Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave

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Tale of the Brave
Directed byRob Silvestri
Written by Andrew Brenner
Produced byBrian Lynch and Robert Anderson (Arc Productions)
Ian McCue (Hit Entertainment)
Starring Ben Small
Martin Sherman
Keith Wickham
Kerry Shale
Matt Wilkinson
Teresa Gallagher
Jules de Jongh
Narrated by Mark Moraghan
Music byRobert Hartshorne
Peter Hartshorne
Production
companies
Distributed byHIT Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment (US)
Release date
  • 1 September 2014 (2014-09-01)(UK)
Running time
60 minutes (UK)
62 minutes (US)
Box office$188,290 [1]

Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave is a 2014 direct-to-video CGI animated adventure film based on Thomas & Friends. [2] [3] The animation was provided by Arc Productions.

Contents

The film stars Ben Small and Martin Sherman as Thomas the Tank Engine in the UK and the US respectively. Co-stars include Keith Wickham, Kerry Shale, William Hope and Teresa Gallagher. This is the last movie to have Ben Small and Martin Sherman in the voice cast. [4] Tim Whitnall, Clive Mantle and Olivia Colman join the cast. The film began production in late 2013. [5]

Synopsis

A bridge on Thomas' Branch Line is closed for maintenance, but around the Clay Pits, a lighting flash reveals giant footprints on the slope above. The Fat Controller sends Thomas to the docks, then he returns to investigate the footprints, but he is interrupted by a new steam shovel, Marion, for an warning sign about the earlier landslides. When taking the mail, Percy mistakes almost everything around him for a monster and ends up asking Thomas to take the mail for him next night. The next morning, Gator has missed his ship, but explains how he became so brave: his mountain supplying required him to cross a bridge, but he only crossed it realizing the village needs the supplies. When Oliver breaks down, Gator collects Oliver's trucks, but Gator's lamp keeps going out. James sees a strange, greeting shape, causing him to run off past a red signal, and crash into the pond on the Fenland Track.

As Percy is making his mail run, he is unaware that James is pushing the Scrap Monster toward him from the opposite direction. He sees the pile and knowing it is not Gator, runs back to the sheds and begs Thomas to tell the other engines about the footprints, but Thomas stays silent. Percy is delivering the previous night's mail, when Gator pulls by him, and at the Suspension Bridge, Gator gets to cross when Percy does so, but Gator is, in fact, leaving by ship that night. Meanwhile, Thomas sees James pushing the Scrap Monster and pressures James to apologise to Percy.

The red engine tries, but the little tank vows to prove his bravery and goes missing that evening, with his mail on a siding. Topham sends Thomas to find Percy and bring his train. At the docks, Percy is being loaded onto Gator's ship as well by a very doubtful Cranky. At the sheds, James jokes that Percy is probably hunting for monsters, and Thomas tricks James into going to the pits with him. As Thomas rushes into the docks, the ship is already leaving, so Cranky begins slowing it with his hook, but he begins leaning over. Hearing that the stop was because of Percy, he and Gator explain that Cranky had unloaded Percy a half-hour ago.

Percy is about to face the monster himself, but James, to show how much more brave he is, blows loudly to provoke it, only to cause a footprint to fall near Percy, then several rocks fall between the warning Thomas and the two engines. Suddenly, James sees a dinosaur skull, and hesitating to go forward, Percy buffers up to James to get him to safety. The landslide by now destroys most of the quarry, while Marilon catches the flying skull from hitting Percy, and she explains fossils to a very intrigued Bill and Ben, before digging Percy out. Percy is done being repaired when Thomas and James apologise. At the docks, Percy is just in time to say farewell to Gator, as his ship leaves.

Cast

Actor/ActressRegionRole(s)
Mark Moraghan UK/USThe Narrator [6]
Ben Small UKThomas
UK/USTroublesome Trucks
Martin Sherman USThomas and Percy [6]
Keith Wickham UKEdward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy and the Fat Controller
UK/USSalty and a shunter
Kerry Shale USHenry, Gordon, James, Kevin and Sir Topham Hatt [6]
William Hope Edward and the Dock Manager
Teresa Gallagher UK/USAnnie and Clarabel
UKEmily
Jules de Jongh US
Glenn Wrage Cranky
Matt Wilkinson UKCranky and Kevin
Steven Kynman Porter and the Dock Manager
David Menkin USPorter
Jonathan BroadbentUK/USBill and Ben
Mike Grady Sir Robert Norramby
Bob Golding Some Dock workers
Tim Whitnall Timothy and Reg
Clive Mantle Gator
Olivia Colman Marion

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr35672581/
  2. ↑ "Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave". Universal Studios Entertainment. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Thomas & Friends chug into feature movie" . Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Special Tanks and Goodbye To Ben Small". 26 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "HIT greenlights three DVD specials" . Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave Movie Review | Common Sense Media". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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