Big World! Big Adventures!

"Two engines are much better than one, you know."

- Nia

'Big World! Big Adventures!' is a 2018 feature-length Thomas & Friends special. This is the fourteenth and final Thomas & Friends film of the original series.

Development
''Big World! Big Adventures!'', alongside the twenty-second series, marks the third major rebrand of the franchise, following the introduction of the Steam Team in the eighth series and the show switching over to full CGI in Hero of the Rails. Both productions were the masterminded concepts of Ian McCue and Micaela Winter and the result of the market research Mattel conducted with audiences around the globe.

It was about how Mattel could keep Thomas & Friends relevant in a competitive market, as well as reversing declining toy sales. The one suggestion Mattel was intrigued with came from a child declaring that "Trains can go places but Thomas never goes anywhere." This evolved into Thomas travelling around the globe and learning about different cultures.

Plot
Thomas is shunting at Knapford and struggles to shunt all oil tankers, which one has the breaks on. Gordon laughs at him teases him for being a small tank engine. Thomas vows that he one day will see the world and pushes hard into the tankers just as workmen loosen the breaks, causing them to derail.

Coming in from the Mainland, an Australian rally car follows a dirt road towards the Vicarstown Bridge alongside the Flying Scotsman. He asks him if he is going the right way to Sodor, which Scotsman confirms, but notes that it is only for trains. The rally car jumps a broken part of the fence and lands on the rails, following Scotsman over the bridge and drives sideways as Sidney approaches in the opposite direction.

At Knapford, the Fat Controller asks Thomas to take some stinking fish trucks to Vicarstown, which he is reluctant to do. The Fat Controller tells him that James is not available to do it, and Thomas reluctantly agrees. However, instead of taking them, he couples them to Gordon's express, as he is headed to Vicarstown.

The rally car continues along the dirt road to Ffarquhar, and passes Bertie on the way. He later meets Thomas in the way and introduces himself as Ace. He tells him of his racing and his motto of being free and easy. Thomas expresses his own desire to see the world, but points out that he has to follow the rails. Ace assures that rails exist all over the world and that he could be the first railway engine to travel the world. They then agree to a race to the station. There, Ace tells him that is scheduled to take part in a continental rally race over five different continents. Thomas asks if it is starting on Sodor, which Ace dismisses and says it starts in Africa, and that he is on Sodor to take a ship there. Encouraged by Ace's words, Thomas speeds out of the station before Bertie can let of his remaining passengers.

Arriving back at Knapford, Thomas presents the idea of travelling the world to the Fat Controller, who shares his enthusiasm, but does not directly agree to it happening. At Vicarstown, the Flying Scotsman and Gordon discover that the latter was pulling the stinky fish trucks behind the express, much to his dismay.

As the Fat Controller re-emerges form his office, Thomas is missing and all the other engines also express their worries, subsequently they begin to look for him, but he is nowhere to be found. The Fat Controller later asks Carly at Brendam Docks, who explains that she loaded Thomas onto a ship bound for Africa, noting that he allegedly had agreed to the idea of Thomas travelling the world, much to the Fat Controller's dismay.

Thomas travels with Ace to Senegal in Africa, where they continue their journey through the Sahara dessert. Once they arrive at the race starting line, the other rally cars laugh at the idea of Thomas having joined Ace to see the world. Ace argues that he never said that they were going together and that rails do not exist everywhere, much to Thomas' dismay. He leaves the scene as the race starts, before arriving at a yard and gets couples up to some trucks. Despite the yard manager's uncertainty of him being able to pull so many trucks, Thomas continues. As he goes, more and more trucks are coupled to his train, really showing the size of it.

Thomas arrives at yet another yard, where an orange tank engine laughs at him and offers to help him, which he dismisses, determined that he can manage by himself. However, once he reaches a steep hill, the orange engine arrives to help. She introduces herself as Nia, and decides to tag along with him, sharing advise and putting and inputs every once in a while. Thomas later finds it helpful, both from her and the trucks. Thomas also learns that they have traveled through several countries on their way to Dar es Salaam.

As they arrive in Dar es Salaam, the Fat Controller arrives in Senegal, asking around for Thomas. He eventually accepts the offer of travelling with camels through the Sahara desert, but becomes skeptical of the possibility of Thomas having travelled through there, since there are no rails. In Dar Ed Salaam, Nia meets a friend, Kwaku, and the two start a conversation before Thomas tries to ask him about Ace. He is successful in his second attempt, and Kwaku explains that the rally cars left on a ship bound for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Both Thomas and Nia are loaded onto another ship going to Brazil, but halfway there, Thomas discovers that Ace is in fact on their ship. He encourages Thomas to be more independent and decide for himself what he wants to do and not let any baggage drag him down.

