James and the Red Balloon and Other Thomas Adventures

**James and the Red Balloon and Other Thomas Adventures** is a US and Canadian VHS/DVD featuring six sixth series episodes narrated by Alec Baldwin and one song. It was distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment on VHS and DVD in 2003 and re-released on DVD by Lionsgate in 2009. It was later released for digital download in 2013.

## Description

PEEP! PEEP! Summer on the Island of Sodor means the engines will be very busy and must do their best to be Really Useful to keep Sir Topham Hatt's railway running smoothly. For James, this means rescuing a hot air balloon that is about to make an unexpected station stop. Find out how this splendid red engine can keep a balloon afloat all by himself. See how Donald and Douglas learn that being cross with each other leads to big trouble and watch how Rusty, Elizabeth, Rheneas and Skarloey learn what amazing things four friends can do when they get on track and work together. So get ready to hop on board and enjoy summer with Thomas and his friends.

## Episodes

1. James and the Red Balloon
2. Twin Trouble
3. Edward the Very Useful Engine
4. The World's Strongest Engine
5. Rusty Saves the Day
6. Dunkin Duncan

## Bonus Features

* Sodor Superstars Hall of Fame
* James' Connect-the-Dots Fun game
* Sir Topham Hatt's Word Fun game
* Which Island Picture is Different? game
* Web Fun

## Trivia

* This was the last US DVD to feature the 1999 Anchor Bay Entertainment logo.
* This was also the first US Anchor Bay VHS/DVD to feature the on-screen HiT Entertainment logo, as well as the first to feature the 2000 logo.
* Edward the Very Useful Engine is referred to as such on the disc itself, but it is referred to as Edward the Really Useful Engine on the back cover.
* Some DVD releases, for a limited time, came with a bonus CD containing the following songs:
	+ James the Really Splendid Engine
	+ Thomas' Anthem
	+ Gone Fishing
	+ Accidents Will Happen
* This marks the only release of a few things:
	+ The only release of Down by the Docks.
	+ The only US DVD to use a different variant of the Sodor Superstars Hall of Fame.
	+ The only US DVD to feature James and the Red Balloon, The World's Strongest Engine, Dunkin Duncan and Down by the Docks.
	+ The only US DVD to feature the 2000 HiT Entertainment logo after the 1998 Anchor Bay Entertainment logo. Other US Thomas and Friends DVDs after this, including the next release, contain the 2003 Anchor Bay Entertainment logo before the 2001 Hit Entertainment logo.
* A 2009 reprint of this DVD shows the balloon from the twelfth series episode, Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon as the balloon shows the yellow flag.
* In the Animals portion of Sir Topham Hatt's Word Fun Game, the events of Henry and the Elephant, Cows and Gordon and the Gremlin were referenced.
* Some 2009 US DVD copies don't have a menu. This was fixed in the Canadian Maple Pictures copy of the DVD.

## Goofs

* Douglas is mistakenly referred to as Duncan on the back cover.
* James' eyes are wonky on the cover. In addition, his whistle is missing and part of the sky clips into James' cab roof.
* On some copies of the DVD release, "Balloon" is misspelled as "Baloon" on the disc.
* On the DVD subtitles, Clarabel is mispelled as Clarabelle.
* In the DVD menu, Thomas calls Twin Trouble "Double Trouble."
* Writers David Mitton, Brian Trueman, Paul Larson, and Jenny McDade are not listed in the credits.
* In the Sodor Superstars Hall of Fame, Edward's Exploit is listed as Edward's Exploit**s** in the section about Edward.
* The Gullane logo on the spine of the CD sampler edition is off-center.

## DVD Packs

* James and the Red Balloon and Percy Saves the Day **Double Pack**
* Totally Thomas Volume 3
* Friendship on the Tracks

Template:Home Video Releases (US)