Customer Reviews

Thomas & Friends: 10 Years of Thomas & Friends - Best Friends

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First of all, let me say that I love Thomas the Tank Engine. My 6-year-old son has loved Thomas for 3+ years running and I am very grateful for all the good times the three of us have had. That having been said, this is a compilation VHS. You will not find any new stories on this one. However, it is worth viewing (and getting, if you don't have a big collection) if you have children. We got this as a gift from friends, so having duplicates of the stories was not a big problem with us. Interspersed between the stories is what seems to be an advertisement for the "Day Out With Thomas." It is interesting to watch, but is not informative for one actually thinking about participating in one of the programs.

ABOUT THE STORIES:

The 10 stories (4 more than the usual offering) featured on the video are as follows:

Thomas & Bertie's Great Race: This is one of the formative Thomas stories and is a welcome addition to anyone's collection. This particular episode is referenced in several subsequent episodes.

Old Iron: This is a charming story where Edward saves the day. However, this one is frequently recycled on Thomas' compilations. We already have it on at least 3 videos.

The Trouble With Mud: Fans of Gordon the Big Blue Engine will appreciate this one. It is included on the Best of Gordon video as well.

Terence the Tractor: This is another story which is essential to Thomas lore. Terence and his funny caterpillars save the day when Thomas get stuck in the snow. The song "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover" is based on this one.

Percy's Ghostly Trick: This is a cute little story where Percy gets to play a little trick on Thomas.

Mavis: This story features the lovely little diesel as well as an always-lovable Toby. Toby has to show impatient Mavis the ropes in this one.

Henry the Elephant: The circus is on the Island of Sodor and the engines are always ready to be really useful, even when 5 tons of pachyderm are on the line. This is a charming story which is not on any of our other collections.

Percy's Promise: Percy saves the day and does not let axle-deep water put a cramp in his style.

James Goes Buzz-Buzz: We also have this episode on the Best of James collection, but it is a good story and features some nice stop-action animation as well as little-seen figures such as the Vicar.

All at Sea: Duck wonders about life beyond the horizon in this lovely story. Harold the Helicopter puts aside his usual haughtiness to help him out. I've never seen this one, so it was a treat for my son and I.

Thomas' Anthem Grand Finale: A rousing musical way to end a very well-spent hour on the tracks.

George Carlin is the narrator for all 10 of the stories and he provides suitable voices for all the characters. I enjoy hearing him, although he is not as lovable as the quirky Ringo Starr.

All in all, this video is well worth watching and would be a great way to start a new Thomas lover's collection. Check it out if you get a chance!

ABOUT THE DVD:

This one is a little short on features, but the transfer is exceptional. Since kids, like mine and perhaps yours too, will want to see this repeatedly, it is comforting to know that unlike the video, this DVD will not wear out as long as we keep the DVD out of harm's way.

My son has several of the Thomas DVDs, and while he's just as content to watch any of them, this is his favorite. The episodes with Bertie and Terrance are great. Overall, a wonderful collection of earlier Thomas narrated by George Carlin. The interviews with kids are cute and provide more than just the usual shots of various engines. I find this DVD better than the "Best of" engines ones because of the variety. Plus, my son has no clear favorite and enjoys watching them all.

There are ten Thomas & Friends episodes on this 60-minute DVD. These are not just Thomas stories, but a mixture of episodes supposedly picked by children who went to the A Day With Thomas event in Penn. at some point. Preceding each story is a 40-second or so clip from the event, with parents and children commenting on the TV series. You cannot skip these with the skip button; you can fast-forward, but that's a hassle, isn't it? This is why some customers are understandably upset.

But my two-year-old actually likes the footage from the event -- set to his favorite T&F songs -- more than the stories themselves. Most of his favorite episodes are not here, so he ends up only watching the event footage and clapping every time he sees the mock-up Thomas train with all the happy children onboard.

If you own few other Thomas videos, I think this is a decent value, with ten episodes that more or less represent the T&F series. That is, pretty much every episode finds the engines "cross" -- I'm starting to get real sick of that word!

My children get easily bored with this video. I thought it was several episodes of Thomas but it has A LOT of just children and parents talking about Thomas and all. It doesn't keep the kids attention because what kid wants to sit and listen to a bunch of talking. This was my first Thomas video purchase...hopefully the next will have more shows and less talking!

My 2 year old son is huge Thomas fan. This DVD has long introductions to each story in which children and adults are interviewed - my son couldn't care less. He just wants to see trains! We have a portable DVD player, and it is a big pain to try to fast forward past these introductions, and he (and I) just ends up frustrated. My advice - pick another DVD.

All the interspersed kid and parent interviews where they talk about all the trains they have just feels like a thinly disguised effort to sell more product.

It's also AWFULLY frustrating that you can't jut buy the DVD Series here as you can in the UK, but have to make do with compilations where there are invariably episode duplications.

*sigh*

My son loves this video!!! He keeps asking to see "big Thomas" - he enjoys the stories, but really loves the scenes from the Day out with Thomas!

Good video for the kids. The only thing I did not like are the in between interviews between stories. I would have liked everything to flow easier.

apart from it arriving broken the first time, my kids are loving this DVD, which I alternate with the other I purchased to keep my own sanity. This DVD has created a Thomas fan out of my 3 1/2 yr. old daughter as well.

Well, as you know, Thomas & Friends: 10 Years of Thomas celebrates 10 Years of Thomas & Friends in America.
But know, after a long wait, it is on DVD!

OUR STORY STOPS ARE: (also featured on VHS)
Thomas and Bertie's Great Race
Old Iron
The Trouble with Mud
Terence the Tractor
Percy's Ghostly Trick
Mavis
Henry and the Elephant
Percy's Promise
James Goes Buzz Buzz
All at Sea

DVD BONUS FEATURES:
Sing-Along Song: "Thomas' Anthem: Grand Finale" (also on VHS)
Read-Along Storybook: "Breakfast Time for Thomas"
Character Gallery
"Build an Engine" Game
Link to Official Thomas Website

SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Day out with Thomas" Scene Selection
Episode Selection

So I think I will get it, but it comes with a wooden Percy engine, (which I already have!).