Peter Andre joined Thomas the Tank Engine and a host of celebrity guests to walk the blue carpet at the global premiere of Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie on Saturday 7th July!
More than 400 fans packed out Leicester Square to watch the celebrity-packed premiere screening at Vue cinema where the 80–minute CG animated special made its world debut. The movie will roll out at 400 cinemas throughout the UK from Friday 20th July then hit screens around the world soon after, including on Nickelodeon in the USA later this year.
The new movie features Peter Andre, the latest celebrity to voice a character in Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!. Peter brings to life the character of Ace, a yellow Australian rally car who inspires Thomas to leave his home of Sodor and travel around the world with him.
Andre has also recorded a new song for the movie called "Free and Easy" which will be available on Spotify from July 20.
Joining the cast is multi-talented Kenyan actress and voice-over artist, Yvonne Grundy, who voices the protagonist Nia, the first African tank engine to join Thomas & Friends. Nia has been specially developed with the help of the UN and experts from the Royal African Society, and is a tank engine just like Thomas, who will now go on to join the TV show as part of the Steam Team.
The new movie is the thirteenth feature-length film to be produced by the world-famous franchise and the first to hit screens following a major refresh to its content, which will see a new series of the same name, Thomas and Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! (26 x 11’ episodes) launch in September. This makes the movie the most ambitious and anticipated Thomas & Friends release to date.
To better portray diversity, the series got an update for its 26 x 11-minute 22nd season, entitled Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! that will take Thomas beyond the fictional Island of Sodor for the first time. The major refresh will see the iconic blue engine Thomas traveling farther than ever before, taking kids on a journey of wonder and curiosity as he adventures around the world to discover and learn about new countries and cultures. The show has a more contemporary feel, a brand-new theme tune and a refreshed Steam Team to include three girls and three boy engines, and Thomas, ensuring gender equality across the show, increasing global appeal for preschool viewers. This all-new format series will feature faster-paced action, increased humor, new music, new international friends, animals and exciting fantasy elements. Series 22 has been signed up by broadcaster's Nick Jr. (USA), Channel 5's Milkshake (U.K.), ABC TV (Australia), Televisa (Mexico), TV Cultura (Brazil), and Super RTL (Germany).
Kate Schlomann, VP and general manager, Thomas & Friends, said: “The brand is undergoing a huge evolution to ensure it remains competitive for today’s audiences and this movie exemplifies this in a wonderful way with entertaining content that will help children discover and learn about the bigger world with a trusted friend.
“The new movie also offers the brand several new opportunities across the franchise from theatrical events to consumer products as well as a range of new exciting toys. This is a huge year for Thomas & Friends.”
Products supporting the movie include the Thomas & Friends Turbo Jungle Set and Nia engines in the TrackMaster and Adventures segments. The Turbo Jungle Set features a motorised Thomas train that can travel up to 2.5 times faster than normal TrackMaster engines so kids can recreate scenes from the movie. Andre’s character, Ace will be available as a toy in both the Adventures and TrackMaster ranges this summer.
Thomas the Tank Engine™ was created over 70 years ago and that story quickly grew through content to become the award-winning global brand franchise it is today, with multiple touch-points and formats, including apps; toy consumer products; publishing; live attractions and much more with over 1 engine sold per second. Watched in over 160 territories, in over 50 languages with over 1.16 billion lifetime views on YouTube, Thomas & Friends offers more than 80 hours of original content produced from 500 episodes and 12 specials. A 23rd season of the beloved children's series was recently greenlit.
More Thomas: Peter Andre to Voice Mischievous Australian Rally Car 'Ace' in 'Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie'!
Sources: ToyNews, Toy World Magazine.
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