Thomas and Friends

Thomas and Friends, previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, is the name of the television series based on the Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry. It was adapted for television by Britt Allcroft using original stories from the Railway Series before using television-exclusive stories written by indepenent writers. The series has spawned sixteen television seasons, a movie, and six feature-length specials, with another season planned for next year and a second movie in 2014.

The series is currently being produced by Hit Entertainment, who have filmed the series since its acquisition of Gullane Entertainment in 2003.

In April 2008, it was announced that filming of the series would transfer to Nitrogen Studios in Canada and will be CGI animated. The first use of CGI for the series was used during the twelfth season for the faces for the engines, people, and animals, although characters in background shots would still have the traditional plastic faces. Hero of the Rails was released in Fall 2009. Since then, the series has been fully CGI-animated. In February 2012, it was announced that Arc Productions would take over the CGI animation aspect.