As they arrive in Rio, the Fat Controller reaches Dar Ed Salaam, again asking around for Thomas. A crane tells him that he loaded Thomas on a ship bound for Rio, much to the Fat Controller's dismay. In Brazil, Ace heads out to his race in the Amazon rain forest and Thomas decides to follow him. However, he is not allowed to fill up on coal without having to leave with a train. He accepts to take a train of coffee to San Francisco, with Nia tagging along to help him. Even though they do not encounter Ace and other rally cars for some time, they eventually do and Thomas is determined to follow them. Nia tries to advise to fill up on water, but he ignores her, claiming she is jealous of Ace.

The rally cars later disappear for some time, before Thomas and Nia find Ace flipped onto his roof. He becomes frightened of an animal lurking around, revealed to be a monkey. Ace is loaded onto their train and they continue through the rain forest. Eventually Thomas runs out of water, to Ace's disappointment. Nia suggests that they could make a funnel out of leaves in order to take on rain water in their tanks, which their drivers do. Once filled up, they continue their journey. They later encounter mudded terrain and rush over the tracks before sinking into it. Their troubles are not over as they reach a bridge over a river, which collapses just as the last trucks make it over. With extra effort, Thomas and Nia pull the remaining trucks onto the tracks again.

The Fat Controller arrives in Rio de Janeiro and asks a diesel engine about Thomas. He confirms that he has seen him and that he was taking a train to San Francisco. Right afterwards, some locals drag the Fat Controller to join the carnival. He later sees a billboard sponsoring a plane, which he later flies with over the Amazon, looking for Thomas, without success.

Thomas, Nia and Ace eventually reach the United States, heading into the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Ace reminds Thomas to also have fun, noting that nothing of the sort has yet to happen. Nia teases Thomas about him not liking to go backwards, which he dismisses just as she forces the train backwards. Unlike their time in Africa, their train collides with an American diesel heading the same way as them. Nia apologises, but the American diesel assures her that she is ok. Ace later challenges them to a race, teasing them about not being able to drive separately. Thomas and Nia agrees and takes two parts of the train respectively. The two swap leads in the beginning, until Ace asks Thomas that they play a trick on Nia, which he agrees to. They take a different track along the cliff sides, which Ace explains leads to the salt flats, where the next race is scheduled to be held. Thomas collides with loose rocks and the train goes in a loop over the tracks before landing again. They pass an elderly tender engine, whose trucks detach and collides into theirs as they enter an old railroad mine and come through on the other side, derailing.

The elderly tender engine later arrives and Thomas asks him to fetch the breakdown train, which he is confused over. He explains that it in the desert they use man and horsepower when trains derail, or at worst, they are just left to rust. He departs, much to Thomas' dismay.

The Fat Controller arrives in San Francisco ahead of Thomas, thereby not having anyone to confirm to have seen him, however a diesel tells him that an orange tank engine delivered coffee from Brazil earlier. Defeated, the Fat Controller settles in at a local Sailor's Cafe.

The elderly tender engine arrives next morning with cowboys, cowgirls and horses to help re-rail Ace, Thomas and his train. Thomas thanks the engine before departing for the salt flats. As they arrive at the flats, Thomas changes his mind about seeing the world, and is now determined to find and apologise to Nia for the trick they played on her. As he grudgingly leaves, he wishes Ace good luck with his race.

Thomas eventually arrives in San Francisco and delivers his trucks. He asks a diesel shunter, Natalie, if she has seen Nia, which she confirms and that she was loaded onto a ship headed for China. Thomas heads over to a green crane and asks him to load him onto the next ship to China. Having heard Thomas' whistle from the Sailor's Cafe, the Fat Controller briefly becomes hopeful, but that quickly dies out when he thinks he must have imagined it.

