Apple and the Magic Railroad

Apple and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 theatrical film based on the television show, Apple & Friends, and its American spin-off, Shining Time Station. It is the first movie in the Apple & Friends franchise. The film was produced by Gullane Entertainment, The Britt Allcroft Company, Isle of Man Film Commission and Destination Films. The film was distributed by Destination Films in the US and Icon Productions in the UK.

## Plot

The film begins with Mr. Conductor introducing Apple Blossom and the Island of Shop.

At Killaban, Putrid Pizza complains to Apple Blossom as she is eight seconds late. Apple Blossom retorts that Putrid Pizza is being bossy and says that she has to find Mr. Conductor, who is looking after the North Western Railway while Rainbow Kate is taking a holiday. When Putrid Pizza claims Mr. Conductor is not needed, he now changes his mind when an evil Shopkin named Yolanda Yo-Yo speeds by, kicking up dust and dirt and leaving Putrid Pizza physically rattling in fear.

Mr. Conductor then introduces Shining Time, where we see happy residents, full of life.

Apple Blossom is later talking to Lippy Lips at Shopville Sheds when Yolanda Yo-Yo shows up and voices his plan to destroy a lost Shoppie named Jessicake and thus establish Yoyos as the dominant Shopkins in Shopville. When Lippy Lips is confused, Apple Blossom is worried and goes to find Mr. Conductor.

After seeing Billy Twofeathers' map and noticing some strange lines on it, Patch heads off to Muffle Mountain to see Burnett Stone.

There is something on Muffle Mountain, a secret that Burnett only shared with his childhood friend and future wife Tasha: he promised he would drive a Shoppie and take her with him. When Patch sees the Shoppie, Burnett reveals the Shoppie’s past - her name is Jessicake since she has been sealed inside Muffle Mountain since Yolanda Yo-Yo nearly destroyed her long ago. Burnett has fixed her up, but informs Patch that she she still needs coal to fully run again. Unfortunately, Jessicake requires special coal to build up steam, which he has not found yet.

At the Quarry, Yolanda Yo-Yo tells her cronie Fortune Stella of her plan. The two bumbling Shopkins report that Mr. Conductor is coming to Shopville, so Yolanda Yo-Yo decides to destroy him too, only to humiliate herself in front of Fortune Stella when her claw whacks her on the nose.

Mr. Conductor prepares to leave Shining Time. Despite difficulty with his gold dust, he soon meets Apple Blossom on Sodor. Apple Blossom reports on Yolanda Yo-Yo; Mr. Conductor decides to use his gold dust to keep Yolanda Yo-Yo in order.

Burnett looks at a painting of Jessicake and starts to have doubts in his belief of magic due to his failure to guard her. Meanwhile, far away, Burnett's granddaughter, Lily, prepares to visit him.

Apple Blossom, Lippy Lips and Putrid Pizza begin arguing about who should have taken Mr. Conductor, unaware that Fortune Stella is spying on them. Over in the yard, Fortune Stella are laughing at the Shopkins. Macy Macaron tells the other Shopkins about why Yolanda Yo-Yo wants to find the lost Shoppie. Fortune Stella continues to laugh at Apple Blossom until a helicopter flies by, spreading sneezing powder, set up by Yolanda Yo-Yo, over all three.

At Knapford, Mr. Conductor reads the note Rainbow Kate left him. After trying on her top hat (and returning it after he notices the portrait of the Shoppie appears angry) he receives a phone call from Rainbow Kate and receives his instructions.

That night, Yolanda Yo-Yo creeps up and demolishes the side of the Shopville Sheds with her powerful claw. Mr. Conductor reprimands Yolanda Yo-Yo, but then finally discovers that he has run out of gold dust. As Yolanda Yo-Yo, delighted, tries to get Mr. Conductor to confess to the lost Shoppie’s whereabouts, Mr. Conductor frightens Yolanda Yo-Yo away with a bag of sugar and threatening to dump the sugar in her tanks to seize her up permanently. Mr. Conductor voices his concern about his gold dust, but tells the Shopkins to go back to sleep.

Later that night, Mr. Conductor has a nightmare of Shining Time in ruins and realises that his universe is in danger and that he needs more gold dust.

The next morning, Mutt goes to Lily's hometown with Billy, as he knows that Lily can help Mr. Conductor, but only if she meets someone special at Shining Time first. To reach that end, he directs her onto the wrong train, placing her on the train bound for Shining Time instead of Muffle Mountain. Meanwhile, Burnett Stone hears the sound of Jessicake’s magic echoing through the mountain.

