Product Details

• Actors: Michael Angelis, Michael Brandon, Alec Baldwin, Ringo Starr, George Carlin
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: February 2, 1999
• Run Time: 37 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305318123
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,634 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Cranky the Crane gives little engines Thomas and Percy a lot of grief in the title story. To make matters worse, big engines Gordon and James side with the ill-tempered lifter and the little guys get nervous and begin making mistakes on the job. They redeem themselves, however, when Cranky topples in a storm and Thomas and his buddy put him back upright. Other stories feature twin engines Bill and Ben having "teething troubles," Toad the brake van's forward-thinking ambition, grumpy Gordon crashing through a station wall, and storyteller Alec Baldwin adopting a falsetto as Lady Hatt, Sir Topham Hatt's wife and birthday girl. In lieu of a seventh story, a chorus of kids sings "Night Train" while the model trains steam through darkness in a series of dramatic scenarios. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Product Description

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Video: Cranky Bugs & Other Stories

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now that's what I call a Thomas video!, November 9, 2004

By 

Cumulonimbus Harpe "samsmylife" (Fresno, California, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends - Cranky Bugs & Other Thomas Stories [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Cranky Bugs, along with Make Someone Happy, is one of my favorite Thomas video. The stories on here are hilarious. Especially in Lady Hatt's Birthday Party. In that one we get to see Sir Topham Hatt like we've never seen him before. This is also a very important Thomas video because it was the first one that Alec Baldwin narrated. I think that Alec Baldwin is one of the better storytellers because he was creative with the voices. James and Gordon were the only trains that he made sound bad, but in the later ones, he changes their voices back to normal. Here are the story stops:

Cranky Bugs 5/5:
Meet Cranky, the rude and cranky crane, hence his name. He starts bossing Percy and Thomas around at the docks. This soon causes confusion and delay and Sir Topham Hatt thinks that Thomas and Percy are to blame. But when a huge storm comes and knocks Cranky over, he ends up confessing that he caused all the confusion and delay.

Lady Hatt's Birthday Party 5/5:
It is Lady Hatt's birthday and Sir Topham Hatt must not be late to her party. But his car breaks down and that causes him to run a little late. Then he falls in a ditch. Sir Topham Hatt's nice suit is soiled and he has no source of transportation, will he be able to get to his wive's birthday party?

Double Teething Troubles 4/5:
Sir Topham Hatt gets a new diesel to help Bill and Ben at the quarry. But the new diesel has teething troubles because he is new and nervous. This causes some trouble for Bill and Ben.

Thomas, Percy And Old Slow Coach 5/5:
Thomas and Percy find an old coach at the scrapyard named Old Slow Coach. She is going to be broken up pretty soon because she is old and slow. Thomas and Percy want more than anything to help her but they can't figure out how. Meanwhile, there is a fire at the workman's hut. Their hut is destroyed and they don't have a home anymore, but there is an ideal home for them that they don't know about yet.

Busy Going Backwards 5/5:
Toad, Oliver's faithful breakvan companion, wishes that he could go foreward for a change, instead of going backwards all the time. The freight cars get mad at Toad because they think that he has no right to complain because he lucky enough to be able to look after them. So the freight cars come up with a plan that will teach Toad a lesson and make his wish of going foreward finally come true.

A Better View For Gordon 6/5:
Gordon is boasting again about being the finest engine in the world. One day, he is sent to test out the new station. When he gets there, he is disappointed with the view. He thinks he should have a panoramic view, where he can see people and people can see him. He soon gets his view, but in an unexpected way.

"Night Train"(Music Video) 4.5/5
A slower music video that is mostly about Henry and The Flying Kipper.

Again, Cranky Bugs is a great Thomas video and Alec Baldwin did great in this one. If you don't already have this one, buy it today.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Thomas video, January 1, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends - Cranky Bugs & Other Thomas Stories (DVD)

I have this one on video instead of DVD. Most of the stories are good, ecspcially Lady Hatt's Birthday Party, and Cranky Bugs. Busy Going Backwards isn't too bad either. Alec Baldwin's narration is good, although his Toad voice is a bit iffy! Alec B. is on my good Thomas list! The story "A Better View For Gordon is okay, but it has an unrealistic crash. Put aside that episode and you've got yourself a pretty good Thomas video. I got it when I was 4 and I loved it. I am now 10 years old and I still watch it!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Favorite Thomas Video!, December 7, 1999

By 

Steven's Mommy (Princeton, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends - Cranky Bugs & Other Thomas Stories [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This tape was our first exposure to the Thomas series and quickly became a favorite of our collection. Remarkably, after watching it 500+ times, I can still sit through it and find that I enjoy it! I attribute it to Alec Baldwin's wonderful narraration. He puts great effort into giving each of the characters their own personality. The older tapes seem monotonous in comparison. I look forward to getting the next tape he works on!