Lionsgate Publicity posts 'Muddy Matters' cover online

Lionsgate's press client, Lionsgate Publicity has added the cover art aiding the US Muddy Matters DVD on its new releases page.

As part of its January lineup, Lionsgate's newest Thomas release sees an ambivalent James and a cheery Thomas splashing through muddy rails in a specially created shot.

The disc comprises of the five Season Sixteen stories Muddy Matters, Thomas and the Garbage Train, Don't Bother Victor!, Whiff's Wish and Thomas Toots the Crows.

A tagline seen on the case's header reflects the nature of the featured content, reading; Icky, Sticky, Messy Good Times!

Muddy Matters from Lionsgate Entertainment hits US DVD shelves on January 15th 2013.

TAKE A LOOK AT 'MUDDY MATTER'S DVD COVER ON LIONSGATE PUBLICITY

PRE-ORDER 'MUDDY MATTERS' ON AMAZON.COM

bbfc confirms 'Sticky Situations' for eighty min UK DVD

The British Board of Film Classification have confirmed that Sticky Situations will be released in the UK with six episodes.

Submitted just before the start of late November, the January DVD will carry a mixture of Season Fourteen and Fifteen stories.

Complete with over fifteen minutes of extras, Sticky Situations is now the first CGI episodic release to eclipse the usual sixty minute run time and will instead be supported by an eighty minute duration.

Episodes include;

Stuck on You

Spencer the Grand

Gordon and Ferdinand

Charlie and Eddie

Henry's Health and Safety

Diesel's Special Delivery

Extras include;

Watch with Mr. Perkins!: Mr Perkins' Treasure Hunt

Down at the Station: Going Backwards

Guess Who?: Charlie and Spencer

The move, predicted to be Hit Entertainment's primary focus for 2013, is most certain to achieve positive appreciation from fans who lambasted the minimal content featured on previous titles

Sticky Situations from Hit Entertainment hits UK DVD shelves on January 14th 2013.

PRE-ORDER 'STICKY SITUATIONS' ON AMAZON.CO.UK

'Quest for Golden Crown' art conceals engine identity

King of the Railway's sixth and last book, The Quest for the Golden Crown has had its cover unveiled.

Becoming the final title of the sextet to achieve such reveal, Thomas and the special's main focus engine are seen on a castle town trackway.

However, despite a closer view of the newcomer, the book's art palette blocks out the Rocket's nameplate, concealing the aforementioned's identity.

Golden Crown is to consist of 48 pages ahead of a late July release. Artist Jim Durk provides the illustrations.

King of the Railway: The Movie debuts on DVD and Blu-ray in the fall of 2013 with the six books due to hit UK and US book shelves on July 23rd 2013.

PRE-ORDER THE 'KING OF THE RAILWAY' BOOKS ON AMAZON

UK

KING OF THE RAILWAY: A BIG GOLDEN BOOK

KING OF THE RAILWAY: A LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK 

TREASURE ON THE TRACKS
THE SECRET OF THE MINE

THE LOST CROWN OF SODOR

THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN CROWN

US

KING OF THE RAILWAY: A BIG GOLDEN BOOK

KING OF THE RAILWAY: A LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK 

TREASURE ON THE TRACKS
THE SECRET OF THE MINE

THE LOST CROWN OF SODOR

THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN CROWN

Ringo Starr returns to voices with 'The Powerpuff Girls'

Ringo Starr has made a return to voice acting after more than ten years away with a role in a well known cartoon.

The original Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends narrator is to play flamboyant character Fibonacci in a new episode of a relaunched run of The Powerpuff Girls.

In an update video posted on his official YouTube channel, Ringo confirmed his guest stint by presenting a behind-the-scenes snippet of himself recording lines.

A character artwork of Fibonacci is seen at the start of the clip, who bears a somewhat uncanny resemblance to The Beatles drummer in his heyday.

