Tale of the Brave

Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave is a 2014 direct-to-video CGI animated film of Thomas & Friends.^[1] The animation was provided by Arc Productions.

It stars Ben Small and Martin Sherman as Thomas the Tank Engine in the UK and the US respectively. Co-stars include Keith Wickham, Kerry Shale, Tim Whitnall and Teresa Gallagher. This is the last movie to have Ben Small and Martin Sherman in the voice cast.^[2]

Synopsis

A bridge on Thomas' Branch Line is closed for maintenance, so Thomas has to go and work at the Clay Pits. When he first arrives, he can see no one, but after catching sight of one of the twins, he chases them to the other side of the quarry. However, Bill and Ben are in the mood for pranks. They trick Thomas into being coupled to a line of trucks, which are already coupled to a new oil-burning engine named Timothy from the other direction. Thomas pulls the trucks forward, jerking Timothy backwards suddenly. As the twins run off laughing, Timothy warns Thomas to be careful as a storm closes in and the rain makes the clay cliffs unstable.

As Thomas is going along, a flash of lightning reveals what looks like giant footprints on the slope above, but a landslide has begun and Thomas cannot stay to investigate. Bill and Ben push Thomas to safety just in time.

The next morning, the Fat Controller gathers a few of his engines at the shunting yard for a very important meeting. They pay tribute to Bill and Ben, who rescued Thomas from the landslide at the clay pits; while he is praising them, Gordon and James mumble with disapproval. As the rest of the engines leave, Thomas and Percy are the only two left in the yard. Thomas explains the footprints to a curious Percy. The Fat Controller tells Thomas to go to the docks, but he is worried about the footprints.

Before Thomas goes to the docks, he returns to the Clay Pits to investigate the footprints, but is interrupted by a new steam shovel named Marion. She tells him not to go past the danger sign indicating the fallen clay walls, and he cannot investigate.

Thomas goes to the docks, where he meets Percy. Percy is still curious about the footprints, but Thomas still doesn't know what made them. Percy begins to worry that there may be a monster on Sodor. He leaves with a goods train as a fog rolls in, but while he is rolling along he sees a mysterious sloping object, which he believes to be a monster, approaching him. Percy is so scared that he reverses all the way back to the docks. He yells that there is a monster, startling Cranky, who drops a load of sandbags onto Thomas. The "monster" appears out of the fog, revealing himself to be a steam engine named Gerald, who has earned the nickname "Gator" due to his sloping water tank.

Percy is still paranoid that night when he is taking the mail, and he mistakes almost everything around him for a monster. He ends up staying awake all night keeping a lookout for monsters. The next morning, at the Clay Pits, Thomas is scared by Bill and Ben. He confronts them for playing tricks on him, but Bill and Ben are still teasing him. They chuff away, laughing loud.

At the docks, Percy is extremely drowsy as he backs down onto a train of trucks. As they are coupled to him, he mistakes the impact of his buffers against those of the trucks for a monster trying to grab him and runs off without his train, dragging the shunter's pole behind him. Gator stops Percy, who almost lets the secret about the footprints slip.

Thomas is at the Clay Pits and begins to wonder if the footprints were a prank by Bill and Ben. He asks them if this is the case and, offended that he is apparently ungrateful that they risked their lives for him, they angrily puff away.

Percy tells Thomas about his paranoia, prompting James to make fun of Percy. Percy is still afraid of the dark, and asks Thomas to take the mail for him that night.

The next morning, the bridge on Thomas' Branch Line is repaired, and he goes to collect a very excited Annie and Clarabel. James rolls in at the same time, complaining that he has been sent for scrap, quickly correcting himself as having to collect trucks from the Scrapyard on Edward's Branch Line.

On the way to the Scrapyard, Percy rolls up beside James, who continues to tease him. Percy explains about the footprints, leaving James with his doubts. Not paying attention to where he is going, he suddenly swerves into the Scrapyard, where he sees what he believes to be a monster, which he quickly finds out is a pile of scrap loaded onto a truck by Reg, the new scrapyard crane. James, embarrassed, puffs away with the truck.

At the docks, Percy finds Gator, who has missed his ship, and has to help out while he waits for another one. To pass the time, he is to collect some trucks from Duck's Branch Line. Percy thinks Gator will be afraid of monsters, but Gator explains the story of how he became so brave:

He was working in the mountains delivering supplies to a village. This required him to cross a bridge, but he was (and still is) afraid of heights, and realizing that the villagers needed those supplies, crossed the bridge. Percy is in awe. Inspired by Gator, he decides to take the mail that night.

Meanwhile, James has to take the "Flying Kipper" to fill in for Henry, who is staying overnight on the mainland after taking a heavy goods train. He is annoyed to be working in the dark, and gets more annoyed when teased by Emily and Porter.

As James is making his way across the line, he sees a strange shape. It says hello to him, causing him to run off as fast as he can. Just then, Gator's driver walks up to him and turns on his lamp; the "monster" is Gator, who is taking Oliver's train to the docks. James continues speeding across the island, missing a red signal, which leads to him hitting a set of points which are set against him, coming off the rails, and crashing into the pond on the Fenland Track. Percy and Gator then pull up, and cannot help but laugh.

The next morning, Percy is glad to realise that Gator must now be a member of the North Western Railway. James, on the other hand, is still miserable from the night before. At the station, Henry thanks him for taking the "Kipper" for him, but cannot help but remark that James is supposed to deliver the fish, not throw them back into the water, something everyone finds hilarious. Seeking revenge on Percy, James makes a plan.