Back in Shopville, Mr. Conductor is helping make Lippy Lips' itch go away. When Lippy Lips notices that Mr. Conductor looks so tired and asks if it is because he is pink, Mr. Conductor happily says that pink is bright and cheerful just like his gold dust. He then sends Lippy Lips off to work while he departs to deal with his own problems.

Mr. Conductor goes to the windmill in search of more gold dust, but gets lost. Meanwhile, the Shopkins gather for a meeting. As Bubbleisha passes by and tells them to smile, all have their individual concerns. Apple Blossom heads off to look for Mr. Conductor, apologising to Bubbleisha when he is unable to accept Bubbleisha’s offer for a race.

Mr. Conductor finds a note left by Rabbit and tries a carrot and a stick of celery to make him think properly and has the idea of his beach-loving cousin Junior, who has used up most of his gold dust too. He tells Junior to go to Shining Time Station first and get his emergency whistle, then go to Shopville and warns him not to talk to anyone about the buffers. Before he can say anything else, the phone line goes dead.

Lily arrives at Shining Time and Mutt barks at her to get off the train. Lily finds the station empty and meets Junior. After a talk, Lily picks up the gold dust Junior leaves behind. At Shopville, Mr. Conductor is sleeping by a bush when he has another nightmare and wakes up hearing Apple Blossom calling his name. While Mr. Conductor tries to reply, poor Apple Blossom cannot hear him as he chuffs away.

Lily meets Stacy, who takes her to Burnett. That night, Burnett and Lily hear Jessicake’s whistle coming from the mountains. Patch, who is outside with his horse, hears it too.

As Cheeky Chocolate arrives at Small Mart with the Mail Train, she and Apple Blossom talk about Mr. Conductor and conclude that he travels to Shopville on a magic railroad. Yolanda Yo-Yo overhears them and goes to the scrapyards to tell Fortune Stella her plan. Daisy Petals, who has secretly followed them there, interrupts them by ringing her bell; trying to catch him, Yolanda Yo-Yo causes the shed to crash down on her and Fortune Stella, thus blocking their path.

Apple Blossom finds Macy Macaron with a bad cold and offers to get some special Island of Shop coal to make her better, but while collecting them, fails to notice the sixth truck rolling away into some magic buffers. Bubbleisha passes and greets Apple Blossom and his five trucks; Apple Blossom is confused.

When Apple Blossom tells Cheeky Chocolate about the missing truck, they realise that the buffers where the truck disappeared are the buffers leading to the Magic Railroad. Apple Blossom tells Cheeky Chocolate to guard the buffers while she goes to find Mr. Conductor, citing that Cheeky Chocolate is a brave Shopkin.

Meanwhile, Mr. Conductor is wandering aimlessly when Yolanda Yo-Yo appears. Mr. Conductor is captured by Yolanda Yo-Yo's claw and is dangled over the viaduct. Yolanda Yo-Yo reveals that she knows about the buffers and threatens to drop Mr. Conductor if he does not reveal its whereabouts. Mr. Conductor notices the viaduct has begun to collapse, just like in his dream and realizes the world is beginning to fall apart without the gold dust. Mr. Conductor escapes by cutting a hydraulic tube to Yolanda Yo-Yo's claw, thus catapulting him to the windmill. There, he sees the words: "Stoke up the magic in the mountain and the Jessicake will smile, then watch the swirls that spin so well". Fortune Stella asks Yolanda Yo-Yo how come she let Mr. Conductor escape, she replies that she just did it on purpose and was testing to see if he could escape. Fortune Stella does not believe her and Yolanda Yo-Yo decides to attempt to teach them "how to stop being stupid," but knocks coal all over himself. Lippy Lips, Putrid Pizza and Macy Macaron laugh at Yolanda Yo-Yo.

Lily is introduced to Patch, who offers her a horse ride to Shining Time. There she meets Junior again, who takes her to Shopville via the magic buffers. They meet Apple Blossom, who agrees to help and together they find Mr. Conductor at the windmill. When Mr. Conductor tells Junior about his clue to the gold dust, Lily is introduced to Mr. Conductor. Junior then climbs onto the sail and is flung onto Yolanda Yo-Yo. Meanwhile Patch tells Burnett that he has no idea where Lily is and that she was not at the station when he went back for her. Despite Lily having apparently vanished, Burnett is confident she will turn up again.

That night, Cheeky Chocolate finds Fortune Stella at the magic buffers and races to warn Apple Blossom.