Starr's last cartoon role was that of a memorable turn as The Duck Brothers in Courage the Cowardly Dog twelve years previous. The Powerpuff Girls' last regular episode was in 2005 with a 10th anniversary special following in 2009.

The Powerpuff Girls returns to Cartoon Network in the US in the fall of 2013.

WATCH RINGO'S UPDATE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

Thanks to Chris Signore for the alert.

'Go Go Thomas!' stories teased for the United Kingdom

The first discovery of the five stories due to star in the UK's Go Go Thomas! DVD have been revealed by amazon.co.uk.

Though the US version was teased the first time, the online retailer recently published the British disc's description in their database.

Thomas shows Gordon that being quick is as useful as being strong, while Flynn the fire engine learns to put his pride aside and race to the rescue.

Thomas causes some trouble on the tracks trying to be a model engine for a new photographer, while Spencer's on the move, ignoring warnings about electric engine Stafford's battery.

Thomas pumps his pistons to Misty Island to help fix Ol' Wheezy.

The brief plotlines show that Express Coming Through, Race to the Rescue, Flash Bang Wallop, Welcome Stafford and Ol' Wheezy Wobbles will front the release.

Due to the 55 minute run time and the fact that complete CGI episodes costs 11 minutes of duration each, a minimal chance of extras looks to be apparent.

The cover art catches Thomas and Spencer racing on the rails. Created as a newly released promo shot by Nitrogen Studios, Stafford's stance is seen on the bottom left. The DVD's tagline reads; High speed fun on the rails!

Go Go Thomas! from Hit Entertainment hits UK DVD shelves on March 11th 2013.

PRE-ORDER 'GO GO THOMAS' ON AMAZON.CO.UK

Thanks to lg77612 for the alert.

British 'Sticky Situations' episodes cleared by Amazon

Upcoming 2013 UK DVD, Sticky Situations is to position the same stories as its US affiliant on its disc.

The confirmation was resorted to amazon.co.uk who listed the release's blurb online; Uh oh... The engines on the Island of Sodor sometimes find themselves in some sticky situations!

Thomas and Butch find themselves stuck when they don't listen to directions. Spencer gets lost in the fog but learns he can actually be Spencer the Helpful.

Gordon must swallow his pride after dropping the Lion of Sodor in the mucky, muddy river, and Edward shows Charlie there is a time to be Really Fun, and a time to be Really Useful!

All aboard for fun-filled tales as friends help each other through all kinds of sticky situations!

With extras to be foreseen for the 58 minute feature, the front cover remains the same which gives an alternate perception of Thomas and Butch's magnet mishap.

Stuck on You, Spencer the Grand, Gordon and Ferdinand and Charlie and Eddie headline the compilation.

Sticky Situations from Hit Entertainment hits UK DVD shelves on January 14th 2013.

PRE-ORDER 'STICKY SITUATIONS' ON AMAZON.CO.UK

Thanks to SI3DFilms for the alert.

PBS picks up 'Blue Mountain Mystery' for US TV debut

PBS Kids is to screen 2012's Blue Mountain Mystery: The Movie for a US television premiere.

The non-profit American broadcaster will transmit the film later this month on local public television stations.

The announcement was made by the Thomas & Friends Twitter @TrueBlueEngine who tweeted; Check your local PBS Kids listings for a special broadcast of Blue Mountain Mystery airing this month!

PBS previously presented a slightly edited version of Day of the Diesels last year as a world exclusive.

Blue Mountain Mystery: The Movie marks its US network debut on local PBS stations this November.

New app for Apple launched by Hit and Primal Screen

Hit Entertainment's fourth Thomas & Friends game app has been launched for Apple device users.

Released on November 8th, Mix-Up Match-Up is an essential learning craft that tests player's capabilities of speed and alerted motivation through a level elevating mini-game. Engine collections are awarded for success.

This is coupled with an activity concerning photo creation, becoming the app's companion vehicle. Keith Wickham returns as The Narrator in an enthusiastic turn.

