"Anō, Anō, Watashi wa Mukku desū. (Um, Um, I'm Mukku.)"
"Yā! Yoku kitane! (Hi! Welcome to!)” - ―Gachapin, Mukku and Thomas
Thomas and the U.K. Trip (Japanese: きかんしゃトーマスとイギリスのたび) is a Japanese Thomas/"Ponkickies" crossover special. It aired in December of 1991 exclusively in Japan.
Plot
Two children's television characters from Japan, Gachapin and Mukku, travel to visit the United Kingdom. During their visit, they come to Sodor to meet Thomas, Sir Topham Hatt, and the other engines. During the second half, they visit real railways and learn how steam locomotives work.
Characters
- Thomas
- Gordon
- Percy
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Gachapin
- Mukku
- Henry (does not speak)
- James (does not speak)
- Oliver (does not speak)
- Mavis (does not speak)
- Bulgy (does not speak)
- Edward (Introduction only)
- Toby (Introduction only)
- Duck (Introduction only)
- Donald and Douglas (Introduction only)
- Bill and Ben (Introduction only)
- Diesel (cameo)
- BoCo (cameo)
- Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
- Henrietta (cameo)
- Toad (cameo)
- Bertie (cameo)
- Trevor (cameo)
- Harold (cameo)
- Wilbert (basis only)
Locations
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Shepperton Studios
- Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
- Kent & East Sussex Railway
- Great Western Railway (mentioned)
Episodes
First day
Second day
Songs
Cast
- Keiko Toda as Thomas
- Kenji Utsumi as Gordon
- Chisato Nakajima as Percy
- Kōhei Miyauchi as Sir Topham Hatt
- Kuniko Amamiya as Gachapin
- Juuji Matsuda as Mukku
- Yoshimi Shūei as facilitate
Trivia
- According to producer Yōichi Fujita, When Fuji Television submitted the plan of this special to the Britt Allcroft Company, Britt Allcroft was surprised[1]. Because when she requested to Atsuo Sugano a storyboard, he completed it in overnight[1]. And the scenes of Thomas and his friends interacting with Gachapin and Mukku were specifically filmed for this special during the production of the third series [2].
- This was the first mark of several things:
- Oliver, Mavis and Bulgy's nameboards first appeared.
- I'm Thomas the Tank Engine was first debuted.
- There are three instances of songs by The Beatles being played (of which Ringo Starr was the drummer of said band) and one instance of a song that was covered by Marmalade (of which Junior Campbell was part of the group):
- "Magical Mystery Tour" can be heard during the intro.
- An instrumental version of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is used when different locations on the Island of Sodor are being introduced.
- "When I'm Sixty-Four" plays during the end credits.
- Thomas' Anthem is played in English.
Goofs
- When Thomas is talking to Gachapin and Mukku, a wire is hanging from underneath Thomas' running board.
- Henry's firebox is crooked.
- When James and Henry puff out of the shed, they are going slowly, but the sound of them puffing is fast.
- Bulgy's was introduced as "バルギー(Barugī)" instead of "バルジー(Barujī)".
- Fuji Television did not acquire the right to produce a music video, and produced "I'm Thomas the Tank Engine"[1]. But later officially acquired the right.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ponkicki Days 3 chapter 3
- ↑ "A Britt Allcroft production in association with Fuji Television Network Inc." was credited at the ending of the third season.