Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go is an upcoming animated children's television series that will premiere on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito block on September 13, 2021. The series will serve as a reboot of the original Thomas & Friends series that ran from 1984 to 2021. It was originally set to be the show's twenty-fifth season, but Mattel Television confirmed that it was a separate series. It will introduce "an entirely new approach to Thomas & Friends content," with a new animation style and story structure. The series was universally lambasted by audiences who criticized its switch from 3D to 2D animation, voice cast and perceived lack of faithfulness to its source material as well as the plot for its lack of originality, and compared it unfavorably to Teen Titans Go, Chuggington and My Little Pony: Pony Life.
In October 2020, Mattel Television formed a new co-production partnership with Corus Entertainment's Nelvana Studio and greenlit two new seasons for the Thomas & Friends series, consisting of 104 11-minute episodes and two hour-long specials.[1] The new episodes were said to be produced using 2D animation and include more physical comedy and music than before.[2]
In January 2021, it was announced that the new episodes were set to be released as an entirely new series known as Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go. Executive producer Christopher Keenan stated that it was "crafted to appeal to contemporary audiences' sensibilities with maintaining Thomas' core brand ethos."[3]
On February 5, 2021, it was announced that both Cartoon Network and Netflix had picked up the broadcast and streaming rights to the series in the United States, respectively.[4] On August 16, 2021, it was announced that the series will premiere on September 13, 2021, along with the launch of Cartoon Network's Cartoonito preschool programming block.[5]
