THE ISSUE: The Television Series Thomas and Friends remains exclusively available on DVD and select few Blu-Ray and Digital HD Releases, despite a High-Definition transfer being more than possible.

WHY IT MATTERS: Thomas is a comfort to millions of individuals across the globe, many of whom, including the authors of this petition, are intensely passionate about its legacy and how it is presented at home and preserved for future generations. We call for Mattel to acknowledge these passionate fans and, to send-off the original series after 37 years of production, finally make the complete 1984-2021 series readily available globally in a new, high-definition master on Blu-Ray and Digital HD.

"Thomas is a Tank Engine, who lives at the big station on the Island of Sodor..."

On the 9th of October, 1984, these immortal words from Ringo Starr introduced an old friend to a new generation, a cheeky little engine who has connected with both the young and the young at heart around the world as Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends made its premiere on ITV.

Adapted from the Reverend Wilbert Awdry's The Railway Series, the television show, created by Britt Allcroft and directed by Thunderbirds alumni David Mitton, is revered for a long-term dedication to practical effects, a committed crew, and its high production values. 

Unsurprisingly, Thomas became an instant success, and has yet to slow down in popularity across the globe. So expansive is the appeal of Thomas that the original series only ended in 2021 in preparation for a reboot, reaching an astounding 37 years of production — an admirable feat.

Yet despite these achievements, Mattel, current proprietors of the Thomas brand, have not seen fit to give the series a home video release of modern standards, a privilege well deserved after nearly 40 years of continuous production.

Shot until 2004 in 35mm film capable of high-definition transfers, the original elements have been untouched for nearly two decades. Instead, all releases have made use of two standard definition masters minted in 1998 and 2004 respectively for all home video releases, both used in tandem and presenting issues which are far less tolerable in today's market. The 1998 Master (sourced from tape) is plagued with composite colour crawl, aliasing ( a.k.a. "stair stepping"), colour fade, and flashing patterns of light. The 2004 Master (sourced from the original 35mm film) features over-sharpened footage, shots framed without regard to Mitton's careful composition, made use of cut takes containing film errors, and like the 1998 Master, colour fade.

Even after the switch from film to tape, the Thomas films were shot in the highest quality professional tape stock of the 2000s, with high-definition transfers easily being possible. Still, no series from this era has had a high-definition release. 

With the switch to CGI, despite being rendered in high-definition, the series was still destined for standard-definition in the consumer video market, with the few Blu-Ray and Digital HD releases being plagued with issues (out of pitch audio, slowed-down footage, etc.).

In addition to this, certain narrations and foreign dubs of Thomas episodes remain scarce, the availability of many episodes and "Sing-Along Songs" are questionable, multiple features are region specific, and jarring differences in quality exist depending upon the market and distributor of each Thomas release. This makes for a convoluted mess when it comes to the presentation of Thomas at home and proves a great disservice for young children who wish to see the Thomas films in their native language.

This petition calls upon Mattel to revitalize the original run of Thomas from 1984 to 2021, an era without which they would not have the brand that exists today. We ask that Mattel take advantage of the film, tape, digital, and audio elements of which only they possess the rights to produce a high-definition transfer of Thomas from Series 1-24 that is suitable for viewing around the globe in a modern era, utilizing current digital techniques to replace the dated masters of the past, and to end the scarcity of particular episodes, songs, and dubs with a readily available region-free release.

We hope that the request of a restoration of a beloved series previously only available in poor-quality forms is not seen as fan entitlement, but proof that there is market to be had in doing the right thing — let the signatures of this petition represent this market. Please take it into consideration.

— The collective Thomas the Tank Engine community

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