Henry attempts to help people but ends up scaring away the Sodor Warbler, a very famous bird. Gordon is told to not go up any hills, but when he does, he creates a giant snowball which crashes into Thomas. Thomas is told to tell the other engines, but looks for a present for Hiro instead. Hiro is returning to Sodor and the Fat Controller is planning a welcome party for him. Thomas and Rosie play "Splish, Splash, Splosh", but when Thomas splashes the Fat Controller and Allicia Botti he must put things right. When Thomas is put in charge of the Steamworks, havoc ensues. Toby's bell needs repairs, so he is given a very loud whistle while it is being mended.Įmily thinks that Mavis needs to be cheered up, so she brings her some flowers but winds up causing confusion and delay.Īfter Stephen and Bridget Hatt's kite flies away and Thomas tries to catch it, but realises that he needs to ask for help.
When he overhears Mavis, he gets an idea of how to fix his mistake.
Thomas is to bring straw to Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm for the piglets who are soon to be born, but Thomas thinks they will like other things better.Īfter ignoring warning signs about track repair, Thomas' trucks of books derail, so he brings the children to the books.Īfter Percy ruins Dowager Hatt's birthday parcel, he hides in a siding. While Percy is at the Steamworks for repairs, Thomas must pull the mail, but he does not want to ask for his advice.Ĭharlie, the new engine, challenges Thomas to race him around the Island, causing Thomas to neglect his jobs. Thomas is teased by the big engines about his "funny funnel" and causes trouble for the Fat Controller and Mr. Thomas thinks he is taking the Fat Controller to his birthday party, but it turns out to be his brother. James is sent to the Steamworks to be repainted, but he is repainted into a pink livery to keep the water out of his paintwork and the other engines laugh at him. Thomas has to deliver the Lion of Sodor to Knapford, but he thinks that the lion is real and tries to feed it, but this only causes confusion and delay.
Series 13 had proven to be popular around the world with ratings up 86%* in the UK (FIVE Milkshake!), 50%** in the US ( PBS Kids) and 47%** in Australia ( ABC).Ĭranky teases Thomas about being small, but when he breaks down it is up to Thomas to save him. Production for this series by Nitrogen Studios began in January 2009, running concurrently with that of Hero of the Rails. Previously Skala claimed that, of his focus group, even those who felt that Thomas, as an institution, should not be changed in this way but ultimately responded positively to the demonstration of the new animation techniques. Christopher Skala also added that additionally, it was to add more emotion and flexibility through the stories. Nitrogen had already created CGI elements for the twelfth series. They enlisted Nitrogen Studios to provide the visuals.
In order to cut costs and maximize profits (because of taxation and government tax breaks for UK animation in 2007), HiT Entertainment decided to retire the live-action models in 2009 and started using full CGI animation for the rest of the franchise until 2020/2021.