The app has been developed with the help of swift animated transitions by brand designers Primal Screen who specialise in providing graphics and animation for television, film and digital creations.

Primal Screen have had experience with delivering many types of visual and interactive content for children most notably with their services to Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and PBS Kids.

The detailing states; All aboard for an exciting new game from Thomas & Friends! Kids will love playing with Thomas, Percy, Edward and more of their favorite engine friends in this fun and creative game.

As players advance, they develop important early-learning skills like comparing and contrasting, quick thinking and hand eye coordination. Most importantly they learn to be "really useful engines." Full steam ahead!

Choose from 3 locations on Sodor to match engines, earn bonuses and win new engine friends.

Create a Thomas masterpiece in a simple sticker activity. Fill a familiar Sodor scene with your favorite engine friends. Resize and rotate stickers. Tap the camera to save and share.

Mix-Up Match-Up from Hit Entertainment and Primal Screen is available to download for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad from the App Store on iTunes.

BUY 'MIX-UP MATCH-UP' ON iTUNES

UK £1.49

US $1.99

AUSTRALIA $1.99

'King of the Railway' books tease new friends and more

amazon.com have unveiled the covers to three books aiding the hotly anticipated King of the Railway: The Movie.

The new movie which boasts a Stephenson's Rocket engine is now eyeing up a tall steam train.

The unknown figure is seen idling behind Thomas and the nameless Rocket by a conventional gate entrance on the special's Little Golden Book adaptation.

Miles away is an existing mystery steamer who is perched by a castle in the distance. The castle in question is to play a pivotal part in the Andrew Brenner penned adventure.

For Treasure on the Tracks, a medieval armour suit is found in a crate which is presumably dropped from high above at The Docks. The Step Into Reading artwork confirms roles for Percy and Cranky.

Culminating the update is The Lost Crown of Sodor's front where Thomas, Percy and another inclusion in the cast, James, encounter surprises in an old victorian settlement.

King of the Railway: The Movie debuts on DVD and Blu-ray in the fall of 2013 with the six books due to hit US book shelves on July 23rd 2013.

PRE-ORDER THE 'KING OF THE RAILWAY' BOOKS ON AMAZON.COM

KING OF THE RAILWAY: A BIG GOLDEN BOOK

KING OF THE RAILWAY: A LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK 

TREASURE ON THE TRACKS
THE SECRET OF THE MINE

THE LOST CROWN OF SODOR

THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN CROWN

First Look: Bachmann's model of Duck the GWR Engine

Bachmann have sensationally divulged the first image of their long-awaited model of Duck the Great Western Engine.

Presented on the Hero of the Scales blog, the HO scale version of the incumbent character is shown to match his TV counterpart in immaculate detail.

Duck's creation is said to be part of the model company's pledge to continue crafting classic series characters rather than new faces from the Hit Entertainment timeline.

Earlier in August, Tower Hobbies and Wholesale both spilled on the intention to launch the product for the early part of next year.

Duck from Bachmann is expected to hit US model and hobby stores on January 30th 2013.

SEE THE FIRST SIGHTING OF THE NEW 'DUCK' MODEL ON HERO OF THE SCALES

Thanks to Simon Martin for the alert.

Thomas & Friends official Japanese YouTube launched

The official Thomas & Friends YouTube account for the Japanese has been opened on the video networking website.

Under the pseudonym thomasandfriendsjp, the channel has been used to promote theatrical releases and selected DVDs.

While trailers to 劇場版 きかんしゃトーマス 『ディーゼル10の逆襲』and the ソドーせいびこうじょうはおおいそがし DVD are syndicated for global viewing, seven of the nine available videos are only enabled for Japan.

Since April 3rd, thomasandfriendsjp has managed to oversee a total of 16,000 views for its content.

Thomas and the rightfully chosen Hiro headline the monetized banner set in a typical Sodor countryside.

VISIT THE THOMAS & FRIENDS JAPANESE YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Thanks to SI3DFilms for the alert.