Pokémon is something I and many other Brocomotives have loved nearly as long as we’ve loved Thomas. So when I heard my childhood memories were being brought to life on the big screen, I was naturally excited. I went into the theater the first showing they had, excited for what was to come, and the movie lived up to my expectations and then-some.
What really made this movie usurp Sodor’s Legend of The Lost Treasure as my favorite movie of all time was the subtle Thomas and Friends symbolism and metaphors. If you care about spoilers, don’t continue reading until you have seen the masterpiece of a film.
LAST WARNING FOR SPOILERS
We begin the movie with Tim Goodman and a friend hanging out trying to catch a Pokémon, which they fail to do. We learn Tim doesn’t care for Pokémon and has a lonely life. He then learns his dad was killed in a car crash.
The failure and sadness Tim experiences is an obvious representation of the way one who has not experienced Thomas and Friends feels every day.
Tim then takes a Train to Ryme City, a City where People and Pokémon live in harmony. There, he meets his dad’s partner, Pikachu. He later reveals to Pikachu that his father, Harry invited Tim to live with him in the city before, but Tim denied the request and didn’t get on the Train then.
The Train Tim didn’t take, but has taken now, is symbolism for the Railways Series books and Thomas and Friends franchise, made obvious by the fact that the train bears a major resemblance to the Thomas characters, Pip and Emma. He didn’t take it before, but he then took it to Ryme City which symbolizes the enlightenment one may feel when they have the experience of being a Brocomotive. There in the City of Enlightenment, he was able to resolve the issues he had with his father, whom he finds was actually merged with Pikachu the whole time. Pikachu and Harry are finally separated, and the three of them then live happily with their lives enlightened.
Tim making up with his father parallels the life lessons that we learn from the Thomas and Friends franchise. This movie not only teaches us how we can be better people and give us a better understanding of love and friendship, but teaches us that Thomas and Friends can teach us the same thing.
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