Arriving in China, Thomas begins to long for his friendship with Nia and expresses regret of having played a trick on her. As he reverses into a yard with some coaches, Yong Bao arrives at the station and recognises him. He then asks Thomas about his presence in China, to which he explains that he is looking for a friend. As he describes Nia, a Chinese diesel comes past and tells him that Nia was headed to the Rainbow Mountains. As Thomas departs, Yong Bao shouts that he should use a snowplough while travelling the mountains. Thomas rushes up the snowy mountains and eventually spots Nia further up. He attempts to get her attention by shouting her name and whistling, but she ignores him. He then decides to apoligise, which finally draws her attention. She asks him if he thought it was right to trick her, which he admits it was not. She then asks if he means it with his apology, but just then a snow avalanche occurs and derails Nia, sending her down to Thomas' tracks before resting on the cliff. Thomas tries to save her himself, but quickly realises that he cannot do it. Just then, Yong Bao arrives and helps Thomas remain steady on the tracks until the breakdown train arrives to help Nia back on the tracks. After Nia is back on the tracks, Yong Bao asks them where they are headed. Thomas replies that they would be heading back to Sodor, to which Yong Bao says that it would require them to head through Asia and Europe.

Thomas and Nia head back to Sodor via other countries, stretching from India, Russia and other countries before arriving on the mainland and then heading to the Vicarstown Bridge. They stop on the mainland side and Thomas states that Nia should head home. She explains that her old shed is no more and that her home is not worthy of being a home anymore. Thomas concludes that she could settle down on Sodor and that the Fat Controller would accept it. As they arrive at Knapford, all the other engines along with Mr. Percival, who has been running the railway in the Fat Controller's absence, welcome them. However, Mr. Percival and Percy question why the Fat Controller is not with him, having thought that he would be had he finally found Thomas. Thomas is surprised that he went looking for him, all the while the now exhausted Fat Controller is now travelling on a ship to China, now asking if he has seen Thomas, which Ace overhears.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Oliver
 * Emily
 * Bill and Ben
 * Flying Scotsman
 * Rosie
 * Timothy
 * Marion
 * Sam
 * Carlos
 * Yong Bao
 * Diesel
 * Daisy
 * Sidney
 * Paxton
 * Philip
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Bertie
 * Harold
 * Captain
 * Cranky
 * Big Mickey
 * Carly
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Thin Clergyman
 * Dowager Hatt
 * Mr. Percival
 * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster
 * Stanley
 * Charlie
 * Connor
 * Porter
 * Vinnie
 * Rajiv
 * Mavis
 * 'Arry and Bert
 * Salty
 * Norman
 * Stafford
 * Winston
 * Henrietta
 * Sodor Brass Band
 * The Mayor of Sodor
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * Sailor John
 * Captain Joe
 * Fergus Duncan
 * The Fat Clergyman
 * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Family
 * The Teacher
 * The Bird Watcher
 * The Blond-haired Boy
 * Dowager Hatt's Friends
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher
 * The Lady with the Big Hat
 * The Grumpy Passenger
 * Albert's Wife
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer
 * The Great Railway Show Flagman
 * Ferdinand
 * Victor
 * Skiff
 * Bert

Characters Introduced

 * Nia
 * Kwaku
 * The Brazilian Steam Engine
 * Natalie
 * The Chinese Diesel
 * Ace
 * Angelique
 * Tony
 * Two Other Rally Cars
 * Cowboys and Cowgirls
 * Beau
 * Fernando
 * Emerson
 * Kobe
 * Cassia
 * Carter
 * The American Diesels
 * The Brown Tender Engine
 * The Grey Tender Engine
 * The White Tank Engine
 * The Maroon Tank Engine
 * The Orange Chinese Engine
 * Shankar
 * The Orange and Blue Diesel
 * The Chinese Breakdown Cranes
 * Charubala
 * Ace's Driver
 * The Batucada Players

