Saturday saw over 400 fans, along with Peter Andre, walk the blue carpet at Vue cinema in Leicester Square.
The premiere screening introduced fans to the new 80-minute CG-animated special, showing at 400 cinemas throughout the UK from 20th July before it then hits screens around the world.
The new movie features Peter Andre, who is 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.
Also part of the cast is multi-talented Kenyan actress and voiceover artist, Yvonne Grundy, who voices protagonist Nia, the first African tank engine to join Thomas & Friends.
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.
Kate Schlomann, VP & general manager, Thomas & Friends, commented: “The brand is undergoing a huge evolution to ensure it remains competitive for today’s audiences and this movie exemplifies this 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. Peter’s character, Ace will be available as a toy in both the Adventures and TrackMaster ranges this summer.
