r/thomasthetankengine

I mean, could you blame them.

Say what you like about bouncing chassis or child VAs, I think even just in this singular frame of the trailer there's a lot of respect for railway realism.

Gordon has his express headcode (two lamps), and Thomas has his branch line headcode (just one), and with the maintenance going on to gordon, it might actually feel like the human workers on the railway actually have something to do beyond just stand inside an engines cab and be useless.

Mind you, both these engines should have 'light engine' headcodes right now (one lamp on top of smokebox) but still, I think it really looks like they've done their research and made something that's going to be a happy medium for all fans young and old, new and returning

Yeah yeah, adding to the already giant pile with a dumbass screenshot to grab your attention, but I felt like talking about this.

So I saw the trailer (obviously), and without getting too deep into it: I’m mixed. Many aspects I like, many aspects I think are really grating. Probably ain’t gonna be for me but I’ll give it a fair handshake when it releases. That said, I don’t really care for the defensive attitude I’m seeing some people take in regards to criticism of the show. People with an equally offensive attitude I’d also criticize, but frankly I’m just not seeing enough of that to bother discussing it. What I AM seeing though is a lot of “well it’s a kids’ show, why should it appeal to you as an adult fan” or “you should be GRATEFUL that they’re doing this” or snarky “you’re shocked that a kids’ show has kid voice actors” comments when like. May I ask what the point of having an adult fandom is if we can’t criticize it as adults?

It just seems weirdly antithetical to the whole point of the fandom because that’s the exact same arguments I’ve heard my whole life from other people saying I shouldn’t like the show in the first place. So what, a grown-ass man like me can praise the new show for everything good it does and that’s fine, but when we criticize it, then “it’s just a kids’ show and IDK why you’re analyzing it like that lmao it’s not for you.” Obviously I think there are entitled fans who have ridiculous expectations for the show, the new Tommy Choo Choo show does not owe me, an adult man, crap. I think it’s immature of anyone to act any different. But I also see it as no more mature to blindly praise it and eat it up as a grown adult because then like. Why are you watching it if you think it’s just for kids?

Like, either it’s something that can be enjoyed by all ages and thus is worthy of criticism as such, or it’s just a baby show for the kiddos in which case I have to ask why you’re watching if that’s how you yourself view it. That’s how I view AEG, and that’s why I didn’t bother watching it. I don’t hate it, I don’t view it as an affront to Awdry and whine about it. I just see it as a toddler show that I obviously wouldn’t enjoy and ignore it. Either I think something is mature enough to be worthy of my viewership, worthy of my praise, and thus also worthy of my criticism when applicable, or sure. Maybe it’s “just a preschool show” that I’d be wasting my time criticizing, like AEG. But if that’s the case, then I ain’t watching it and I ain’t going to Reddit to praise a corporation for providing me with more cartoons for three year olds.

There are aspects of the new show I like. I think it has potential. But there’s also a LOT that I think are bad signs. I’m sorry, but I just don’t think child voice actors fit the series. The characters seem way too friendly and sanitized. The musical numbers sound dumb. The bouncing still looks bad, the faces look off, and some of the sets just look like toys rather than believable locations. I’d be happy to go more in-depth on why I feel that way, and I think so long as we’re calm and reasonable in said discussions, we should be allowed to make those criticisms. Cause otherwise, I think the attitude I’m seeing is kinda lame. Like if you think other people are immature for complaining about “just a preschool show,” how do you think you look by being excited for it? Outsiders to the fandom look at us the exact same way, no need to put each other down for simply voicing our opinions.

Are you all simply just ungrateful? We’ve finally gotten a fairly good show trailer, and you guys won’t stop shut up over how much you hate the VA’s, bouncing, and the engines not having much weight. I haven’t seen a single person mention the new landscape and scenery, new character models having proper paint details and grime to make them look like real steam engines, comebacks of old locations and items, smaller details like people giving the engines maintenance and the new rails, and the new lighting.

The engines not being very weighty barely was an issue in the trailer. Heck, we see Thomas getting dragged back by trucks in the trailer. You know what that means? They have weight.

Sure, the bouncing is a bit annoying, but it doesn’t appear in all the scenes, and were you really all expecting it to be gone? We knew it would be here since the February test animation, and the bouncing’s been here since 2017. 9 years. Obviously it’s not going anywhere

And yes, while the child VA’s are a bit jarring compared to what everyone’s used to, but Thomas has had child voice actors for 5 years now. Not to mention the fact nearly every other children’s show has child actors now, and considering children are the TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC, it makes sense they would go the route of other children’s shows and give the mains kid VA’s.

But no, you expect Mattel to cater to your every need because what? You bought some merch? You watched the show as well? Obviously they acknowledge you and even brought back old characters like BoCo and Stepney. But no, you just disregard all of that over 3 things.

TLDR: some fans except Mattel to cater to their every need despite the fact Thomas & Friends still needs to be a functioning and successful children’s show.

Edit: Also I forgot to mention we got THE STROUDLEY 4 WHEEL COACHES BACK. Like, what? I mean, Annie & Clarabel sure, but we got the actual coaches in 3 different liveries, an orange, a red, and a green. That’s pretty damn cool.

Look at how expressive and cheeky he is!

THIS is Thomas. We are SO back.

My guess it’s Emily or Nia

Brutally honestly, I think the apprehension/dislike towards the decision to use child voice actors is rather selfish on the adult fans behalf. I personally have no issue with it at face value, and this IS another reboot so they can do almost anything they want.

Whether the child voice acting is good or not is an entirely different question, but based on the trailer, I didn’t dislike what I was hearing. Although this feels the most like Chuggington Thomas has ever felt.

I don’t think I’ll keep up with the new show too much, not because I’m against it but because it may not be my thing too much. But I don’t think having kid voice actors is a bad thing, and adult Thomas fans need to remember this is a kids show first and foremost. And no one relates to a kid more than a kid

Theres literally one empty shed in between Gordon and James

Farmer McColl clocking back in for his seasonal appearance AND HES AMAZING AF IDC WHAT YOU SAY

Oh yea and there’s the trailer too but hey as Farmer McColl’s number 1 fan I can care less for that rn

I'm really not trying to insult ay of the voice actors, the trailer doesn't look too bad. I just find it weird how Thomas' age is so fluent. And I'm not kidding, the second batch of the Billinton E2s were built in 1915, so he's actually 111 years old. (pretty fitting)

I'M SO FUCKING HYPED, TS LOOKS ACTUALLY WATCHABLE, IT'S NOT SLOP, IT'S BEAUTIFUL