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Knapford
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Knapford Station Yard
 * Annie and Clarabel's Shed
 * Knapford Yards
 * Vicarstown
 * Vicarstown Bridge
 * Road and Rail Runby and Road Bridge
 * Conrad's Bridge
 * Ffarquhar
 * Ffarquhar Quarry
 * Mavis' Shed
 * Maron
 * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
 * The High Bridge
 * Maura
 * Arlesburgh Harbour
 * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's House
 * Whistling Woods
 * Hiro's Hideout
 * Crosby Tunnel
 * Sodor China Clay Company
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Arlesburgh Goods Yard
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * The Lead Mines
 * Harwick
 * Arlesburgh West
 * Arlesdale
 * Ulfstead Castle
 * Tidmouth
 * Wellsworth
 * Blue Mountain Quarry
 * Ballahoo
 * Norramby
 * Vicarstown Dieselworks
 * Sodor Castle
 * The Mainland
 * Buckingham Palace
 * Big Ben
 * The Steelworks
 * The Great Railway Show
 * Barrow-in-Furness
 * Senegal
 * Dakar Docks
 * Egypt
 * Mauritania
 * The Sahara
 * Mauritanian Railway Shunting Yard
 * The Mauritanian Station
 * Kenya
 * Kenyan Railway Shunting Yard
 * Nia's Old Shed
 * Tanzania
 * Dar es Salaam Docks
 * Brazil
 * Rio de Janeiro
 * Guanabara Bay
 * Amazon Rainforest
 * Colombia
 * Colombian Village
 * Mexico
 * Mexican Yard
 * United States
 * Morenci Loop
 * Grand Canyon
 * San Francisco Docks
 * Sailor's Cafe
 * Bonneville Salt Flats
 * New York City
 * China
 * Great Wall of China
 * Cherry Blossom Runby
 * Chang Jiang River
 * The First Chinese Station
 * The Chinese Railway Bridge
 * Zhangye Danxia
 * Himalayas
 * India
 * Indian Railway Shunting Yard
 * Taj Mahal
 * Italy
 * Leaning Tower of Pisa
 * The Colosseum
 * Venice
 * Russia
 * Red Square
 * France
 * Eiffel Tower
 * Easter Island
 * Australia
 * The Outback
 * Uluru
 * Antarctica
 * Niger
 * Japan
 * Tokyo
 * Misty Island
 * Ireland

UK, IRL, AUS, NZ, MYS and ZA

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, Harold, Bertie, Captain, the Fat Controller, Dowager Hatt and Mr. Percival
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Toby, Donald, Sam, Big Mickey, the Thin Clergyman and the Senegal Race Announcer
 * Nigel Pilkington as Percy
 * Steven Kynman as Duck and Paxton
 * Joe Mills as Douglas and Oliver
 * Tim Whitnall as Bill, Timothy and a Moai Head
 * Matt Wilkinson as Ben, Cranky, Tony and Carter
 * Rufus Jones as the Flying Scotsman
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Marion, Daisy, Natalie, the American Diesel, Cassia and Annie and Clarabel
 * Nicola Stapleton as Rosie
 * Kerry Shale as Beau and Diesel
 * Bob Golding as Sidney
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly and the Cowgirls
 * Dan Li as Yong Bao
 * Gabriel Porras as Carlos, Fernando, Emerson, the Coffee Trucks and Various South American Voices
 * Su-Lin Looi as the Chinese Diesel
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Patricia Kihoro as Nia's singing voice
 * Rachael Miller as Angelique
 * Abubakar Salim as Kwaku, the African Troublesome Trucks, Kobe and Various African Voices
 * Richie Campbell as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
 * Akiya Henry as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
 * Chipo Chung as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
 * Dona Adwera as Various African Voices
 * Peter Andre as Ace
 * David Menkin as Racing Car 3 and the Cowboys
 * Christopher Ragland as Racing Car 4 and the Cowboys

US and CAN

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * William Hope as Edward and Toby
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, Beau, Diesel, Harold and Mr. Percival
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Donald, Sam, Big Mickey, the Thin Clergyman and the Senegal Race Announcer
 * Christopher Ragland as Percy, Racing Car 4 and the Cowboys
 * Steven Kynman as Duck and Paxton
 * Joe Mills as Douglas and Oliver
 * Tim Whitnall as Bill, Timothy and a Moai Head
 * Matt Wilkinson as Ben, Tony and Carter
 * Rufus Jones as the Flying Scotsman
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily
 * Nicola Stapleton as Rosie
 * Teresa Gallagher as Marion, Daisy, Natalie, the American Diesel, Cassia and Annie and Clarabel
 * Bob Golding as Sidney
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Keith Wickham as Bertie, Captain, Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt
 * Glenn Wrage as Cranky
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly and the Cowgirls
 * Dan Li as Yong Bao
 * Gabriel Porras as Carlos, Fernando, Emerson, the Coffee Trucks and Various South American Voices
 * Su-Lin Looi as the Chinese Diesel
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Patricia Kihoro as Nia's singing voice
 * Rachael Miller as Angelique
 * Abubakar Salim as Kwaku, the African Troublesome Trucks, Kobe and Various African Voices
 * Richie Campbell as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
 * Akiya Henry as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
 * Chipo Chung as the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices
 * Dona Adwera as Various African Voices
 * Peter Andre as Ace
 * David Menkin as Racing Car 3 and the Cowboys

