Wednesday 12 September 2018

Season 22: Thomas and the Monkey Palace

So bored...


I’ll be fair with this one: while it does still have a minimal story, at least there is a story being told. The problem is that it’s all over the place.

The title says that the focus will be on the monkey palace, yet it’s only seen in one shot. Instead, the focus is on the coconuts with the monkeys getting in the way (by the way, the “coconuts falling out of the truck” thing felt so contrived. Ignoring the fact they used a truck that is normally used to transport animals, that bash felt far too overblown for what it was. But then, this is Thomas & Friends in 2018, so I guess that’s to be expected).

And then there’s the thing that always plagues these worldwide stories: not much happens in them. Sure, it jumps from plot point to plot point, but the stuff between them - even the plot points themselves - just aren’t interesting. There’s simply nothing at stake to be invested in. And that’s because all of the focus is on Thomas and the monkeys and none is put on the impact the lack of coconut water is having on the people.

I don’t even think the fantasy sequence was that interesting either, and they’re usually the best bits of these episodes. It has little to do with the story and it’s just not as bombastic or flat out weird as ones we’ve seen before.

The theme of “paying attention” kinda works, but it’s been done before and done better. That’s... all I can really say about it.

Final Thoughts
I read a tweet saying that these episodes are “solely for the younger audience”. Ignoring the fact that every episode of the franchise has been aimed at a younger audience (except maybe season 5), that’s no excuse to not put any effort into the story. The last two episodes (that aired in the UK) have felt like they’re using animals as a crutch to carry them through, which is lazy storytelling regardless of the target audience.

Other than that, there’s little to talk about. It’s just a boring story with an abrupt ending, barely any character (or even character interaction), and a theme that’s been done better before. It’s like I said when I reviewed Thomas in the Wild: it’s all style, no substance.
Rating: Atrocious (-9/10)

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