Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends: Cranky Bugs & Other Thomas Stories

Using computer animation and a periscope lens camera to capture model railroad animation at eye level, this compilation of new stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine series wonderfully amplifies the smallest details of a train station, its inhabitants and the surrounding landscape. Narrated by Alec Baldwin (Hunt for Red October), the six stories included here are fairly average in the telling: in one, a bully crane named Cranky learns to mend his ways when he finds himself in a situation where he needs the help of others; in another, the station master Sir Topham Hatt enlists the aid of a little engine named Percy, to get him to a party on time; still, the short stories are really steam-power driven by the excellent visuals. Rounding out the program is a music video entitled 'Night Train' which accents just how extraordinary this teensy world is. Highly recommended. (N. Plympton)