Customer Reviews

Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends - Salty's Secret (With Toy) [VHS]

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

 

 

Salty's Secret was another good one. It introduced Salty, the dockyard diesel, and Harvey, the crain engine. When Harvey makes his first appearance in Harvey to the rescue, his voice sounds normal. But when he makes his second appearance in No Sleep For Cranky, he sounds very fancy-talking. This video also introduces Elizabeth, the vintage Quarry truck. Here are the stories:

Salty's Secret 4.5/5:
Salty comes to work at the Island of Sodor, but instead of working by the docks like he wanted, he will be working at the Quarry instead. Although sad, Salty realizes that there is work to be done and gets to work immediately. The other engines are surprised at how well Salty handles the freight cars and they just can't seem to figure out his secret.

Harvey To The Rescue 4/5:
Another new engine arrives at the Island of Sodor and his name is Harvey, the crain engine. The other engines find him very different looking at start talking about him. This makes Harvey sad and he doesn't want to work on the Island of Sodor anymore. But soon enough, Harvey will get his chance to prove to the other engines that, although he may look different, he is still just as useful.

No Sleep For Cranky 4.5/5:
Cranky never gets to sleep at all, he has to work all the time. This makes him very cranky, hints the name. One day Cranky gets mad with Bill & Ben and causes an accident. He is then stuck with Bill, Ben, and Salty all night long.

The Fogman 5/5:
Cyrrel the fogman has a very important job to do on the Island of Sodor, he sets explosive caps on the tracks to warn the engines of heavy fog. One day, Sir Topham Hatt shows the engines a new invention, the fog horn. This will be replacing Cyrrel, leaving him jobless. But Sir Topham Hatt soon realizes that Cyrrel is clearly more reliable than the fog horn.

A Bad Day For Harold 5/5:
Percy loves taking the mail train, it is the most important job Sir Topham Hatt has given him. But Harold must take the mail instead of Percy one day due to a broken signal. Harold is too busy teasing Percy than paying atention to what he is doing and he ends up crashing.

Elizabeth The Vintage Quarry Truck 4.5/5:
Thomas must deliver a load to the docks by sunset. Everything is going so well until he breaks his coupling rods. They end up at an old abandoned shed where his driver and fireman go inside, hoping there's a phone in there. But they find something else instead which Thomas thinks is a ghost.

James The Really Splendid Engine(Music Video) 6/5:
A great music video about James. It would've been great on the Best of James video.

And there's all the stories from Salty's Secret. I'd recommend this video, it's a good one. :)

There's lots of work on the Island of Sodor and sometimes Sir Topham Hat needs to bring more engines and equipment onto help out, Alec Baldwin's narrator explains in the opening of this latest (as of September 2002) Thomas installment. Well, we've come a far way from the series' usual anti-Labor party themes of working until your wheels fall off, just being happy that you have a job, and understanding that if you complain, you're going to be locked in a shed. (Don't you think Alec's agent should inform him of the conflict between the actor's leftist politics and Sir Topham Hat's fascist regime?)

Okay, okay, adults aren't the intended audience, but I had to throw that out there (since it's true).

There is some marketing strategy going on here, though. Kids are introduced to three new characters: Harvey, a cool "lift" engine produced from mixing the DNA of James and Cranky (though how he's ever going to make it through a railway tunnel is beyond me); Salty, a nice diesel (don't you miss the days when one could count on a diesel being evil?) that the ever-over-the-top Alec Baldwin has given the accent of Rip Torn's pirate from "Summer Rental"; and Elizabeth, the series's last attempt to increase sales of non-train vehicles (good luck). The highlight here, however, is the long-awaited crash of Harold the Helicoptor (though he does manage to lose it over a nice, soft pile of hay ).

Well, my kids love this stuff (and obviously I've seen too much of it, too), and with DVD, there's no rewinding. In addition, this disc does not contain the usual five minutes of introductory ads. Highly recommended.

Salty's Secret is the latest Thomas & Friends Videos. These Six stories tell us about Friendship, teamwork, and Fun.

Salty's Secret: Salty the Diesal has a secret that everyone on the island wants to know. Join Thomas & Mavis as they meet Salty and discover the secret Bill and Ben are tryig to still figure out.

Harvey to the Rescue: No one will socilize with Harvey the Crane Engine because of his weird Crane on the back of him. But Thomas and Sir Topham Hat assure him he's Special,and when he rescues a derailed Percy, all the engine think that different is okay.

