Thomas & Friends: Rusty to the Rescue Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been a "Thomas" fan ever since the age of 2, and to this day (being almost 20) I still enjoy the older episodes. This particular DVD has some of my all-time favorite episodes! Before I get to the full review, I'll give you a brief synopsis of the episodes.
1. Granpuff (Written by the Rev. W. Awdry/Adpated by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton) - The engines are having trouble getting to sleep one night, so Thomas tells them all a story about a narrow gauge railway. "Once upon a time, there were three little engines who lived in their own little shed on their own little railway". The little engines are named Duke, Stuart, and Falcon. At first, Stuart and Falcon are cheeky, but they straighten up when Duke tells them a story about an engine who got turned into a generator for being extremely rude and constantly falling off the rails. Later, the railway is closed, Stuart and Falcon are bought by another railway, and Duke is left alone in his old shed...
2. Sleeping Beauty (Written by the Rev. W. Awdry/Adapted by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton) - ...however, Duke is not forgotten. This story forms the second half of a two-parter, with "Granpuff" being the first half. Almost 30 years after Duke's old line was closed, some visitors come to see Sir Topham Hatt and explain that they want to find and restore Duke. They go out looking for him, but have little or no luck. That is, until one of them falls through the ground and ends up landing on Duke's boiler. Duke's shed is all over-grown and Duke is very rusty. The "rescuers" (as they are referred to), explain that they come from the railway that bought Stuart and Falcon and that they are here to restore him. They get Duke out of the shed and take him to the Skarloey Railway, where Stuart and Falcon (now named Peter Sam and Sir Handel) are waiting for him.
3. A Bad Day for Sir Handel (Based on "Sir Handel" by the Rev. W. Awdry/Adapted by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton) - There is a narrow gauge railway with two little engines named Skarloey and Rheneas. Rheneas has been sent to the Works to be mended and two new engines have come to help out. Their names are Sir Handel and Peter Sam. Peter Sam is a happy little engine, but Sir Handel is very grumpy and doesn't wish to pull coaches (he calls them "cattle cars"). He reluctantly pulls the coaches to a station. However, when told he is to pull freight cars, Sir Handel refuses and purposely derails himself. Needless to say, Sir Topham Hatt is not pleased, and scolds Sir Handel.
4. Rusty Helps Peter Sam (Based on "Trucks!" by the Rev. W. Awdry/Adapted by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton) - Sir Topham Hatt has bought a diesel engine named Rusty to help Sir Handel and Peter Sam out on the narrow gauge railway. Sir Handel wants to try to get out of pulling freight cars and Gordon tells him to pretend that he is ill. Sir Handel takes his advice, and Peter Sam is told to take Sir Handel's cars as well as his own. When Peter Sam reaches the quarry, he hooks up his cars to a slope, and the loaded cars pull the empty ones up. The loaded cars don't see Peter Sam properly and think he is Sir Handel. The cars don't like Sir Handel, and they purposely break away from the chain controlling their speed down the slope. This creates a horrible accident and leaves Peter Sam in a very bad state with his funnel dented. Rusty helps clear up the mess and pulls Peter Sam home. Sir Topham Hatt finds out what happened and scolds Sir Handel for pretending to be ill.
5. Rusty to the Rescue (Written by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton) - Rusty wants to find a steam engine, so he asks Douglas and Percy where. Douglas informs him that the only place to find one is on the Other Railway, but only extremely brave engines go there. Rusty makes up his mind to go there and find an engine. He does, and finds a steam engine named Stepney sitting in a scrap yard. Rusty's crew cleam Stepney up a bit and take him out of the scrap yard. Stepney has been saved from scrap, and now lives on the Bluebell Railway.
6. Thomas and Stepney (Based on "Bluebells of England" and "Stepney's Special" by the Rev. W. Awdry/Adapted by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton) - Percy informs Thomas that a famous engine named Stepney who lives on the Bluebell Railway is coming to visit Sir Topham Hatt's Railway soon. Thomas is immediately jealous of this famous engine. When Stepney arrives, he is asked to pull a special train, and Thomas is shunted into a siding to allow Stepney and his special to pass. Thomas is made even more cross by this. The next day, Stepney apologizes for having Thomas shunted and flatters him by telling him that he (Thomas) knows the line much better than Stepney does. Thomas and Stepney become friends.
7. Music Video: Gone Fishing (Written by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell/Pefromed by Junior Campbell) - A song about taking a day out to go fishing.
I LOVE this DVD! It is one of the best "Thomas" DVDs ever! I love the introduction of the narrow gauge engines, as well as Stepney. However, I do have a bit of a problem with the title episode, "Rusty to the Rescue", as it does NOT tell the true story of how Stepney was saved from scrap. Stepney is a real engine, and you can see him on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, England. However, "Rusty to the Rescue" implies that Rusty rescued Stepney (in reality, Stepney was saved by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society) AND that the Bluebell Railway is a part of the Island of Sodor (it isn't. It is part of England). Despite that, I do enjoy all six episodes as well as the music video. This DVD is one of the few places where you can hear Junior Campbell's singing voice (he & Mike O'Donnell wrote all of the "Thomas" songs from Seasons 3-7). All in all, a great DVD for "Thomas" fans of any age.

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Watch Rusty, the small Diesel engine set off where only brave Diesels dare to go. Will the rescuers find Duke with a bang and reunite him with Stuart and Falcon? Join in the adventure with Thomas and his friends, where the fun and excitement never ends. includes bonus train!

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