Big World! Big Adventures!

*“Two engines are much better than one, you know.”*
―Nia
***Big World! Big Adventures!*** is the 2018 Thomas & Friends film.

## Production

### Development

*Big World! Big Adventures!*, alongside the twenty-second series, mark the third major reboot of the franchise, following the introduction of the Steam Team in the eighth series and the show switching over to full CGI in Hero of the Rails. Both productions were the result of the market research Mattel conducted with audiences around the globe. It was about how Mattel could keep *Thomas & Friends* relevant in a competitive market, as well as reversing declining toy sales. The one suggestion Mattel was intrigued with came from a child declaring that "Thomas is a train but he never really goes anywhere." This evolved into Thomas travelling around the globe and learning about different cultures.

## Plot

When a mischievous little racing car called Ace passes through Sodor on his way around the world, Thomas is inspired to embark on his own ambitious trip. Traveling full steam ahead across five continents, Thomas discovers magnificent new sights and experiences exciting places and cultures. Along the way, he makes friends with an inspiring and fun Kenyan engine called Nia. With so much for Thomas to learn about the world, will Nia be successful in teaching him a lesson about the true meaning of friendship? Featuring a world of wonder, curiosity and amazing animal friends, join Thomas on an epic adventure, fulfilling his dream of seeing the world!

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Duck
* Donald and Douglas
* Oliver
* Bill and Ben
* Flying Scotsman
* Emily
* Rosie
* Timothy
* Marion
* Sam
* Carlos
* Yong Bao
* Diesel
* Daisy
* Sidney
* Paxton
* Philip
* Annie and Clarabel
* Troublesome Trucks
* Bertie
* Harold
* Captain
* Cranky
* Big Mickey
* Carly
* Sir Topham Hatt
* The Thin Clergyman
* Dowager Hatt
* Mr. Percival
* Knapford Stationmaster
* The Ffarquhar Stationmaster
* Stanley (*cameo*)
* Charlie (*cameo*)
* Connor (*cameo*)
* Porter (*cameo*)
* Vinnie (*cameo*)
* Rajiv (*cameo*)
* Mavis (*cameo*)
* 'Arry and Bert (*cameo*)
* Salty (*cameo*)
* Norman (*cameo*)
* Stafford (*cameo*)
* Winston (*cameo*)
* Henrietta (*cameo*)
* The Mayor of Sodor (*cameo*)
* Sodor Brass Band (*cameo*)
* Sir Robert Norramby (*cameo*)
* Sailor John (*cameo*)
* Captain Joe (*cameo*)
* Fergus Duncan (*cameo*)
* The Fat Clergyman (*cameo*)
* The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Wife and Children (*cameo*)
* The Teacher (*cameo*)
* The Bird Watcher (*cameo*)
* The Blond-haired Boy (*cameo*)
* Dowager Hatt's Friends (*cameo*)
* The Welsh Bird Watcher (*cameo*)
* The Lady with the Big Hat (*cameo*)
* The Grumpy Passenger (*cameo*)
* Albert's Wife (*cameo*)
* The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (*cameo*)
* The Great Railway Show Flagman (*cameo*)
* Ferdinand (*portrait cameo*)
* Victor (*portrait cameo*)

### Characters Introduced

* Nia
* Kwaku
* Natalie
* The American Diesels (*one speaks; one cameos*)
* The Chinese Diesel
* Ace
* Angelique
* Tony
* Two Other Rally Cars
* The Brazilian Tank Engine
* Cowboys and Cowgirls
* Beau (*not named*)
* Fernando (*not named*)
* Emerson (*not named*)
* Kobe (*not named*)
* Cassia (*not named*)
* Carter (*not named*)
* The Brown Tender Engine (*cameo*)
* The Grey Tender Engine (*cameo*)
* The White Tank Engine (*cameo*)
* The Dark Red Tank Engine (*cameo*)
* The Orange Tender Engine (*cameo*)
* Shankar (*cameo*)
* Another Brazilian Diesel Shunter (*cameo*)
* The Chinese Breakdown Cranes (*cameo*)
* Charubala (*cameo*)
* Ace's Driver (*cameo*)
* The Batucada Players (*cameo*)