No Sleep for Cranky: While working at the docks Cranky drops a pile of pipes on the track, which stalls traffic until Harvey clears the load. After a long night of Salty's Sea tails, Cranky is happy to get back to work.

The Fogman: When a new Foghorn blows to loud it creates a avalanche on the line. The Foghorn is buried in the Rubble and can't warn Thomas of the Peril ahead. But, thanks to Cyril's detanators he warns Tobey before he crashes to. Sir Topham Hat relizes that Cyril's detanators is more reliable than the Foghorn.

A Bad day for Harold: Percy's Favorite job is delivering the mail, but when he gets stuck at a Broken siganl Harold must take the load. But when the load gets to heavy he crases into a hay stack Percy comes to his side.

Elizabeth the Vintage Quarry Truck: While taking a load to the Docks Thomas' cside Rods Break. While looking for help Thomas' Driver finds a misterious steam powered quarry Truck that helps pull the couplings needed for Thomas. When Thomas arrives at the Docks Elizabeth arives and he relizes Elizabeth and Sir Topham Hat are old friends.

After these episodes watch the Music Video James the Really Splended Engine.

This video is great! It features three new characters, all new stories, and one new music video! Salty is an old diesel who tells tales of the sea. Harvey is a unique looking steam engine who has a big crane placed on his boiler, which he is often teased about. Elizabeth is a steam powered quarry truck who was Sir Topham Hatt's first truck and she is quite concited, which often annoys Thomas!

Salty's Secret: Salty, a dock yard diesel, comes to help Mavis, Bill and Ben complete a very important job for Sir Topham Hatt. Salty is upset that the work is in the quarry because he can't be at the docks. Still, he helps get the job done succesfuly. Meanwhile, Bill and Ben are jealous of Salty because the trucks only behave for him. They are still trying to figure out his secret. In the end, Salty is moved to Brendam docks because of his hard work.

Harvey To The Rescue: Sir Topham Hatt introduces Harvey, the crane engine, to the other engines. He explains that the Railway Board will let Harvey join the railway after a demonstration. Thomas is pleased to meet Harvey, but Percy, Gordon, Edward, James, and Henry tease him about his giant crane. Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt assure Harvey that his different looks make him "Special". Later, some trucks push Percy off the tracks at Bulgy's Bridge, blocking the road below. This makes Bertie late getting the gentlemen of the Railway Board to Harvey's demonstration. So Sir Topham Hatt goes to get Harvey to rescue Percy. Harvey does his demonstration at the bridge. Harvey not only saves Percy and the trucks, but he also gets to join the railway! Later that night, the engines decide Harvey is realy useful.

No Sleep For Cranky: Cranky never gets any sleep, which is why he's always rude. While holding some pipes, Salty, Bill and Ben start to get on his nerves. Cranky accidentally drops the pipes which role into the shed, trapping Salty and the twins. Cranky winds up listening to Salty's stories all night. Finally the next day, Harvey comes to rescue Salty, Bill and Ben. Cranky is now grateful Harvey works on the railway. For a little while, Cranky is nicer to Thomas, Percy, Salty, Harvey, Bill and Ben. But it doesn't last long!

The Fogman: Cyril is the Sodor fogman of Misty Valley. All the engines love him. He puts out detanators to warn them when there is fog ahead. It makes their axles tingle. But Sir Topham Hatt decides to replace their trusted fogman with a very loud fog horn. When it goes of for Percy, it causes a rock slide. The fog horn is crushed and is unable to warn Thomas, who crashes into the rockslide. With Toby coming and no foghorn, Toby could have an even worse accident! So Cyril comes to the rescue with a fog detanator to warn Toby. Toby is stopped and Thomas is later rescued by Toby and Percy. Sir Topham Hatt agrees with them that Cyril is much more reliable, so he puts him back on the job.

A Bad Day For Harold: Percy is upset when Harold has to take his place in the mail route. Ignoring his pilot's advice, Harold takes all of the mail bags at once. But their weight causes damage to his engine and Harold crashes upside down in a haystack. As quickly as possible, Percy proves to Harold that he is just fast as goes for help.

Elizabeth the Vintage Quarry Truck: While taking a special to the docks, Thomas breaks his coupling rods. After finding Elizabeth, an old and very rude steam truck, his driver and fireman set out to the fitters yards. Thomas is gald to be rid of her for while when he is given his new side rods. After reaching the docks, Elizabeth arrives to find Thomas talking to Sir Topham Hatt. They recognize each other right away. Thomas can't believe they're old friends! After some repairs, Elizabeth comes out looking as good as new and more concieted than ever! Thomas still doesn't like her company, too.

