Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends - Thomas' Christmas Wonderland (With Bonus James Wooden Train) [VHS]

Thomas and his train-yard pals wouldn't pout if Christmases on the Island of Sodor were a little less white. In each of the six story stops that make up Thomas' Christmas Wonderland, snow stalls or otherwise threatens to sabotage the perky cargo pullers' holiday plans. Everybody's stuck in Snow, a new story narrated by Alec Baldwin, so Rusty lifts his fellow locomotives' spirits by relating the tale of the year Skarloey was sidelined by an avalanche. In "Thomas & the Missing Christmas Tree," Thomas is enlisted to pick up the village tree when severe snowdrifts leave him stranded on a remote stretch of track. The title character in the "Terence the Tractor" segment teaches a teary-eyed Thomas a thing or two about how his "ugly" Caterpillar wheels come in handy when the uncharacteristically arrogant engine sets off without his snowplow. And in "Special Funnel," Peter Sam is relieved of the other engines' constant ribbing when he's rewarded with a deluxe-model funnel after a monster icicle snaps his formerly wobbly one off. Rounding out this festive feature is "The Snow Song," a musical chug through decked-out village station stops that celebrates the title character's pluck: the little blue train finds his way "Whistle blowing / Yes, it's snowing." Fans of the series ought to waste no time climbing aboard, and newcomers will be relieved to discover a well-rounded introduction to a range of train-yard friends. Ages 3 to 6. --Tammy La Gorce