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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Feb 2, 2017 16:23:22 GMT -5
Kinda surprised we haven't attempted to do this sooner, but I'm planning on making a TATMRR Review Blog. Very in-depth, divided up into categories:
CHARACTERS Thomas Diesel 10 Lady Splatter & Dodge The Steam Team Mr. Conductor Junior Burnett Stone Lily Patch Other Characters
STORY
MODELS / SETS
SONGS
OTHER DETAILS
I'd like to see this one feature all of us give out our thoughts on it, so anything you have for this, including all of the categories above, post it below here. I'm also going to open it up to the members of the Thomas Discord Channel and perhaps even the Wiki Forums.
Thanks guys, looking forward to your thoughts on Thomas & The Magic Railroad!
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Post by Toz76 on Feb 2, 2017 17:46:12 GMT -5
Give me some time and I'll see about typing something up for this later.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Feb 5, 2017 19:10:15 GMT -5
Here are my thoughts on some of the aspects:
LADY-
Though she has become a classic character to some fans, to others her significance is rather low. Although an original design, and a lovely looking engine, it doesn't change the fact there was a problem with Lady.
She had no character, and arguably wasn't a character.
When you go back and watch the movie, something becomes very clear: Lady was not so much a character as she was a plot device. She did not actually do much, she was "just there" if you will. Her only major scene was the chase scene, and she spoke a grand total of four lines... and that is only because they wanted to give Britt Allcroft a role in the movie.
What I feel? Honestly, like a lot of other one-offs she had a lot of potential and it was wasted. Perhaps if the soccer moms did not get so upset and force the movie to get changed, Lady would have been more memorable and significant.
In the end, I think the best way to summarize Lady is that she could have been great, but in the end was relegated to being a plot device.
Do I hate Lady? Not really, I just feel her execution could have been much better.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD?
As the first major movie of the Thomas franchise, as a kid I do remember seeing advertisements for it. And as a kid I watched it, and I enjoyed it, because it had Thomas in it.
But looking back on it today... I realize the movie was flawed. Sure, I enjoyed it as a kid, as did other kids at the time. But what is wrong with it?
Well, let's listen to what the critics have to say. Roger Ebert, one of the most prolific movie reviewers of all time, gave the film one star out of four, saying "(the fact) That Thomas and the Magic Railroad made it into theaters at all is something of a mystery. This is a production with 'straight to video' written all over it. Kids who like the Thomas books might kinda like it. Especially younger kids. Real younger kids. Otherwise, no."
And he's right- younger kids really do enjoy it, but as they get older, they realize the flaws with the movie. Things such as engines appearing to drive without crews, the absence of people all together from the island, the mention of magic and it being what powers Sodor, etc.
Then there is Rotten Tomatoes. With a 19 percent rating, the consensus is "Kids these days demand cutting edge special effects or at least a clever plot with cute characters. This movie has neither, having lost in its Americanization what the British original did so right."
And to an extent, they are right; the American production company that made this film who took over from the British producers of the TV show did Americanize a lot of aspects- namely Shining Time Station; a show that the UK audience was not familiar with. Granted, the movie was received slightly better in America than the UK, but that still was not enough to save it.
Then there is the Box office. Made with a 19 million dollar budget, the film only grossed 19.7 million; it did only a bit better than breaking even. The irony is that the movie that aired in theaters is the one that aired after revisions that were made after being shown to test audiences. They could not win, could they?
There is this one school of thought though, that proposes if the original movie were not tampered with, it would have fared a lot better. So let's open that discussion up- if the original movie was kept intact, could it have done better?
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Feb 5, 2017 20:35:29 GMT -5
Thanks very much Frank; I'll be adding those to the blog. Looking forward to your submissions BTW, Toz76 and Tug.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Feb 7, 2017 22:29:17 GMT -5
I set up an page for the review blog in case we do get visitors. There's a huge ad smack dab on the top of the Main Page. I'm just curious here, but how far are you guys coming with your reviews?
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Mar 23, 2017 16:32:57 GMT -5
How is this coming along? It has been quiet for nearly 6 weeks
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Mar 24, 2017 7:21:42 GMT -5
Waiting for whenever Toz76 and Tug post their thoughts. In the meantime keep voting in the TATMRR poll on the 3WSR Site.
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