Blue Mountain Mystery is the 2012 Thomas & Friends special.
At the Blue Mountain Quarry, Thomas meets a little engine called Luke, who's been hiding because of a big secret: he's afraid he'll be sent away from Sodor if the Thin Controller learns about an accident he caused. It's up to Thomas to find out the truth behind Luke's accident and solve the mystery.
Blue Mountain Mystery contains examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Luke eventually reveals to Thomas that when he arrived on Sodor, he asked to be taken off the boat first, and the crane who was lifting him accidentally knocked the other engine on board into the sea. However, it's subverted when it turns out the other engine was Victor, who was repaired and is still very much alive.
- Actually, I Am Him: Thomas asks Victor if the latter remembers fixing a yellow engine who spoke a different language and fell in the sea. After Victor blushes and exclaims in Spanish, Thomas realises that the yellow engine was Victor.
- Big Damn Heroes: Thomas rolls out of control and ends up dangling precariously off a cliff. Luke hears his cries for help and manages to haul him to safety.
- Big "WHAT?!": Skarloey lets out a powerful one when Thomas explains his talk to Victor in a way that sounds like he blabbed about Luke:Skarloey: WHAT DID YOU DO?!?
- Blatant Lies: When Thomas keeps spotting Luke around the quarry, he asks the other characters if they know him. Rheneas, Owen, and Merrick all make excuses to not talk to him, but Sir Handel and Rusty insist that Thomas saw a runaway truck and a mountain goat, respectively.
- The Bus Came Back:
- The narrow gauge engines (sans Duncan) return; they were last seen in the twelfth season.
- Annie and Clarabel speak for the first time since the eleventh season.
- By the Lights of Their Eyes: Luke's eyes light up as he is hiding in the tunnel.
- Call-Back: When Thomas confides in his friends at Tidmouth, they all recall when Percy ran into the baggage trolley, Henry refused to leave the tunnel, Thomas ignored a danger sign, and Diesel lost the jobi wood for the Search and Rescue Center.Emily: That was VERY bad!Thomas: (To himself) But not bad enough to be sent away from Sodor forever...
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Subverted. The narrow gauge engines think Thomas blabbed about Luke in trying to clear his name, but he did so via shrewd investigation.
- Clear Their Name: Thomas attempts to clear Luke's name by finding out what exactly happened to the yellow engine.
- Cold Open: The first Thomas and Friends production to begin with such. The opening titles play afterwards.
- Creative Closing Credits: The titular song plays over the end credits, as they scroll over a montage of scenes from the movie.
- Digital Destruction: Some US DVD releases are slowed down and add an extra two minutes; thus audio is distorted. Averted with the iTunes release.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Thomas has to work his bunker off to figure out what exactly happened to the engine that Luke supposedly killed and prove Luke's innocence.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite being pissed off at Thomas, the narrow gauge engines are horrified when they see him about to plummet off a ridge.
- From Bad to Worse: Thomas is already in hot water with the narrow gauge engines for seemingly spilling Luke's secret. And then DIESEL shows up and quickly identifies Luke as the one who pushed the yellow engine into the sea.
- Hope Spot: Thomas is ecstatic after solving the mystery and rushes off to tell the narrow gauge engines that Luke is innocent. Unfortunately, his words come out wrong, and the little engines accuse him of spilling their secret.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Paxton eavesdrops on Luke telling Thomas his secret, and immediately tells DIESEL, of all engines, about it.
- Language Barrier: When Victor was arriving to Sodor, he couldn't speak English, only Spanish. The ship crew didn't understand Spanish, so they couldn't understand Victor's cries for help as he slipped into the ocean.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The first time Thomas gets a good look at Luke, the other narrow-gauge engines panic and try to clear the way, but end up surrounding Luke in the process. Rheneas even shouts that he's sorry.
- Mood Whiplash: Quite a few:
- Luke's backstory is noticeably dark compared to the rest of the movie. Not to mention it's juxtaposed with Thomas' optimistic, almost oblivious reaction to the story.
- Thomas' triumph at solving the mystery is cut short when he reaches the Blue Mountain Quarry. The engines think he blabbed about Luke, and the mood quickly turns tense and dramatic.
- Luke saves Thomas from falling off a ridge, which is a tense and triumphant moment. And then the two accidentally slide down Owen's incline. The other engines even laugh when this happens.
- Musical Chores: "Working Together" plays as Thomas works with the narrow gauge engines.
- Mythology Gag:
- After Luke drags Thomas back to Owen's platform and he comes crashing down, Thomas' eyes spin around rapidly. This is a reference to the live-action model animation, where the engines' eyes frequently spin around if excited or shocked.
- Among the scrap piles at the Dieselworks is the rusted body of the Märklin Engine, a background engine from the first season.
- Once More, with Clarity: Luke's flashback showing the reason why he's in hiding: He accidentally knocked the yellow engine on the barge with him into the ocean when being loaded onto the tracks. When Thomas visits Victor who reveals he was the yellow engine, the same flashback was told from Victor's perspective, but shows more detail on what really happened — specifically the shackles holding him in place were old and rusted, and it wasn't technically Luke's fault for knocking him off.
- Out of Focus: The rest of the Steam Team. Gordon doesn't even speak. Averted with Toby who normally suffers from this. Even if his role is simply to look after Annie and Clarabel while Thomas is at the quarry.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: When the narrow gauge engines accuse Thomas of betraying their trust.Luke: I don't want to listen to you! Ever! AGAIN!
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Luke is hiding due to supposedly knocking a yellow engine off the barge and leaving him to drown; that engine is revealed to be Victor, who was saved and repainted afterward.
- The Reveal: We learn how Victor came to Sodor.
- Sent Into Hiding: The plot revolves around the Narrow Gauge engines keeping a lost engine, Luke, secret from the Thin Controller, due to supposedly killing another engine via an accident. Said engine was found and repaired as Victor, who resolved everything when he found out.
- Shout-Out:
- "Blondon Bridge is falling down!" is a play on the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down".
- "I am your friend, Luke!"
- Sleepyhead: Merrick the crane is prone to dozing off.
- The Stinger: In the middle of the credits, Thomas stops at the Steamworks, where Luke and Victor surprise him by giving Rheneas yellow paintwork.
- That Came Out Wrong: The narrow gauge engines think Thomas blabbed about Luke because he starts his explanation with "I talked to Victor!"
- Third-Act Misunderstanding: The climax kicks off when the narrow gauge engines think Thomas spilled Luke's secret, despite Thomas' attempts to tell them what really happened.
- Wham Episode: The narrow gauge engines are finally back on the show as of this special, cementing their place back on Sodor.
- What the Hell, Hero?: When the narrow gauge engines think that Thomas blabbed about Luke, they give him a huge chewing out.