## Locations

* Island of Sodor
	+ Knapford
	+ Knapford Station Yard
	+ Knapford Yards
	+ Vicarstown
	+ Vicarstown Bridge
	+ Ffarquhar Branch Line
	+ Road and Rail Runby and Road Bridge
	+ Ffarquhar
	+ Arlesburgh Goods Yard
	+ Mavis' Shed
	+ Anopha Quarry
	+ Maron
	+ Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
	+ Arlesburgh Harbour
	+ The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's House
	+ Hiro's Hideout
	+ Crosby Tunnel
	+ Sodor China Clay Company
	+ Gordon's Hill
	+ Brendam Docks
	+ Sodor Shipping Company
	+ Tidmouth Sheds
	+ Sodor Steamworks (*portrait*)
	+ The Lead Mines (*indirectly mentioned*)
* The Mainland
	+ The Steelworks (*mentioned*)
	+ Buckingham Palace
* Senegal
	+ Dakar Docks
* Egypt
* Mauritania
	+ The Sahara
	+ Mauritanian Railway Shunting Yard
	+ The Mauritanian Station
* Kenya
	+ Kenyan Railway Shunting Yard
	+ Nia's Old Shed (*mentioned*)
* Tanzania
	+ Dar es Salaam Docks
* Brazil
	+ Guanabara Bay
	+ Rio de Janeiro
	+ Amazon Rainforest
* Colombia
* Mexico
* United States
	+ New York City (*photo*)
	+ Morenci Loop
	+ Grand Canyon
	+ San Francisco Docks
	+ Sailor's Cafe
	+ Bonneville Salt Flats
* China
	+ Great Wall of China
	+ Cherry Blossom Runby
	+ Chang Jiang River
	+ The First Chinese Station
	+ The Chinese Railway Bridge
	+ Zhangye Danxia
	+ Himalayas
* India
	+ Taj Mahal (*map only*)
	+ Indian Railway Shunting Yard
* Italy
	+ Leaning Tower of Pisa
	+ The Colosseum
	+ Venice (*mentioned*)
* Russia
	+ Red Square
* France (*map only*)
	+ Eiffel Tower (*map only*)
* Easter Island
* Australia (*map only*)
	+ The Outback (*map only*)
	+ Uluru (*map only*)
* Antarctica (*map only*)
* Niger (*map ony*)
* Japan (*photo*)
	+ Tokyo (*photo*)
* Misty Island (*mentioned*)

## Voice Cast

### UK AUS and NZ

* John Hasler as Thomas
* Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, Harold, Bertie, Captain, Sir Topham Hatt, Dowager Hatt and Mr. Percival
* Rob Rackstraw as James, Toby, Donald, Sam, Big Mickey, the Thin Clergyman and the Senegal Race Announcer
* Nigel Pilkington as Percy
* Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Marion, Natalie, the American Diesel, Cassia and Annie and Clarabel
* Rasmus Hardiker as Bill and Philip
* Matt Wilkinson as Ben, Cranky, Tony and Carter
* Nicola Stapleton as Rosie
* Tim Whitnall as Timothy and the Moai Head
* Kerry Shale as Beau and Diesel
* Steven Kynman as Duck and Paxton
* Bob Golding as Sidney
* Lucy Montgomery as Carly and the Cowgirls
* Dan Li as Yong Bao
* Gabriel Porras as Carlos, Fernando, Emerson, the Coffee Trucks and Various South American Voices
* Su-Lin Looi as the Chinese Diesel
* Yvonne Grundy as Nia (*Patricia Kihoro as Nia's singing voice*)
* Rufus Jones as the Flying Scotsman
* Rachael Miller as Angelique
* Abubakar Salim as Kwaku, the African Troublesome Trucks, Kobe and Various African Voices
* Richie Campbell as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
* Akiya Henry as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
* Chipo Chung as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
* Dona Adwera as Various African Voices
* Peter Andre as Ace
* David Menkin as Racing Car 3
* Christopher Ragland as Racing Car 4 and the Cowboys
* Joe Mills as Douglas and Oliver (*uncredited*)
* Tracy-Ann Oberman as Daisy (*uncredited*)

