Tale of the Brave is the 2014 Thomas & Friends special.
Thomas discovers some mysterious footprints at the clay pits, and Percy thinks a monster has appeared on the island.
Tale of the Brave contains examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: We see Cranky load Percy onto Gator's ship, but Gator tells Percy that running away from his problems is cowardly. We cut to Thomas realising that Percy is trying to leave Sodor, so he rushes to Brendam Docks and tells Cranky to stop the ship... then it turns out Percy already got off.
- Big Bad: James, of all people is this in the film, as he scares Percy with "The Scrap Monster" to get revenge on him.
- Continuity Nod:
- There's a reference from "Up, Up, and Away" when Percy tells Thomas "Guess what!" he says, "Umm... let's see... have you been asked to deliver a giant balloon on a flatbed?"
- Near the beginning, the Fat Controller is commending Bill and Ben for their bravery in saving Thomas from a landslide. He mentions that "While they may be better known for playing tricks on their fellow engines...", Gordon grumbles "You can say that again." under his breath.
- When Percy stops at the sign warning engines about landslides, the narrator states that Percy had trouble with going past danger signs before.
- Creative Closing Credits: The credits show pictures of the characters amidst some footprints set to the song "Let's Be Brave".
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Early on, when Thomas is asking the other engines in the China Clay Pits which animals could make footprints like the ones he saw, Marion starts rambling about dinosaurs. Later, Thomas concludes that the footprints were just his imagination, but it turns out there really was a dinosaur fossil in the Clay Pits.
- Darker and Edgier: This movie is much more mature and even a bit more frightening than the typical Thomas movie.
- A Day in the Limelight: Thomas, Percy and James have their first trio role.
- Digital Destruction: Like Blue Mountain Mystery, US releases slow down the movie to 25 fps, resulting in distorted audio. The iTunes release averts it.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The last third of "Monsters Everywhere" becomes this.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Thomas' reaction when Bill and Ben spook him and towards James' scrap monster prank on Percy.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Percy finally faces his fears to save James, proving his valour once and for all to his delight.
- Hypocrite: Henry returns from the mainland to thank James for pulling The Flying Kipper noting "You're supposed to deliver the fish, not throw it back in the water." This from the engine who ended up in the exact same position in season 5's Something In The Air.
- Jerkass: James is at his worst here, he decides to scare Percy with a pile of scrap and teases him about it.
- Jump Scare: Bill and Ben give one to Thomas, which he disapproves.
- Mood Whiplash: Full of these, such as James pondering about Gator before getting switched into the scrap heap sidings and facing a scrap truck which looks like a monster and Percy reassuring himself that monsters don't exist only to run into a "monster" made from scrap.
- Mythology Gag:
- The opening premise of the film, where Thomas' Branch Line is closed due to bridgework and Thomas is sent to work with Bill and Ben, is very similar to The Railway Series's book Thomas and the Twins.
- When Sir Topham Hatt talks to Percy, he is called away with the exact same line ("Excuse me, sir, you are wanted on the telephone".) as his butler says in "Thomas in Trouble", and his response ("Bother that telephone!") is also the same.
- There's an angle of James rushing through Wellsworth with the Flying Kipper is the same as when James rushed through Maron in "Dirty Objects".
- When James has his accident with The Flying Kipper, it is similar to Henry's accident from "Something in the Air". Henry even remarks that James was "supposed to deliver the fish, not throw them back in the water" which is similar to what Sir Topham Hatt told Henry in the same episode.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: When James refuses to help him search for Percy, Thomas slyly asks him if he's scared. Gilligan Cut to James leading the search.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Percy gets upset at the other engines not believing him about the monster, especially Thomas. Despite Thomas' attempts to explain, Percy refuses to listen and contemplates leaving Sodor.
- Poorly Lit Pareidolia: The entire plot involves Percy being afraid of a monster which is actually just a heap of scrap.
- Shout-Out:
- The scene of the Fat Controller's silhouette walking on-screen in the intro is similar to that of the intro from Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
- Marion makes a reference to William Shakespeare's Hamlet when she catches the fossil of the dinosaur skull in her bucket and exclaims "Alas, poor dinosaur", similar to what Hamlet said as he held a human skull in his hand and said, "Alas poor Yorick, I knew thy well".
- Shown Their Work: If you listen closely, you can hear the Earl identify the dinosaur skeleton as Megalosaurus, which is found in the British Isles in real life.
- So Proud of You: After the storm, Sir Topham Hatt commends Bill and Ben for their bravery.
- That Came Out Wrong: Thomas asks Bill and Ben, if they were playing a trick on him before the rock-slide at the start of the film. Bill and Ben take offense to it, thinking he was talking about the rock-slide, which they "risked their boilers" to rescue him from. When Thomas actually meant if they had anything to do with the giant footprints he had seen before it.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: James' role is much more mischevious and troublemaking here.
- Triumphant Reprise: The "Our Tale Of The Brave" song plays during the scene as Percy is working, but the lyrics are ironic. During the end credits, it is given a more unironic, triumphant fashion, "Let's Be Brave", which shows Thomas, Percy and James have faced their fears.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Thomas calls James out on using a big pile of scrap to scare Percy and urges him to apologize.
Thomas: James, what's that?
James: Nothing! It's just the car of scrap that was left on the line.
Thomas: (gasps) James! You played a trick on Percy! You made a monster out of scrap to give him a fright!
James: So what if I did? It was only a little joke!
Thomas: Not to Percy it wasn't! Percy is your friend! You need to find him, tell him what you did, and apologize!
(James puffs away, feeling guilty)- Gator gives a much gentler, more sympathetic one to Percy when he tries to stow away with him on his ship home, warning him that running away from his problems isn't very brave.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Basically Gator's message to Percy. .
