Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure is a 2015 British animated fantasyadventure film and the ninth feature-length special movie of the television series, Thomas & Friends.[3] The film is produced by HIT Entertainment with animation production by Arc Productions. The film centres on Thomas unwillingly getting caught in a conspiracy to steal recently-discovered pirate treasure.
The film stars John Hasler (UK) and Joseph May (US) as the voice of Thomas, alongside special guest stars Sir John Hurt as the film's main antagonist Sailor John and Eddie Redmayne as the purple tank engine Ryan. It also stars Jamie Campbell Bower as Skiff the Sail Boat, who would later reprise his role in the show. The film also marks the screen debut of Rex, Mike and Bert, who appeared in the twenty-second book of The Railway Series, "Small Railway Engines", and are based on locomotives from the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. Several other characters who had made long absences in the TV series, such as Donald, Douglas, Daisy and select members of the Sodor Construction Company, make their return in the film.
The film received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom in July 2015.[1] It was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the direction and plot but were critical of the film's somewhat dark undertone.
Plot
Thomas the Tank Engine wins a race against Bertie the Bus, who reveals that a new branch line is being built. This concerns Annie and Clarabel, who fear that Thomas' branch line may be closed down. The next morning, Thomas plays a prank on Gordon the Big Engine for teasing him, which causes a derailment. Sir Topham Hatt sends Thomas to assist him in constructing the new branch line as punishment for his actions, while new tank engine Ryan is given Thomas' job.
At the building site, part of the land subsides underneath the new track. Thomas does not notice the danger signs and falls into a cavern where he finds a pirate ship. He tries to tell Sir Topham Hatt about the ship, but Hatt does not listen, believing Thomas is making excuses. Rocky the crane is thus credited with discovering the ship, which is displayed at Arlesburgh Harbour. Partly repaired, Thomas meets Sailor John and his boat Skiff, who has been fitted with wheels that allow him to move on the rails. John says he is looking for treasure but is hesitant to give Thomas details.
Ryan accidentally ignites his trucks full of dynamite after taking on bad coal. Thomas saves Ryan and gets rid of the dynamite, but Hatt is furious, due to the situation looking like Thomas was chasing Ryan with the dynamite. Despite Thomas trying to explain what happened, Hatt confines him to his shed for the rest of the afternoon and orders everyone else to get back to work. Marion the steam shovel finds a treasure chest full of gold and jewelry, which Hatt keeps in his safe overnight intending to donate it to the museum. Thomas meets a furious John, who reveals that it is the treasure he had been looking for and demands it to be handed over. Thomas says that Hatt has the treasure and refuses to help John take it.
That night, John breaks into Hatt's office and steals the treasure, using Skiff and the pirate ship as his getaway. Thomas chases them through a junction where the miniature engines slow the ship by derailing their ballast trucks. A loose rope is caught on Ryan, who derails the flatbed carrying the ship, leaving John with only Skiff to take him away.
At Arlesburgh Harbour, Thomas tries to knock Skiff off of the rails, but to no avail. At the rail-boat launch ramp, John rows Skiff out towards the sea, and Thomas ends up partially submerged. With the help of a large wave, Skiff knocks Sailor John and the treasure off of him. The treasure sinks to the bottom of the harbour, and Sailor John is soon arrested by the police. Thomas is rescued and attempts to apologize to Hatt, fearing he'll still be cross with him due to his earlier mishaps. However, Hatt is proud of Thomas, as Ryan explained everything to him, and Hatt assures Thomas that he will always be his "number 1 engine" as his engines are more important to him than anything else.
When the branch line is completed, Sir Topham Hatt gives Thomas, who is fully repaired, his branch line back and lets him cut the ribbon to the new line. Skiff also gives rail-boat tours around Arlesburgh Harbour.
The film grossed £889,927 in the UK, US$72,928 in Hong Kong and US$2,510,062 in China for a total of $3,472,917 worldwide.[2]
Critical response
Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure currently holds an 80% "fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews.[5]
Andrew Pulver of The Guardian gave the film a 3/5 stating, "Like Tale of the Brave, Lost Treasure jams locomotive action together with a pop motif supposedly beloved of kids: Brave had dinosaurs, Treasure has pirates."[6]
