Customer Reviews

Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends - Percy's Chocolate Crunch (with Toy) [VHS]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This Thomas DVD is entertaining and features some very good stories, however there are some concerns about the content.

In the extras section of the DVD, there is a game by the name of "Sodor Hall Of Fame" which features deatils on each of the engines. Good so far, but the game is just a promotion for other Thomas videos that are not selling too well- for each engine it says "watch my further adventures in..." and advertises other videos. This seems a rather shameless way to push sales and influence young minds...

About the stories-

Percy's Chocolate Crunch. Story By David Mitton, Written By Brian Trueman. This is an entertaining episode in which Percy is restricted from being cleaned due to a water shortage and ends up crashing into Mr Jolly's chocolate factory.

Thomas, Percy and The Squeek. Story By David Mitton, Written By Jenny Mcdade. A famous Russian singer visits the Island to perform a concert but is soon forced not to ride in Thomas when she finds a mouse on board! )An interesting few changes in dialogue between the Brisitsh and American versions of this episode)

Gordon Takes a Tumble. Story By David Mitton, Written By Robin Kingsland. Gordon wishes to show off to Salty, and after pulling Freight Cars ends up crashing accross a field right into a scarecrow. (This episode is pretty much an exact copy of the 1984 original story "Off The Rails.)

Buffer Bother. Written By Ross Hastings. Bill is jelous when his twin Bill gets new buffers but after an accident, they learn that the twins do everything together.

Middle Engine. Story By David Mitton, Written By Brian Trueman. Percy and James both worry about being a middle engine and when Arry and Bert play tricks on them, they both end up in trouble.

Faulty Whistles. Duncan shows off his whistle to Peter Sam, but when it blows off into a field, the school Headmaster is forced to play the organ as a substitute. (Weird storyline!)

It is all rounded off with a song "Little Engines" which has quite a good catchy rhythm as the Thomas songs always do.

I wonder why Thomas director David Mitton doesn't write the episodes that he comes up with the story for himself since he has shown in the past what a good writer he is, although the hired writers who are all British do a good job too.
Only one writer is credited at the end o the DVD to save time creating a new credit sequence like they did on the "Salty's Secret" DVD.

Thomas fans may be confused as to why Nick JR get a credit at the end, this is because Thomas is co-produced and shown by Nick JR in the UK.

I also agree with the previous reviewer on Alec Baldwin, he forgot his voice for Elizabeth, but also his voice for the likes of Gordon are completely different from the 1998 series and he souns bored at times.

So overall a good DVD, minus the silly advertising game and I think most kids would enjoy it!

We have all of the Thomas videos and this is possibly the best one. It is very cute- the stories are a lot of fun. We have had it for probably 4 days and it has been watched many, probably 50 times.
If you have a Thomas fan in your house, this is a must-have. It has a lot of the newer characters, but does a great job of incorporating the old favorites along with them. The stories are original, funny and have a good message. I'm not even sick of it yet, just give me a few more days.

in episode Percy's Chocolate Crunch percy complains abot the water shortage for washdowns and grumbbles about the docks with the silly trucks who make him dirty by pulling him under the coal chute covering him in dirty dust. Later he goes to callent station to rest until harold the helicopter blows sinders and ashes over him so his driver decides to make him happy by taking the sugar trucks but percy doesn't know about the oil on the rails and accidentally crashes into the chocolate factory and destroyes all the machinery before coming out coverd in sticky chocolate and the other engines think it is very funny.

plus brand new characters like salty harvey elizabeth plus the sodor construction company meets jack the digger who meets more new characters like:

Byron the bulldozer
kelly the crane lorry
isabella the sentinal truck
max the 40 ton dump truck
oliver the excavator
and alfie the green excavator

We got this video basically, because the cover looked great! But my little one really loves his trains so he was quite excited about Percy going through the chocolate factory. It's a really cute video. But, why on earth do the creators find it necessary to teach our children to call each other names and make fun of each other? Why is this always the underlying current in all of these Thomas videos? I just don't understand it or see a need to promote something that they learn soon enough and you have to correct one school starts. I wish these videos showed positive interaction between the trains and how they should act instead of acting poorly as if that is how we all should behave. It doesn't add to the storyline nor does it help teaching manners at home when you hear, "Well Thomas said it." Where do you go from there?

