| This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the annual story, the 2010, 2011 or the 2016 magazine story. |
- "What are you doing, James? You're a big pink steamie!"
- ― Diesel
Tickled Pink is the third episode of the thirteenth series.
Plot
The Fat Controller sends James to the Sodor Steamworks for a new coat of paint. Emily has broken down while picking up Bridget Hatt to take her to a birthday party and as no other engine is available, the Fat Controller sends James, who is still painted in his pink undercoat. When Emily sees James, she laughs at him, so to prevent the others from doing the same, he decides to hide.
James sees Toby coming down the line and hides beneath a willow tree, but Gordon rushes past blowing the branches up, so Toby does see James and laughs. Then he sees Diesel shunting the coal trucks. James really does not want to be seen by Diesel, so he hides behind the waiting trucks. Eventually, Diesel shunts them all away and James and his pink paint are revealed. Now Diesel laughs at James.
Finally, James tries hiding from Gordon in Henry's Tunnel. Thomas and Percy arrive to see what is going on and Gordon insists for the engine in the tunnel to reveal itself so that the express can get through. So, James is left with no choice but to reveal himself and after James is laughed at by Gordon and Percy, he realises he is running late. So he steams to Maithwaite, passing by Henry and Spencer who also laugh, but James does not care; he just wants to be a really useful engine.
James thinks Bridget and her friends will laugh at him too, but instead they smile, get excited and become very happy. Bridget and her friends tell James that pink is their favourite colour, which makes James feel better.
Characters
- Thomas
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Toby
- Emily
- Spencer
- Diesel
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Bridget Hatt
- Bridget Hatt's Friends
- Edward (cameo)
- Henrietta (cameo)
- Lady Hatt (cameo)
- Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants (cameos)
- The Teacher (cameo)
- The Welsh Birdwatcher (cameo)
- The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (cameo)
- The Maithwaite Stationmaster (cameo)
Locations
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Sodor Steamworks
- Crosby Coal Hopper
- Henry's Tunnel
- Maithwaite
- Tidmouth Town Square
- The Double Hills
- The Double Junction
- Great Waterton (poster)
Cast
UK
- Ben Small as Thomas and Toby
- Keith Wickham as Henry, Gordon, James, Percy and The Fat Controller
- Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Bridget Hatt and her friends
- Matt Wilkinson as Spencer
- Kerry Shale as Diesel
US
- Martin Sherman as Thomas and Percy
- Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, James and Sir Topham Hatt
- William Hope as Toby
- Jules de Jongh as Emily, Bridget Hatt and her friends
- Glenn Wrage as Spencer
- Michael Brandon as Diesel
Trivia
- Kerry Shale officially joins the UK voice cast, as he was originally set to play Thomas and Spencer in the UK dub of Hero of the Rails but did not make the final draft.
- Bridget Hatt reveals that her favorite color is Pink.
- This episode is the first of many things:
- Diesel's first speaking role in the CGI series.
- The first time a diesel engine is shown to let out black smoke as it grinds to a stop.
- The first appearance of Henry's Tunnel since The Great Discovery and in an episode since the eighth series episode, Chickens to School.
- The first appearance of Tidmouth Town Square.
- The first and only time a character other than Thomas says his catchphrase, "Cinders and ashes!" In this case, being Emily.
- This episode marks Diesel's only speaking role in the thirteenth series and the only time in said series to feature Ken Sanders as part of the voice cast in Japan.
- Thomas is the only character not to say anything while James is painted pink, despite being mentioned by the narrator that he was included looking and laughing at James.
- Diesel gains a Cockney accent in the UK dub.
- In real life, "Works grey" also served the function of being a primary "undercoat" of paint, allowing the locomotive to be used for test runs and checks to find any faults or required modifications before undergoing the expensive and often time-consuming process of being painted in a full livery.
- The plot is similar to the story Henry Sees Red from The Railway Series book, Henry and the Express.
- A pink repaint of a Hornby James called Jeremy the Pink Engine previously appeared in a parody of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends called "Thomas the Tanked Up Engine" on the show Bobby Davro's TV Weekly.
- In Poland, this episode premiered before Hero of the Rails, so the audience would not know about the Sodor Steamworks.
- This episode marks the first of two things for Bridget Hatt:
- Her first appearance since The Great Discovery.
- Her first speaking role since the tenth series episode, Which Way Now?
Goofs
- The beginning of this episode until the Fat Controller sends James to the Sodor Steamworks for a new coat of paint is cut off in the US version of compilations from the official YouTube channel and KidDoodle TV.
- Diesel does not emit smoke from his vents after he stops.
- In the overhead shot of Diesel shunting the trucks, his bufferbeam is incorrectly coloured black instead of being red.
- When Gordon races past Toby, the brake coach is at the back of the express. However in the next shot, the brake coach is at the front.
- Just before James goes into the tunnel, the steam emitting from his funnel seems to be emitting from in front of it.
- Before James puffs away from Spencer, the signal does not make a sound once it changes.
- In the same shot, James' coaches have also swapped places.
- Maithwaite is painted in a dark brown instead of a beige colour.
Merchandise
Books - Pink James
Magazine Stories - Tickled Pink (2010)/Tickled Pink (2011)/Tickled Pink! (2016)- Capsule Plarail - Pink James
- Minis - New Look James
- Maruka - Pink James
- Connected DE Colocoro Collection - Pink James
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
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| #01 Creaky Cranky | #08 Thomas and the Pigs | #15 Splish Splash Splosh |
| #02 The Lion of Sodor | #09 Time for a Story | #16 The Biggest Present of All |
| #03 Tickled Pink | #10 Percy's Parcel | #17 Snow Tracks |
| #04 Double Trouble | #11 Toby's New Whistle | #18 Henry's Good Deeds |
| #05 Slippy Sodor | #12 A Blooming Mess | #19 Buzzy Bees |
| #06 The Early Bird | #13 Thomas and the Runaway Kite | #20 Hiro Helps Out |
| #07 Play Time | #14 Steamy Sodor | |