I don't usually make threads about finds like this here, but couldn't help it because I just happened to watch it the day after it premiered.
While fan made Thomas & Friends episodes, films/specials and remakes of official ones are nothing new and have been around for decades in a myriad of formats with varying quality, this is the first one I recall to be specifically made with the aim to perfectly match David Mitton's production values for the real show (in this case, Season 5). "Perfectly", as in making it barely distinguishable even to certain viewers who do know/care if they're watching something that's fan made; faithful replicas of the Gauge 1 models with eye mechs and smoke units, (mostly) accurate lighting, props and sets with a sky backdrop, tracking shots with the engines and trucks and even odd things like "wrong" whistle sounds from that time. The narrator, Robert Magee, uses a similar narration style and voices to Alec Baldwin's from the original US dub. In a flashback, it goes as far as to use stock footage from "Toby and the Stout Gentleman" without making it look out of place; it only hit me when I recognised the second shot.
Clearly the highest quality tribute to the work of Allcroft, Mitton and co. ever attempted. I feel anyone who watched the filmed seasons should see it if they still like the franchise. Well done to Jacob, Robert, Matt, Daniel and everyone mentioned in the credits for 'truly' reviving Classic Thomas, more faithfully than any toys, Hornby, Bachmann or Trainz/Railworks/MSTS. They didn't title it "The Good Old Days" for nothing.
While fan made Thomas & Friends episodes, films/specials and remakes of official ones are nothing new and have been around for decades in a myriad of formats with varying quality, this is the first one I recall to be specifically made with the aim to perfectly match David Mitton's production values for the real show (in this case, Season 5). "Perfectly", as in making it barely distinguishable even to certain viewers who do know/care if they're watching something that's fan made; faithful replicas of the Gauge 1 models with eye mechs and smoke units, (mostly) accurate lighting, props and sets with a sky backdrop, tracking shots with the engines and trucks and even odd things like "wrong" whistle sounds from that time. The narrator, Robert Magee, uses a similar narration style and voices to Alec Baldwin's from the original US dub. In a flashback, it goes as far as to use stock footage from "Toby and the Stout Gentleman" without making it look out of place; it only hit me when I recognised the second shot.
Clearly the highest quality tribute to the work of Allcroft, Mitton and co. ever attempted. I feel anyone who watched the filmed seasons should see it if they still like the franchise. Well done to Jacob, Robert, Matt, Daniel and everyone mentioned in the credits for 'truly' reviving Classic Thomas, more faithfully than any toys, Hornby, Bachmann or Trainz/Railworks/MSTS. They didn't title it "The Good Old Days" for nothing.
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