Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go

Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go is an animated comedy children's television series created by Britt Allcroft and developed by Rick Suvalle that premiered on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito block in the United States on September 13, 2021, and on Treehouse in Canada on September 18, 2021. It is produced by Mattel Television and Nelvana.

The series serves as a reboot of the original Thomas & Friends series that ran from 1984 until 2021. It was originally believed to be a continuation of the original series (with the two seasons labeled as series 25 and 26), but Mattel Television later confirmed it to be a separate series. It introduces "an entirely new approach to Thomas & Friends content," with a new animation style and story structure.

In October 2022, the series was renewed for two more seasons of 26 episodes each.

Plot
The series focuses on the adventures of a younger Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, including Percy, Nia, Kana, and Diesel. Throughout the episodes, they learn many life lessons and solve problems, while going around on their daily lives doing jobs, with help from each other and the other residents and visitors of the Island of Sodor.

Production
In October 2020, Mattel Television formed a new co-production partnership with Corus Entertainment's Nelvana Studio and greenlit two new seasons for the Thomas & Friends series, consisting of 104 11-minute episodes and two hour-long specials. The new episodes were said to be produced using 2D animation and include more physical comedy and music than before.

The new series was officially announced on February 5, 2021. Executive producer Christopher Keenan said it was, "crafted to appeal to contemporary audiences' sensibilities while maintaining Thomas' core brand ethos".

On October 11, 2022, Mattel announced that the series was renewed for a third and fourth season, each consisting of 26 episodes and a special. On February 27, 2024, it was announced that Series 3 would debut on Netflix in the United States.

Unlike previous Thomas the Tank Engine media, All Engines Go was produced in North America rather than the United Kingdom.

Linear
Both of these specials are directed by Campbell Bryer with Jason Groh co-directing "Race for the Sodor Cup".

Release
Cartoon Network and Netflix have the broadcast and streaming rights to the series in the United States. The series premiered on September 13, 2021, as part of Cartoon Network's Cartoonito preschool programming block. The series was made available to stream on Netflix on October 29, 2021.

Channel 5 (the UK terrestrial network that Season 8 onwards of the original show aired on) acquired the UK broadcast rights to the series and began airing it on their Milkshake! pre-school block on November 8, 2021, redubbed with British voice actors. On the same day, the first hour-long special, titled Race for the Sodor Cup was confirmed for a theatrical release on September 17, 2021, in order to introduce the series and the new look in the country. The series premiered in Canada on Treehouse on September 18, 2021.

In October 2021, Mattel Television announced they had pre-sold the series to many broadcasters around the world, including Nick Jr. for British pay-TV rights, TF1 in France and WarnerMedia for MENA and Latin American regions.

North America
On August 31, 2021, Mill Creek Entertainment and NCircle Entertainment's parent company Alliance Entertainment announced a US and Canadian distribution deal with Mattel. Such rights included the DVD rights to All Engines Go, which NCircle would distribute.

United Kingdom
The Race for the Sodor Cup special was released on DVD on February 14, 2022. This was followed by an Amazon Prime release of Best Friend Adventures.

Reception
The show, trailers, and other promotional materials posted on social media have been met with backlash from fans of the original show and parents, with some saying their kids cried at the redesigns of the characters. Joly Herman at Common Sense Media summed up her review of the series by saying, "As cute, fun, adventurous as this series might be to young viewers, it has lost some of the character that the original show enjoyed."

The series has been received more positively in more recent years, winning Best Preschool Series in the inaugural Collision Awards in 2024.