Product Details

• Actors: George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, Michael Brandon
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Run Time: 37 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JMQB
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,006 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Thomas and his English engine buddies face floods, landslides, and taunting trucks in these half dozen 5-minute stories narrated by Alec Baldwin. As in their previous adventures, the spunky toy vehicles survive their mishaps with a combination of quick thinking and help from their fellow vehicles. The hard-working Percy is irked at how dirty he gets hauling rock and coal until being trapped by an avalanche from a mine-shaft collapse puts things in perspective. Competition comes to the Island of Sodor when lorries (British for "trucks") with a bad attitude try to take the engines' places. But a series of accidents and breakdowns restores the engines to their rightful place. The 35-minute video is capped off by a 3-minute "music video" featuring kids singing "Accidents Will Happen" over a series of clips showing the vehicles involved in a series of crashes and other misadventures involving jelly, snow, and a runaway "boulder" that looks suspiciously like a tennis ball. --Kimberly Heinrichs

From Parents' Choice®
Whoa! Who knew how exciting a Thomas the Tank Engine tape could be? This 37-minute gem delivers six suspenseful stories: Percy in an avalanche, Toby in a flood, Henry in a fishing hole, and more. Alec Baldwin does a fine job of narrating the emotion-filled, action-packed segments. The true treat comes at the end with the song "Accidents Happen" urging care, while crash scenes roll. A 1999 Parents' Choice® Gold Award Winner. (Ann Oldenburg, Parents' Choice®)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who's in Trouble Now!, July 5, 2005

By	Pam Tee "Harmless" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends - Races, Rescues & Runaways (DVD)

I have to laugh. We got this video and it had my kids (boy and girl; 3 and 5 respectively) sitting on the edge of their seats.

It's the music and Alec Baldwin's narrative that makes this video a success. They really managed to bring a little 'peril' to Sodor, but it is nothing scary.

Another thing we like about this collection of videos is that there are alot of the lesser known characters such as George, Duck, Skarloey, Oliver, and Toad.

Titles are:

Toby and the Flood
Put Upon Percy
Horrid Lorry(s)
Bye George!
Something In The Air
Oliver's Find

Five Stars. A good addition to the home video sheds.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS A VERY USEFUL VIDEO, INDEED., November 9, 1999

By	Rare Reviewer - See all my reviews

"Races, Rescues and Runaways" is a great video. The animation is more realistic than previous Thomas videos, it introduces new characters and Alec Baldwin's narration is much improved over the 1998 effort, "Thomas the Tank Engine: Cranky Bugs." More important, the kids love it, which makes it worth every penny!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A entertaining Thomas video!, November 9, 2004

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

This Thomas video has a whole bunch of crash sequences in it and every time I see an accident in Thomas, I start laughing so you can imagine how much I laughed while watching this video. Although, Percy is just the same old engine again; whining and complaining about all the work he has and feels that he is "put upon" with so much work. But let's put Percy aside shall we and focuse on the hilarious stories on here:

Toby And The Flood 5/5:
It's a stormy day on the Island of Sodor and Toby is miserable because of all the dark clouds. He is sent on patrol to see how bad the storm really is and finds out that the dam is breaking so he hurries back to warn everyone. But on his way, while crossing a bridge, the dam collapses and sends Toby down stream. Can he make it to safety in time before the river takes him down the waterfall?

Put Upon Percy 4/5:
Percy is whining and complaining that he is being put upon with work. Thomas pays no attention to him and tells him that he's just a silly engine. But when there is an avalanche at the quarry, will Percy be able to save himself and his driver in time?

Horrid Lorry 4.5/5:
Cranky tells the engines that they are too slow and delay the ships at the docks. He says that a lorry should take over their jobs. The engines are furious and hope that a lorry does not come, but one does, along with two other ones. The lorries are very rude to the engines and take over their work. Pretty soon there is no work left for Toby. Will the lorries continue this madness? Find out in this story.

Bye George! 5/5:
George just can't stand railways. One day, he is ripping up an old railway when Thomas goes by with some freight cars. George starts saying how bad railways are but Thomas can't hear him. George thinks that Thomas is ignoring him and this makes him mad. He soon ends up causing trouble.

Something In The Air 5/5:
Thomas is a bit late to the docks with Henry's load for The Flying Kipper. Thomas tries to warn Henry that there is danger on the rails but Henry doesn't listen. And because of that, he ends up swimming with the fish.

Oliver's Find 3.5/5:
Oliver has an accident with some freight cars, so Sir Topham Hatt has him run the mail train for a while. One night, Oliver gets lost and Sir Topham Hatt gets worried. When he finally finds Oliver, he finds something else very interesting.

"Accidents Will Happen"(Music Video) 6/5:
A fun and catchy song that is a great addition to this video, since it talks about accidents.

I'd recommend this Thomas video. It is funny and even sad at time but it will provide lots of entertainment to the whole family.