### US and CAN

* Joseph May as Thomas
* William Hope as Edward and Toby
* Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, Beau, Diesel, Harold and Mr. Percival
* Rob Rackstraw as James, Donald, Sam, Big Mickey, the Thin Clergyman and the Senegal Race Announcer
* Christopher Ragland as Percy, Racing Car 4 and the Cowboys
* Jules de Jongh as Emily
* Nicola Stapleton as Rosie
* Rasmus Hardiker as Bill and Philip
* Matt Wilkinson as Ben, Tony and Carter
* Tim Whitnall as Timothy and the Moai Head
* Teresa Gallagher as Marion, Natalie, the American Diesel, Cassia and Annie and Clarabel
* Glenn Wrage as Cranky
* Rufus Jones as the Flying Scotsman
* Steven Kynman as Duck and Paxton
* Bob Golding as Sidney
* Lucy Montgomery as Carly and the Cowgirls
* Keith Wickham as Bertie, Captain, Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt
* Dan Li as Yong Bao
* Gabriel Porras as Carlos, Fernando, Emerson, the Coffee Trucks and Various South American Voices
* Su-Lin Looi as the Chinese Diesel
* Yvonne Grundy as Nia (*Patricia Kihoro as Nia's singing voice*)
* Rachael Miller as Angelique
* Abubakar Salim as Kwaku, the African Troublesome Trucks, Kobe and Various African Voices
* Richie Campbell as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
* Akiya Henry as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
* Chipo Chung as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
* Dona Adwera as Various African Voices
* Peter Andre as Ace
* David Menkin as Racing Car 3
* Joe Mills as Douglas and Oliver (*uncredited*)
* Tracy-Ann Oberman as Daisy (*uncredited*)

## Songs

* Where in the World is Thomas?
* Wake Up
* Enda Ulale
* We're Friends
* Free and Easy
* Sometimes You Make a Friend
* We're Friends (Reprise)

