Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends - Make Someone Happy VHS

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this is my son's favorite thomas tape (he has 7 of them!), and it would be mine as well if alec baldwin was not the narrator. i find it offensive and annoying that he chooses to verbalize james as an over-the-top, effeminate, gay character and he does so in a very mocking way. james' exultations of "oh puhleeze!" and "oh heyulp (help)" and numerous inferred eye rolls are ridiculous. i find this akin to his portraying the chinese dragon as saying "ah so, me so solly...." i so wish they would rerelease this video without mr. baldwin's narration, not only because it is annoying and offensive but because it is a well-written script with interesting situations for little kids that would otherwise be valuable.

I would highly recommend this show for all children. I enjoy watching it myself!

In general, my kids love Thomas. We love the books (we have the super-huge treasury, among others), and the other videos are usually fine. However, this one drives me NUTS. Alec Baldwin's voice acting here is horrible. He makes all of the characters sound like spoiled brats, thus changing the tone of the whole video to a negative, whiny experience. All of the engines sound the same - snobbish and rude, even when speaking common, every day phrases. Not only does this make me really dislike this video, but I worry about my children mimicking his attitude.Look for the videos with the other voice actors - they do a MUCH better job of portraying childlike behavior without making you cringe. (Ringo in particular does a great job.) We like this video, but it does not get as much play as the others, simply because of the narration. Get it, but don't pay too much for it.

Personally, this is one of my favorite Thomas videos. It is better than all the other Thomas videos that came out around that time like Cranky Bugs; Races, rescues, and runaways; and Spills & Chills. Some overprotective parents have said that there is to much nasty words exchanged from the engines. So what. It's not even close to being "nasty" and besides, kids will here stuff like that someday. Most of these stories focus on Percy but they are still very good anyway. My favorite is Thomas and the Rumours. Here are the stories:Make Someone Happy A:Thomas is tired of James bragging about how good he is and saying that he's to important to pull messy coal cars. He tells James that if he makes someone else happy for a change, he'll make himself happier too, but James refuses to believe him. Meanwhile, Mrs. Kindly is looking forward to her sister coming up to visit her but finds out that she can't come, so she is sad now. Will James cheer her up, or will he just keep trying to feel important?A Big Surprise for Percy B:Pushing and pulling cars back and forth all day, that's what Percy has to do every day and he is very board; he longs for a surprising thing to happen. Well he gets it soon enough when the cars break free from his train and start running away.Happy Ever After A:Mrs. Kindly daughter is getting married and Percy is on a mission to find the good luck package which must contain: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. But just where does he find those things Percy is wondering. With some help along the way, Percy will soon find the good luck package.Thomas & the Rumours A:When the children tell Thomas that their playground has been closed down, Thomas tries to help them. Then, when Sir Topham Hatt has Harold take a visitor around the island instead of the engines, the big engines get mad because they think that Harold is taking over their work. Now Thomas has two problems to solve, but maybe they are connected somehow.James & the Trouble with Trees A:When Sir Topham Hatt sends James to help Thomas and Percy clear the line of fallen trees, they warn James how dangerous trees can be and James doen't listen to them. But who will come an help him when he encounters a giant tree? Baa! A:Percy is sent to Maithwate station with some flowers for the "Best Dressed Station" award and runs into a hungry ram. Luckly, his driver is able to lure the ram away with some food.Then later, the station gets trashed and everyone thinks it can only be one thing, the ram. But come to find out, the ram isn't the culprit, he is just making sure the real suspects do no more damage.Again, great Thomas video. Even the music video, "It's Great to be an Engine," is good. I'd recommend that you buy this Thomas video to add to your collection today. If you don't, you're missing out.

Jykese

It's been awhile since I did a Thomas review but i've had this one thought out for awhile. Let me start off with the fact that James used be be a moderatly good character. Now all he can do is whine. James has never been a nice engine but he was considered a tough guy. Now Salty with his two major roles is now a tough guy. I think before making new characters they should use the old ones that are never mentioned. Duck has not had a major role since Alec Bladwin took over. Niether has Daisy, Bertie, Terence, BoCo, Duke, or Sir Handel. The engines that have had bad major roles are Edward, Gordon, Henry, Toby, Donald, Douglas, Mavis, or Oliver. I never like Bill and Ben from the start so I didn't list them. If anyone from Hit Entertainment ever reads this have them fire Alec Baldwin.

My 22 month old son loves the Thomas series. In all we have The Best of Thomas, The Best of James and this one. Although my son doesn't seem to mind the narrator's voice, I find Alec Baldwin's narration horrible. The narrator in the Best of Thomas video is much better. Alec Baldwin narrates the Best of James video as well, and that is my son's favorite one of the three. So, he doesn't seem to mind. I can also understand those parents who are concerned about the rude comments, despite things working out in the end. I find the same in the Best of James video as well. (I don't much care for James.) However, my son loves it nonetheless, and I don't think he is learning bad habits as a result. Quite the opposite--I think he wants to watch to see how things resolve in the end.

Son loves it.

日本版と違ってキャラクターはおしゃべりしないのですが、ナレーションはもちろん英語！子どもなりに聞き取って楽しんでいるようです。お話の内容はどれも素敵なものばかり。最後にはトーマス達の日常の生活場面とともに歌が収録されています。とても元気の出るかわいらしい歌です。息子はこの歌が大のお気に入り。『THOMAS SONGS & ROUNDHOUSE RHYTHMS [US IMPORT]』も一緒に購入したのですが、このCDにその歌が収録されていて、あわせて活用しています。もう既にCDをお持ちの方にもお勧めです。