Mattel Recently announced that the new Season of “Thomas and Friends” would mark a new era for the series, as changes would be made to get more kids interested in the show.
“Sales have been down recently, and fans are upset that the Thomas and his Friends seem to have forgotten their roots.” Ian McCue stated at an investors meeting. “In response to our loyal consumers and fans, we have made some more changes that will hopefully get us back on track!”
Among the many changes, some of the most notable were Realism being completely thrown out the window, many of the main characters getting names and appearances changed, the show itself getting a name change, and the tone and style completely shifting away from what the show originally had.
“Thomas and his Friends will now be even bouncier and flexible than ever! There will never be any calm moments again!” McCue continued. “Best of all, Thomas is now a Blue Diesel named Brewster! This symbolizes progress and change and will definitely be welcomed by anyone who wants our show to be more progressive!”
Many fans were upset by this news, and shared their feelings with us and online.
“This is basically a huge middle finger to us fans and, more importantly, Reverend Wilbert Awdry.” GodredFan420, a fan since his birth in 1997, explained. “These changes are only being implemented for some short term success, without any thought into how they could be alienating long time viewers.”
These changes didn’t just upset fans though. Railway enthusiasts and preservationists were very enraged by the message this could send.
“Awdry’s books let kids into a world where they could learn just how nostalgic and wonderful Steam Engines were. They encouraged preservation of the past but didn’t discourage progress.” Said Railfan, Matt Nicolaus. “By making Thomas a diesel, you’re basically telling kids preservation and history is unimportant and should be ignored.”
Heritage Railways took note of this, and soon announced that they would no longer be partnering with Mattel for Day Out With Thomas events. The outrage didn’t end there though, and soon many parents spoke out against Mattel.
“My son is autistic, and slow paced, calming shows like Thomas were always good for him to watch.” Mrs. Celia Brown told us. “We haven’t bought him some of the more recent seasons because of the change in pacing and tone, but now it looks like we won’t even be able to buy him the toys since he won’t understand why they look so different.”
Despite all the fuss, some fans still showed their support to Mattel.
“We’re not the target audience. We adult fans shouldn’t be complaining because it’s not for us.” @PinkiePiePercy Tweeted. “As long as Thomas is still making kids happy the show is fine. It’s still not as bad as Chuggington, so you should be happy.”
This Tweet was quickly ratioed by other fans who took objection to it.
“Bruh, they literally changed the name of the show to ‘Chuggington.'” @ExpressPuller replied to her.
The fan and parent outrage was quickly noticed by Mattel, and a statement was made to ease their tensions and fears.
“The intent is to provide children with a sense of pride and accomplishment.” Ian McCue announced. “We appreciate the candid feedback and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Twitter.”
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