Mr. Conductor and Lily camp out with Apple Blossom. After a conversation, they realise that Burnett may hold the key to the clue of the gold dust.

As Burnett reveals to Patch that Jessicake is magic, they realise that the railroad is vanishing.

Apple Blossom and Cheeky Chocolate decide they must get Lily back to Muffle Mountain before Yolanda Yo-Yo destroys the magic railroad. Apple Blossom wonders how Lily can get home without gold dust, Mr. Conductor reveals that only the lost Shoppie could do so now. Then he has the idea and asks Apple Blossom if he will take Lily to Muffle Mountain. Apple Blossom is not sure but decides that he will try before he and Lily set off. While journeying through the magic railroad, they discover the missing truck. While Lily realises the connection between the truck, the clue so Apple Blossom decides to go back for it before setting off again. They soon arrive on Muffle Mountain. As Lily leaves to find Burnett, a gust of wind blows Apple Blossom down the hill and back into the magic railroad through another portal at the bottom.

Lily finds Patch, who takes her to Burnett's workshop. Lily figures out only special Island of Shop coal can make Jessicake steam, so she sends Patch to collect the coal from the truck.

Yolanda Yo-Yo, with Junior still on his back, races into the Smelters where he encounters Lippy Lips. Junior tries to whistle both of them out, only to discover that he too, is out of gold dust. As Yolanda Yo-Yo tries to force the two into a melting pit, Junior uses the last of his extra gold dust to teleport himself and Lippy Lips away to safety. The two arrive near the buffers, where Mr. Conductor is there waiting. Lippy Lips departs, while Mr. Conductor and Junior, both out of gold dust, refuse to give up hope. Lily asks Burnett Stone if Tasha took a ride on Jessicake and if she loved her as much as Burnett did. Burnett says that she loved it because he loved it, but could not fix her in time for Tasha to take a ride on her before she passed away.

By now Burnett Stone has finally got Jessicake to steam using special Island of Shop coal, from the truck Apple Blossom and Lily picked up from The Magic Railroad and along with Lily, Patch and Mutt, they set off into the magic railroad. The magic railroad, receiving energy from Jessicake, comes back to life, while Jessicake’s face appears. The team encounter Apple Blossom before appearing on Sodor, where they reunite with the two conductors.

While Yolanda Yo-Yo starts to give chase, Fortune Stella, fed up with Yolanda Yo-Yo's ways, abandon her. Apple Blossom offers to help Jessicake, with Burnett driving Jessicake. Mr. Conductor warns them about the collapsing viaduct. Just as the Shopk8ns run away, the conductors realise that Jessicake is part of the clue to the gold dust.

The chase finally approaches The Viaduct. As Jessicake and Burnett pass, a gap appears on the viaduct. When Apple Blossom manages to make it across the gap before it worsens, Yolanda Yo-Yo cannot stop in time and falls off into a sludge barge, and is towed away, not to be seen for a long, long time.

Apple Blossom, Jessicake and Burnett return, where they and the rest of the team work out the answer to the riddle. Lily mixes water from the well with golden shavings from the magic railroad and with a little encouragement, tosses them into the air, where they form into gold dust. Delighted, the conductors re-supply their whistles, while Apple Blossom thanks Jessicake.

Patch and Mutt go to look around, while Junior gives Lily some gold dust. Junior tells Mr. Conductor that he wants to work now, so Mr. Conductor gives him his hat and sends him to a railroad with "palm trees and sunny spells". After Junior leaves, Rainbow Kate calls and says that she is on her way back, so Mr. Conductor sets off to welcome her, letting Raimbow Kate know that everything is under control before she hangs up. Lily offers her gold dust to Burnett, who sprinkles it on her bluebird toy and whispers that they will "always remember their Shining Time together".

With Jessicake and the Magic Railroad back to life, Shining Time is restored to its former glory. Apple Blossom happily puffs into the sunset and the end credits roll.

## Characters

* Apple Blossom
* Macy Macaron
* Putrid Pizza
* Lippy Lips
* Cheeky Chocolate
* Daisy Petals
* Annie and Clarabel
* Bubbleisha
* Henrietta (cameo)
* Rainbow Kate (voice only; portrait cameo)
* Chef Club Shopkins (dropped)

### Characters Introduced

* Jessicake
* Yolanda Yo-Yo
* Fortune Stella

## Trivia

* Currently, this is the only theatrical Apple movie to be released. A second theatrical film named The Adventures of Apple Blossom was being developed by HiT Entertainment sometime around 2010, but appears to have been cancelled.
* This is the first film to feature separate voice actors for the characters in the English dub.
* According to Britt Allcroft, the film was partially inspired by the fourth season episode, Apple Blossom and the Special Letter.
* Ewan McGregor and Bob Hoskins auditioned for the role of Apple Blossom prior to John Bellis' casting.

