Thomas & Friends is a British children's television series. Based on The Railway Series of books by Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher, English writer and producer Britt Allcroft arranged a deal to bring the stories to life as the TV series. In the United Kingdom, it had its first broadcast on the ITV network in 1984. In the United States, it had its first broadcast on Shining Time Station in 1989.
Shining Time Station is an American children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by The Britt Allcroft Company and Quality Family Entertainment in New York City for New York City's PBS station WNET, and was originally taped in New York City during its first season and in Toronto during the rest of its run. It incorporated sequences from the British television show Thomas & Friends, which was in turn based on the books of The Railway Series written by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry. The series aired on PBS from January 29, 1989 until June 11, 1993, with four hour-long "Family Specials" premiering in primetime throughout 1995. The show continued to air on the network in reruns until June 11, 1998. It aired on Fox Family from 1998 to 1999. It also aired on Nick Jr. in the summer of 2000 and on Canadian television networks such as APTN and SCN. Elements from the show were incorporated into the 2000 Thomas and Friends film Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
Britt Allcroft is an English film, television and live theatre producer, writer, director and voice actress. She is the creator of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Shining Time Station, Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales and Magic Adventures of Mumfie. She wrote, co-produced and directed the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000).
HIT Entertainment Ltd. is a British-American entertainment company owned by the Mattel Television division of Mattel and originally established in 1982 as Henson International Television. It was founded as the international distribution arm of Jim Henson Productions. HIT owns and distributes children's television series such as Barney & Friends, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends, Pingu, Fireman Sam and Angelina Ballerina.
Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 British-American fantasy adventure film written, produced and directed by Britt Allcroft. The film stars Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor, Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Didi Conn, Russell Means, Cody McMains, Michael E. Rodgers, and Eddie Glen as the voice of Thomas. The film is based on the British children's book series The Railway Series by The Rev. W. Awdry, its televised adaptation Thomas & Friends, and the American television series Shining Time Station by Britt Allcroft and Rick Siggelkow.
Magic Adventures of Mumfie is an animated children's television series and movie, inspired by the works of Katharine Tozer, with an original music score containing more than 22 songs. Created by Britt Allcroft, creator of Thomas and Friends, narrated by American actor Patrick Breen and directed by John Laurence Collins, Mumfie was first seen in the United States on FOX from 1995 to 1996, as part of The Fox Cubhouse. 79 episodes were produced.
Gullane Entertainment PLC was a British independent production company which produced children's programming, including Thomas & Friends, Shining Time Station, The Magic Adventures of Mumfie, Fireman Sam, Captain Pugwash, Sooty and Art Attack, as well as the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
Marc Forster is a German-Swiss filmmaker, best known for directing the feature films Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction, The Kite Runner, Quantum of Solace, World War Z, Christopher Robin, and the upcoming Thomas & Friends film, as well as numerous television commercials. He is a BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award nominee.
Storytime with Thomas was a children's television series that aired on Fox Family on September 6, 1999 to May 26, 2000 and reran on TV until early 2001.
David Nelson Godfrey Mitton was a British television producer, director and writer, and an experienced model-maker and author, best known for producing and directing the children's TV programmes Thomas & Friends and Tugs. During the 1960s, he worked with Gerry and Sylvia Anderson as a special effects technician on series such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, The Secret Service and UFO.
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Reverend W. Awdry.
Clearwater Features Ltd. was a British film production company that produced the first two series of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends from 1984–1986. Clearwater is also known for creating the short lived children's TV show TUGS.
Angus Mackenzie Nicholson Wright was a British television producer; he was co-founder and managing director of The Britt Allcroft Company PLC until his retirement in 1999.
Barbie, a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy company Mattel, Inc., has been a computer animated virtual actress starring in direct-to-video animated films. Although Barbie has appeared in miniseries and short films since 1987, the series officially began in 2001 with Barbie in the Nutcracker. It was followed by a total of thirty-five films before it was put on hiatus in 2017. Barbie has appeared as a character in other films, including Mattel's My Scene line as well as the Toy Story film series, but these are not considered part of the franchise. Created by Mattel Creations, the first ten films sold 40 million DVD and VHS units worldwide by 2007, grossing over $700 million in sales. As of 2013, the series has sold over 110 million DVD units worldwide.
Shane Richard Acker is an American animator, film director, screenwriter and animation teacher known for directing 9, which is based on his 2005 Academy Award-nominated short film, of the same title. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Robbie Brenner is an American film executive, a partner at The Firm and the president of its film division. She was the president of production at Relativity Media from September 2011 until August 2015.Before joining Relativity in 2009, Brenner produced Machine Gun Preacher starring Gerard Butler and directed by Marc Forster.
Thomas & Friends is a media franchise created by the Wilbert Awdry.
Charles John Falzon is a Canadian entertainment executive, educator and university administrator, currently serving as Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Design at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. He has produced nearly 2,000 hours of television programming, feature films and documentaries, and has been recognized with several Gemini Awards and an international Emmy Award nomination.
Mattel Films is a division of Mattel. As Playground Productions, it was first part of Mattel Global Brands. It was later transferred to Mattel Creations, itself a division of Mattel, Inc. On September 6, 2018, the division was reformed as Mattel Films.
LuckyChap Entertainment is a film and television production company founded by actress Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr in 2014.