As Percy is making his mail run, he is unaware that James is pushing the Scrap Monster toward him from the opposite direction. He sees the pile of scrap as it leans towards him, and knowing it is not Gator, runs away in fear. He returns to the sheds, still pulling his mail trucks, as he yells that he saw a monster, and is teased by all of the big engines except for Emily, who tries to tell them to stop. Percy begs Thomas to tell them about the footprints, but Thomas, still unaware of what made them, stays silent, leaving Percy extremely hurt.

The next morning, the Fat Controller asks James to investigate a truck of scrap left on the main line; he is unaware that this is the "monster" that had scared Percy. Meanwhile, Percy is delivering the previous night's mail due to bringing it back to the sheds with him, when he sees Gator. The two engines pull their trains side by side. When they reach the Suspension Bridge, Gator is too scared to cross, but is able to pluck up courage when Percy crosses the bridge. Just then, Thomas passes, but Percy is still angry at him; Annie and Clarabel tell Thomas to give Percy time to feel better. Percy expresses his happiness for Gator not going away, but Gator tells him that he is, in fact, leaving by ship that night. Meanwhile, Thomas sees James pushing the Scrap Monster and realises that James had used Reg's "monster" to scare Percy. Thomas urges James to apologise, leaving the big red engine feeling guilty.

At Knapford Station, the Fat Controller speaks severely to Percy for abandoning his mail duties the night before. Suddenly, he is wanted on the telephone and walks off to take the call, telling Percy to stay where he is. Just then, Thomas pulls up on the other platform. Percy is still furious at Thomas for not believing him about the monster, promising that he will soon be as brave as Gator and working in a faraway land, and puffs away just as the Fat Controller returns.

As Percy is finishing with the mail train, James tries to apologise to him, but the little saddletank does not forgive him, vowing to prove his bravery. That evening, Percy is missing and his mail trucks are still waiting on a siding, and James explains to Thomas that he had attempted to apologise. The Fat Controller tells Thomas to look for Percy and take his train. Thomas is worrying about his closest friend when he sees Gator, who explains that he had wanted to say goodbye to Percy, as he is leaving Sodor.

At the docks, Percy is being loaded onto Gator's ship as well by a very doubtful Cranky. Percy explains that he wants to run away from his fears and work in a faraway land with Gator, who does not think this would be brave, leaving Percy to ponder his decision.

Thomas returns to the sheds to find that Percy is still missing. James jokes that Percy is probably hunting for monsters, prompting Thomas to trick James to go to the clay pits with him to find Percy. Just then, Gator's ship's horn honks, and Thomas remembers what Percy had said about being as brave as Gator and going away with him, and decides to go to the docks. As he rushes into the docks, the ship is already leaving, so Thomas urges Cranky to stop the ship with his hook. He manages to do so, but several of his bolts come loose and he is leaning over. Salty warns Cranky that he will be pulled overboard. Cranky hears the ship's alarm as it turns around to free him. Hearing that stopping the ship was because of Percy, he and Gator explain that Cranky had unloaded Percy a half-hour ago, leaving Thomas to wonder where he is now.

Percy has gone to the clay pits. His puffing wakes up Bill, who accuses Ben of making puffing noises in his sleep. Just then, Thomas comes in yelling for Percy. The twins both believe that they can even hear what Timothy is dreaming now.

James, who had left Thomas behind as the latter had gone to the docks, puffs up next to Percy, who is about to pass the danger sign at the site of the landslide where the footprints had been found, wanting to face the monster himself. James tries once again to apologise, and realising that Percy is not going to forgive him, decides to prove how much more brave than Percy he is. He slowly moves into the danger zone, blowing his whistle loudly in an attempt to provoke the monster, only to cause a footprint to fall near Percy, making the little green engine realise that what Thomas said about the mysterious footprints was true. However, worst was to come when the vibration of James' whistle also causes another landslide. As Thomas tries to get the two engines' attention, several rocks fall, forming a barrier between him and the two engines. Suddenly, James sees a dinosaur skull, which he believes to be the head of a monster. Frightened, he tries to reverse, but gets stuck. Percy urges James to go forward, and after James is hesitant to do so, Percy decides that he must be brave as he buffers up to James to get him to safety. The landslide is out of control by this point, destroying most of the quarry. As James escapes, Percy is swept up by the landslide. The dinosaur skull from earlier begins to fall towards him, but it is caught by Marion, saving the little tank engine's life. Marion explains that the skull is a fossilized skull of a Megalosaurus. She explains the concept of fossils to a very intrigued Bill and Ben before digging Percy out.

Percy has to go to the Steamworks to be fixed and is done being repaired when Thomas and James roll up and apologise. Percy is happy to see his two best friends as they go to the Town Hall for the unveiling of the dinosaur. Emily then rushes in and tells the three engines that Gator is leaving. Percy is confused as Gator was supposed to have already left. Thomas tells him that there was a "holdup" as the engines rush to the docks.

At the docks, Cranky is still being fixed, so Gator is lifted onto his ship by the other dockside crane. Percy is just in time to say farewell to Gator as his ship leaves, remarking that it takes courage to say goodbye to a friend. Gator's ship disappears on the horizon and the three friends puff away into the distance as the credits roll.

Cast

References

External links

• Tale of the Brave at the Internet Movie Database