## Bonus Features

### UK/US/AUS/NZ

* Music Videos
* Meet the Characters! - Nia, Beau, Ace and Yong Bao

## Trivia

* This film ties in with the twenty-second series.
* This special takes place between Journey Beyond Sodor and the twenty-second series.
* This is the longest film to date at a total runtime of eighty minutes.
* The spine on the DVD release of this special reuses an image of Thomas from the previous film, Journey Beyond Sodor.
* Yvonne Grundy, Patricia Kihoro, Peter Andre, Dan Li, Gabriel Porras, Su-Lin Looi, Rachael Miller, Abubakar Salim, Richie Campbell, Akiya Henry, Chipo Chung and Dona Adwera join the voice cast.
* This special is the first of several things:
	+ The first special in the US, not to be released on DVD until a year after.
	+ The first film fully animated by Jam Filled Toronto.
	+ The first *Thomas & Friends* production not to have Mark Moraghan involved since he was cast as the narrator in 2013, as well as only special to date to not use narration.
	+ The first time a new Steam Team member is introduced since the seventh series episode, Emily's New Coaches.
	+ The first special in which Rasmus Hardiker and Matt Wilkinson voice Bill and Ben since Jonathan Broadbent's departure from the series at some point in 2017 or 2018.
	+ The first special in which the Sodor Steamworks does not appear since its introduction in Hero of the Rails. However, it was present in the background of a portrait of Victor from the thirteenth series episode, Percy's Parcel inside Sir Topham Hatt's office. A portrait of Thomas from the episode, Creaky Cranky is also seen there.
	+ Yong Bao, Carlos, Vinnie and Rajiv's first appearances since their debuts in The Great Race.
	+ Yong Bao, Big Mickey and the Thin Clergyman's first speaking roles in a special. It also marks Yong Bao's first speaking role in the main franchise and Big Mickey's first speaking role since his first in Thomas & Friends, New Crane on the Dock from the twenty-first series.
	+ Sam's first appearance in the series rather than an online promotional video.
	+ The first DVD released in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland since Wobbly Wheels and Whistles.
	+ The first special dubbed in Danish, Finnish and Swedish since Tale of the Brave.
	+ The first special to be dubbed in Norwegian since Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
* This special was also the first time for many crew members:
	+ Tigh Walker's first production as art director.
	+ Shannon Nettleton's first production as executive in charge of production.
	+ Sarah Serata's first production as production supervisor.
	+ Meagan Borosch's first production as assistant production manager.
	+ Mike Kirkwood's first production as assistant editor.
	+ Alexandra Morgan's first production as on-line editor.
	+ Holly Churches' first production as post-production coordinator.
	+ Flynn Jarvis' first production as production intern.
	+ The Royal African Society's first production as cultural consultant.
* This special also marks the only occurrences of a few things:
	+ The only film to date in which Samson, Bert, Rex and Mike do not appear since their introductions in the eighteenth series and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
	+ The only film to date where Connor appears, but doesn’t speak since his introduction in King of the Railway.
	+ The only film to date where Connor appears, but without Caitlin.
	+ The only film to have Micaela Winter as producer, as well as the last special written by Andrew Brenner, prior to their departure from Mattel in 2018.
* A CGI recreation of a scene of the second series episode Thomas Comes to Breakfast is used during the song, "Where in the World is Thomas?" as references to said episode, the first series episode, Down the Mine, the second series episode, Percy Takes the Plunge, the fourth series episode, Thomas and the Special Letter, the seventh series episodes Percy Gets it Right and Something Fishy, the seventeenth series episode, Thomas' Shortcut, the nineteenth series episode, Who's Geoffrey? and the specials, Hero of the Rails, Misty Island Rescue, Blue Mountain Mystery and Journey Beyond Sodor are made.
* A reference to the special, The Great Race is made.
* A reused voice clip of Rob Rackstraw from the Meet the Contenders videos is used for the Senegal Race Announcer.
* Pictures of Arlesburgh from the third series and of Donald and Douglas with the pirate ship from Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, along with an edited picture of Skiff and Sailor John from the latter, with John made to look like another sailor and Skiff being recoloured red with his face removed, appear inside the Sailor's Cafe in San Francisco.
* Reskins/colours of Edward, Henry, Oliver, Ryan, Raul, Dart, Ivan, The Mainland Diesels, Frankie, Bert, Judy/Jerome, Beresford, Carly and Big Mickey appear.
* Bertie is heard singing Somebody Has to be the Favourite before Ace races past him.
* This is the final special to air at least sixty minutes, as future specials will have a runtime of twenty-two minutes, similar to Diesel's Ghostly Christmas.
* The scrap engine that Beau was talking about was a reskin of Bert's model.
* This special aired on Nickelodeon USA on 7th September 2018 and aired on Treehouse TV on 13th October 2018. The special later re-aired on Nick Jr. on 19th April 2019.
* The special aired on ABC Kids in Australia on Christmas Eve, 2018.
* The special aired on Milkshake! in the UK on New Years Day, 2019.
* Ace breaks the fourth wall at the beginning of the film by winking at the camera and saying "G'day!" to the audience.
* Sailor John's model is reused for one of the patrons in the Sailor's Cafe at San Francisco.
* The special was nominated for the 2019 Kidscreen Awards for the Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie.
* This special aired in a private cinema on the NSW/VIC border of Australia.
* A deleted scene shows that Carlos mistook Ace for a sun worshipper and shows him what their faces look like once he deploys the Aztec calendar around his face. The view made Ace wait anxiously for the green signal. It is unknown why it was cut.
* According to *The Fan Carpet,* the film took twenty-one months to produce, nine months to animate and took over 9,500 hours of animation to complete. As such, this production took the longest time out of any *Thomas & Friends* production to date.

