Thomas &amp; Friends
Thomas & Friends (originally known as Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends or simply Thomas the Tank Engine; also known as Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! in the twenty-second series) is a British children's television series. In the United Kingdom, it had its first broadcast on the ITV network in Great Britain in 1984. In the United States, it had its first broadcast on "Shining Time Station" in 1989. It is based on "The Railway Series" of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry.
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
In the early 1990s, the character of Thomas the Tank Engine, adapted from the Rev. W. Awdry's "Railway Series" into the TV series "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends", created by Britt Allcroft, was at the height of his popularity following three successful series. At the same time, "Shining Time Station", an American series that combined episodes from the previous series with original live-action characters and scenarios, also created by Allcroft along with Rick Siggelkow, was made and was also successful. As early as 1994, prior to the launch of "Thomas"'s fourth series, Britt Allcroft had plans to make a feature film based on both of these series, and would make use of the model trains from "Thomas" and the live-action aesthetic of "Shining Time Station".