A new Thomas & Friends Movie

Yesterday saw the release of the brand new Thomas and Friends movie 'Journey Beyond Sodor' and of course we had to be there. My son still loves Thomas and all his friends even at 17, so I think we may have been the eldest there at the cinema but who cares. I absolutely loved this and that's a revelation really because after years and years of watching episodes, movies and the. being repeated a hundred times I thought I would have been a bit tired of it by now. 

It really is a lovely little film and as always it contains a special message regarding friendship and conquering problems to get through, regardless of what ever may hold us back. I know deep eh? I do think there are a lot more adults that could learn a lot from these films. It contains a bit of drama, quite a few laughs and new characters. Yes more to collect!! Beresford is the funniest crane I've seen and you don't come across many slightly clumsy, needy cranes with a Jamaican accent, my favourite in the film. 

Journey Beyond Sodor introduces new characters called 'experimental engines' which include engines to give children with autism a character they may be able to identify with. This cast of engines all have extra parts, cogs, funnels and run slightly different to the other engines. They lack a bit of confidence and are unaware of their capabilities and don't quite realise what they can achieve until Thomas shows them. James initially starts the story by being very self absorbed and thinking he is the best until realising that maybe he's not and everyone is just as important as each other. This is strong stuff. I was feeling the love by the end.

Thomas and Friends has been a massive success for children with Autism with the engines being given easy to read facial expressions, colourful paintwork and also the stories being short, concise and so easy to understand. On numerous occasions over the years we have used these characters to enable my son to achieve goals and help him cope with life. When he started creating these stories, I don't think the Rev W. Awdry ever thought that his work would create such a powerful set of tools to use as therapy in the way his stories are used today. Everyone of all ages has enjoyed these stories at some point in their life. Personally I don't know what we would have done without them. 

So we can certainly recommend this film if you have some Thomas fans yourself. We actually watched this without paying a penny. Thomas has a CEA card so as his carer I get free admission and we had some Odeon points saved which covered his ticket. Bargain! 

The CEA card is provided by the Cinema Exhibitors Association and it gives the chance for any carer who cares for someone with a disability to receive free admission when purchasing a ticket for the person being cared for. It costs £6 for the year to cover administration costs and is available to you if you are receipt of certain benefits including DLA/PIP. It is worth applying for so to check criteria and apply online go to:
www.ceacard.co.uk

I hope you enjoy it, tell me what you think of it. The songs are just brilliant and I think we may be singing them for a while yet. They seem to create such happy catchy tunes that just stick in your head. I too admit to singing along with Thomas, its addictive and most of all FUN!!!

Thanks for reading today, join me tomorrow for Pass the Remote.

Take care for now.........