Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas's on-screen appearances in the TV series were developed by Britt Allcroft. The first series of 26 stories premiered in October 1984 on the ITV Network in the UK, with former Beatles drummer/vocalist Ringo Starr as storyteller. The stories were featured as segments as part of Shining Time Station in the US beginning in 1989 with Starr as the show's Mr. Conductor character. From 1991 to 1993, George Carlin replaced Starr as both the storyteller and as Mr. Conductor for Shining Time Station. Carlin also told the Thomas stories for Shining Time Station in 1995.
Charles Falzon
In 2000, Falzon teamed Catalyst Entertainment up with Britain's Britt Allcroft to make the first feature film involving Thomas the Tank Engine, titled Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Featuring Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda and Mara Wilson, the film was animated and produced by Catalyst Entertainment, which at the time also produced Shining Time Station, "the half-hour program that introduced Thomas to U.S. audiences." The movie, which cost US$20 million to produce, combined live action and animation. On the success of the Thomas brand, Falzon remarked that "the simplicity and the safeness of Thomas is what makes him so successful," adding that it's "not about being high-tech"; rather, it's "really still about storytelling and characters that [children] can trust and feel good with."