## Goofs

* In both dubs, Joe Mills and Tracy-Ann Oberman are not credited for voicing Douglas, Oliver and Daisy.
* When Ace jumps over the fence near Flying Scotsman, his front bumper clips through the rails as he lands. When he lands, his wheels stop moving.
* When Thomas rerails the tankers, his side rod does not move, resulting in both it and his wheels being out of place.
* A workman uncouples Thomas from the tankers when they are rerailed, but in the next scene, he is still coupled to them.
* When at Knapford Station, the fish trucks are shown to have no faces, but at Vicarstown Station they have gained faces.
* When Thomas enters Knapford Station, the town's road is lopsided.
* "Where in the World is Thomas?" has a few animation errors:
	+ When Percy enters the yard at the beginning of the song, a loading bay can be seen beside him but in the next shot, it is gone.
	+ In the overhead shot of Knapford Yards, Norman, Stanley and Stafford's eyes are not animated and appear closed.
	+ Ben's body has been raised noticeably higher compared to his chassis so his buffers are touching the ones in the truck he was pushing.
* After Nia says "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Thomas' train disappears before the scene changes. Thomas' very long train in this scene has a brake van at the end of the train, but for the rest of the time it is on screen, it is absent.
* When Kwaku speaks to Thomas, the paint on Thomas' right tank is chipped.
* In the wide shot of Guanabara Bay upon Thomas and Nia's arrival, the train pulled by the grey tender engine has a narrow gauge brakevan.
* In the wide shot of Thomas looking at all the coffee trucks, a lamp in the background is floating.
* Ace clips through a bush when he is racing in the Amazon.
* Kobe tells Sir Topham Hatt that he loaded Thomas onto the ship to Brazil, when earlier in the special, the faceless grey crane near him was shown to actually be the one loading the engines.
* In some scenes in Colombia in "Free and Easy," Thomas' footplate is blue instead of white.
* When Beau says "Happy trails" theres no whistle sound.
* In the wide shot of Sir Topham Hatt talking to Fernando at Guanabara Bay, Cassia and the pink hammerhead crane are missing.
* When Yong Bao saves Thomas and Nia, the chain between the latter two clips through his snowplough.
* In the UK dub when James says, "Welcome to Sodor!" he has his US voice.
* The audio for the US DVD is in a lower pitch.
* The US DVD subtitles credit the line "He wouldn't last an hour!" to Annie as opposed to Dowager Hatt.

## Merchandise

* Thomas in Africa/Friends Around the World
* Big World! Big Adventures! Movie Storybook

Wood* Nia
* Yong Bao
* Beau
* Ace

Adventures* Thomas and Ace the Racer
* Nia

TrackMaster* Thomas and Ace the Racer
* Nia and the Elephant
* Yong Bao the Hero
* Boat and Sea Set
* Turbo Jungle Set
* Around the World 3-Pack

Motor Road and Rail* Yong Bao
* Thomas and Nia and Ace Go! Go! Adventure Set

Minis* Nia
* Yong Bao

Motorized Railway* Nia
* Raul
* Railway Rainbow Mountain Set
* Raul's Busy Day

Railway Pals* Nia
* Yong Bao

Mega Bloks* Nia
* Travel Sticker Thomas

Tomica* Nia
* Ace

Capsule Plarail* Leaf Funnel Thomas
* Nia
* Yong Bao
* Racing Thomas
* Grass Painting Thomas
* Ace