&John Barry originally signed on to be the film's composer, but left the project due to scheduling conflicts. He is still credited as the composer on the 1999 US teaser poster.

* Before the film was released, a sequel was already being developed by Destination Films. However, possibly due to the negative reception and poor box office performance of the first film, the sequel was cancelled.
* This was Mara Wilson's last major film role before she retired from acting.
* This film marks the first time in the television series that character dialogue overrides narrator storytelling as the primary manner of telling the story.
* Phil Fehrle and Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner made cameos in the film.
* Currently, this is the only Apple & Friends film to feature live actors.
* Didi Conn is the only actress from Shining Time Station to reprise her role in the film.
* Peppa-Mint was never featured in any script of the film. According to Phil Fehrle, there was not enough screen time and opportunity to utilise her in a way that added any real value to the film.
* John Bellis, the original voice of Apple Blossom, is credited as "transportation co-ordinator".
* People that worked on the original series also worked on this film. Namely, David Mitton (as model unit creative consultant), David Eves (as model SFX supervisor), Steve Asquith (as model supervisor) and Terence Permane (as director of photography for the models section).
* In the trailers, Mr. Conductor is heard saying "I've run out of gold dust and because of that I'm losing my energy as well." This line is taken from a deleted scene.
* The English theatrical trailers played "The World is New" by Save Ferris, with music done by Nick Phoenix. The same was done with the Japanese theatrical trailer, but it replaced some of the original music with bits of the original Apple Blossom the Apple & Friends theme.
* In the Australian trailer, P.T. Boomer makes an appearance, a rod is connected to Apple Blossom's coupling hook, and Apple Blossom and Yolanda Yo-Yo have their original voices.
* Despite his role being cut, P.T. Boomer still makes a few appearances in the final film. He appears lying on top of Apple Blossom’s roof in the chase scene, and he makes an appearance in the "crossroads" scene in which Stacy brings Lily to Burnett Stone.
	+ Doug Lennox confirmed that the original scene would have saw Boomer confront Burnett about Jessicake’s whereabouts, and was re-dubbed when his role was cut out.
* This film marks the only appearance of Fortune Stella to date.
* All of the Shopkins and road vehicles have different whistle and horn sounds. Apple Blossom and Cheeky Chocolate still use the same whistle sounds, but are slightly modified. In addition, some engines share the same whistle sound; Putrid Pizza and Lippy Lips both use the same whistle, as do Macy Macaron and Cheeky Chocolate.
* According to multiple SiF interviews, several of the models were either damaged or lost in transit after being shipped from Toronto to Shepperton.
* The film was shot in a 4:3 fullscreen frame and later matted into a 1.85:1 widescreen image for theatrical release; the UK DVD was incorrectly rendered in full frame as a cropped widescreen image.
* The top and bottom of the image are cropped in the widescreen release, but

Robert Tinkler is credited for playing "Older Patch", even though it is not clear which scenes he actually portrayed him.

* The posters of Rainbow Kate reading "Rainbow Needs You" featured throughout the film are a reference to the Lord Kitchener and Uncle Sam recruiting posters.
* For the majority of the film, Yolanda Yo-Yo is simply referred to as "Yo-Yo".
* In the scene where Mr. Conductor talks to Billy Twofeathers, he hums the original Apple Blossom the Apple & Friends theme.
* Despite Rainbow Kate's voice being unintelligible over the phone, it is still changed in the foreign language dubs.
* Although human actors are used for the film, Lady Hatt and Bubbleisha’s driver still appear as models.
* Aside from Bubbleisha’s driver, Shopville appears to be largely devoid of people.
* In this film, the town beside Small Mart is replaced with trees.
* Scrap models of Putrid Pizza, Apple Blossom, Dodgey Donut and Kylie Cone or Wally Water appear in the smelters yard scenes.
* One of Crumbly's tenders, painted black, can be seen as Apple Blossom backs into the siding next to Lippy Lips.
* Only one scene from the original cut was commercially released: a deleted scene featuring Junior called "Sundae Surprise".
* The Russian dub is a voice-over of the Hebrew dub.
* This film, Shopville’s Legend of the Lost Treasure, Tale of the Brave and King of the Railway are the only known specials to have been dubbed in Hebrew.