Anyway, this one is definitely an improvement over our first Thomas video. Alec Baldwin does a wonderful job on the narration of this - his acting ability is a definite asset over choosing one of the Beatles or George Carlin. He just makes it much more exciting and fun to watch.

The stories are very cute, but I could really do without all the name-calling throughout the video.

I first found out about this is when I got the Thomas issue I get in the mail. It said that it has brand new stories and a music video. I don't know really anything eles. It also said that it might have some NEW friends. Remember Salty? He's in some stories. I just can't wait till it comes in stores!!!

When you just thought the new stories were already launched, I knew there were going to be some more new episodes set out. Join Percy in a unexpected visit to the chocolate factory, help the engines get Alicia Botti to the island concert in time & listen to the sound of Duncan's new whistle. At first I thought the song was stupid, but soon the tune got better! New stories, new characters & new DVD extras, this is where the fun begins!

Percy, the stout green engine, gets dirty in a few stories. He wants to get clean.

This is a nice collection of new stories. The new characters seem to be more subtly introduced, but the stories don't feel as lively as those presented on "Salty's Secret."

One note: narrator Alec Baldwin retains Salty's "sea dog" voice from the "Salty's Secret" collection; however, he has forgotten the voices he had established for other characters (even Elizabeth, the steam truck). I guess most kids won't notice, but why jazz up the narration if there isn't going to be continuity? Ringo and George didn't need the fancy voices.

My kids found this video to be fun to watch, they really love the stories.

See Percy and his freinds run into trouble in the Chocolate factory and what he does to get out of it.

Overall the video is enjoyable and will entertain the kids.

Our son is a big Thomas fan, and he really loves this new DVD from the Thomas and Friends series. This one introduces a new character, Elizabeth, who is Sir Tophamm Hatt's first truck.

In the first story, Percy's Chocolate Crunch, there is a water shortage. Since Percy has been doing a lot of dirty work, he complains that isn't always clean like he wants to be. His driver suggests that they take some cars loaded with sugar to the chocolate factory, but chaos ensues.

In Thomas, Percy and the Squeak, Thomas is chosen to take the famous singer Alicia Botti to her concert. She refuses to go with Thomas when she sees a mouse in one of his coaches. Percy then comes to her rescue.

In Gordon Takes a Tumble, Gordon shows Salty that he's "too big for his buffers" and disobeys a few signs telling him to go slow when he is accidentally switched onto a branch line. An accident then occurs.

In Buffer Bother, Ben needs new buffers. Bill, his twin, is jealous because he wants them too.

In Middle Engine, Percy falls for Iron 'Arry and Iron Bert's devious tricks.

In Faulty Whistle, Duncan tries to show off by tooting his whistle too much. It then comes loose and flies off when he tries to give Terence the Tractor "the loudest whistle yet". A man who plays the organ then comes to Duncan's rescue (he has been riding with Duncan and offers to play his organ because it's too dangerous to travel without a whistle to alert the stations).

I definitely recommend this DVD in addition to the rest of the Thomas series. It also has a cute little song called Little Engines. Also, the bonus features are worth trying out as well.

In Percy's Chocolate Crunch, the first episode really shows how an engine can get dirty. In Thomas, Percy and the Squeak, even if an engine is dirty, they can still do big jobs. In Gordon Takes a Tumble, it shows that a different job might not be like the one you're used to.

This video has some funny scenes and has good morals. I'd recommend it for all ages. This is one of the best Thomas videos yet. I hope you like it! (If you buy it.)