The Thomas & Friends Opening Sequence was the Opening Sequence used for Thomas & Friends sitcom for its first Eighteen Seasons from 1984-2015. The original intro established in Season 1 was used until Season 7 in 2003. Upon the release of Season 8 in 2004 a new-intro was created in which Thomas passes by the Tower Windmill, instead of the original Post Windmill, he then is shown passing The Watermill, before finally heading underneath the Rail Under Road Bridge and Signalbox location. This intro was slightly altered in 2008 for Season 12, giving Thomas a CGI Face, and replacing the child figurine on the bridge will a full CGI model. The same intro was recreated in full CGI for Season 13 in 2010, and this was used all the way to Season 18 in 2015, after which the intro was retired for the rest of the series, being replaced with an Engine Roll Call Theme from Season 19-21, and a Big World! Big Adventures! theme song from Season 22-24. The original theme tune used from Season 1-7 was created and composed by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. The theme tune used from Season 8-18 was composed by their successor Robert Hartshorne. Interestingly, new visuals were provided for the Season 6 version of the opening theme, with Thomas passing by the Post Windmill, in a different landscape, which was covered in snow.
Trivia[]
- An animated title sequence was initially considered early on in Season 1 production, and there were simple draft ideas for this, such as puffs of smoke coming up.
- Sometime between Season 2-7 Mike O' Donnell and Junior Campbell had plans to update the opening theme of the show, but Britt Allcroft, David Mitton, and others in production didn't let them.
- The original set the Post-Windmill was featured on was likely dismantled after Season 1 production, as the only episodes it actually appears in on that set were Thomas and the Guard, Thomas and Bertie (Which used the footage from the opening), and Toby and the Stout Gentlemen. It also appeared via stock-footage from Thomas and the Guard, in the Season 2 episode Thomas Comes to Breakfast.
- The replacement/snowy intro set that was used for Season 6 was actually created during Season 3 production, as it is seen in the episode Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure. It later appeared in the Season 5 episode Snow, albeit using stock-footage from the previously aforementioned episode. Due to the appearance of Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel's models in these shots, it appears that this intro was filmed during or around the time of Season 3. Why it went unused for so long, or whether or not the scene was even originally intended for use in the intro is currently unknown.
- It was originally considered to remake the Season 1-7 intro in CGI for the opening of Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, but for unknown reasons this didn't occur. Thomas is seen passing the Tower Windmill instead however.
Gallery[]
Logo[]
Rev. W. Awdry Credits[]
Narrator Credits[]
