Thomas the Tank Engine And Friends - Make Someone Happy

The tot-like tank engines are back on the tracks for another round of useful lessons cleverly disguised as adventures, narrated by Alec Baldwin. The half dozen five-minute stories that make up this episode include such conclusions as the fact that teasing can backfire ("A Big Surprise for Percy"), listening to rumors can lead to wrong impressions ("Thomas and the Rumors"), and it's hard to live up to one's bragging ("James and the Trouble with Trees"). In the title story, a complaining James gets the chance to help Mrs. Kindly (voiced in a comically strained falsetto by Baldwin) when her sister can't come to visit. Mrs. Kindly (and Baldwin's falsetto) returns in "Happy Ever After" for her daughter's wedding, as the engines provide a train-themed package of something old, new, borrowed and blue--yes, the last would be Thomas in streamers. The 34-minute video wraps up with the kid-sung "It's Great to Be an Engine," which asks the musical question, "What if you could be a train?" (Ages 2 and older) --Kimberly Heinrichs