Music Video: James the Really Useful Engine:

"He's the really useful engine everybody knows,
But he does go on and on and on, always letting us know!
He really is a splendid fellow, but he really is quite vain.
Who do we need? Ya got it. James!

Take a look, who's comin' down the tracks!
Make way for James! Hooray for James!
Shiny, shiny paint with a checked black stack!
Make way for James! Hooray for James!
A tacky feelin', you really should not,
He's really beautiful, but let's take a vote.
He's the really splendid engine with the bright, red coat!

Heeeeeerrrrre he cooooommmmesss!
He could brag all day 'bout how fast he goes,
How good he looks, he's such a pose.
But whatta 'bout the time that he was covered in mud.
Oh, what a joke! What a duze!
But up and down the line, you'll here the others say,
despite his vanity, he really is okay.
Dependable, reliable and seldom late!
We all think James is great!

Speedin' down the line as we're rushing last!
Make way for James! Hooray for James!
Hang on to ya hat as he whooshes past!
Make way for James! Hooray for Jmaes

He really knows how to stay at the show.
You gotta stand back and watch him go!
He's the really splendid engine with the bright red coat!

He's makin' his way on down the tracks.
Make way for James! Hooray for James!
He never looks up. He never looks back!
Make way for James! Hooray for James!
A tacky, beaten and really quite vain,
He knows we love 'em just the same!

Look who's comin' on down the tracks!
Make way for James! Hooray for James!
Shiny, shiny paint with a checked black stack!
Make way for James! Hooray for James!

He's the really splendid engine!
Shiny, shiny engine!
He's the really splendid engine! Yep, that's are James!

That's James!

We love this video. Salty is especially neat and shows the viewers that even though you may not enjoy what you're doing right now, pretty soon you'll be rewarded for your hard work and get to do what you enjoy. Salty is sent to the quarry to help out and gets the job done so very fast and impresses Sir Topham Hat. Salty is able to keep the troublesome trucks in line and is the only engine able to do so. In the Fogman story, when Hatt tries to replace Seral with a machine to warn the engines of fog, it causes a disaster and Seral gets his job back. Percy helps Harold when he crashes to the ground and learns how to be a true friend.

We watch this video over, and over and over... It is just so very cute and well done. Highly recommend!

What a very, very cute DVD this one is! Salty is just really neat and provides a great deal of entertainment for my little one. He's got one of those Scottish seaman accents, complete with a couple of missing front teeth, and is just a delight to watch. Alec Baldwin narrates this one and does a wonderful job on Salty's voice. Really, really cute and we watch this one over, and over, and over...

All of the stories are very well done and it's very nice to see stories about Cranky again. Salty calls crabby folks around Sodor "Captain" which makes my little one laugh each time. Cranky is the "captain" in this movie.

Highly recommend this one!

In this movie you'll meet Salty the desiel ngine, Harvey the Crane Engine, And Elizibeth, Sir Thoppam's first truck. Watch Salty do work he really doesn't to very quikly, watch Harvey rescue Percy in two good ways, watch Cranky the crain cause a silly accident. Wath what happens when a new fog horn, uum, well might destroy itself. Watch happens wen the mail is to heavy for Harold. And find out what happens Thomas'es driver discover a vintage Quarry Truck

Saltys secret is a great tape to add to your seires of thomas videos the storys on the tape feature a new chracter in almost every story my brother and sister were always woundering when are thare going to be new chracters wean we were at the store one day they baged us to get so we did we all enjoyed the storys on the tape the best is harvey to the rescue but the new charcter elzibaeth was jest plain rude none us relly liked her but anyway if you have a new thomas fan in your family looking for new chracters buy this p.s. New friends for thomas has more

Salty's Secret:In this episode,a diesel named Salty,who loves the sea,get's a job at the quarry.but Salty was glad when he was assined a job at the docks.In Harvey to the rescue,Harvey is said to not be useful;even by Edward!!!!

I liked Salty's Secret more than a few of the other videos in the past. What makes this video so unique is that each individual story was written by a different person, allowing a greater variety of stories to be told on multiple scales, each with it's own special uniqueness. Some using slapstick, some using repitition, but all essentially with a secret message. Another thing I like about this video is the narration of Alec Baldwin. In this film he uses the word "trucks" instead of the overly-used "freight cars". The words "freight cars" just sounds too American, and it was really easy to understand what he meant by him just blatantly saying "trucks". Overall, the new locations, characters, and themes make this video probably the best video to date.