Songs

 * Where in the World is Thomas?
 * Wake Up
 * Enda Ulale
 * We're Friends
 * Free and Easy
 * Sometimes You Make a Friend
 * We're Friends (Reprise)

UK/IRL/US/AUS/NZ

 * Music Videos
 * Meet the Characters! - Nia, Beau, Ace and Yong Bao

Trivia

 * This film ties in with the twenty-second series.
 * This film scored a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes and is the lowest score of any Thomas movie.
 * This special takes place between Journey Beyond Sodor and the twenty-second series; as a result, this is the first production under the new rebrand.
 * This is the third musical special, the first being The Great Race, and the second being Journey Beyond Sodor.
 * This is the longest direct-to-DVD film to date at a total runtime of eighty minutes. It is also the second-longest Thomas production after Thomas and the Magic Railroad at 85 minutes (110 minutes if left uncut).
 * The spine on the DVD release of this special reuses an image of Thomas from the previous film, Journey Beyond Sodor.
 * Yvonne Grundy, Patricia Kihoro, Peter Andre, Dan Li, Gabriel Porras, Su-Lin Looi, Rachael Miller, Abubakar Salim, Richie Campbell, Akiya Henry, Chipo Chung and Dona Adwera join the voice cast.
 * Part of the original theme is recreated when Thomas, Nia and Ace rescue the train as a danger theme.
 * This special is the first of several things:
 * The first special in the US not to get released on DVD until a year after.
 * The first film fully animated by Jam Filled Toronto.
 * The first Thomas & Friends production without Mark Moraghan since he was cast as the narrator in 2013.
 * The first time a new Steam Team member is introduced since the seventh series episode, Emily's New Coaches.
 * The first time where engines numbered 1-12 speak since Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, as well as being the first time since said special to introduce a new engine to work on Sodor.
 * The first special in which Matt Wilkinson voiced Ben since Jonathan Broadbent's departure from the series at some point in 2017 or 2018.
 * The first and only special in which Tim Whitnall voices Bill.
 * The first special in which the Sodor Steamworks does not appear since its introduction in Hero of the Rails. However, it was present in the background of a portrait of Victor from the thirteenth series episode, Percy's Parcel inside Sir Topham Hatt's office. A portrait of Thomas from the thirteenth series episode, Creaky Cranky is also seen there.
 * Yong Bao, Carlos, Vinnie and Rajiv's first appearances since their debuts in The Great Race.
 * Yong Bao, Big Mickey and the Thin Clergyman's first speaking roles in a special. It also marks Yong Bao's first speaking role in the main franchise.
 * Sam's first and only appearance in the series rather than an online promotional video.
 * The first DVD released in the US since Christmas on Sodor.
 * The first US DVD since Thomas and the Magic Railroad to include subtitles.
 * The first DVD released in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland since Wobbly Wheels and Whistles.
 * The first special dubbed in Swedish, Danish and Finnish since Tale of the Brave.
 * The first special dubbed in Norwegian since Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
 * The first special not released on DVD in South Korea since King of the Railway.
 * The first special not showed on theatrical in South Korea since Day of the Diesels.
 * The first special not dubbed the songs in South Korea since Day of the Diesels.
 * The first special where Shin Yong-u, Um Sang-hyun, Jeon Tae-yeol and Kim Eun-a as part of the voice cast in South Korea since King of the Railway.
 * The first special that the word "Mainland" is translated in Korean since King of the Railway.
 * The first special production dubbed in Tamil and Telugu.
 * The first Thomas production without a narrator, a feature that will return in the reboot.
 * The first time a subway was mentioned in the show.
 * The first special since Calling All Engines! to have an exclamation mark in its title.
 * This special was also the first time for many crew members:
 * Tigh Walker's first production as art director.
 * Shannon Nettleton's first production as executive in charge of production.
 * Sarah Serata's first production as production supervisor.
 * Meagan Borosch's first production as assistant production manager.
 * Mike Kirkwood's first production as assistant editor.
 * Alexandra Morgan's first production as on-line editor.
 * Holly Churches' first production as post-production coordinator.
 * Flynn Jarvis' first production as production intern.
 * The Royal African Society's first production as cultural consultant.
 * This special also marks the only occurrences of a many things:
 * The only appearances of Kwaku, the Brazilian Tank Engine, Beau, the Orange Chinese Tender Engine, Natalie, the American Diesels, the Female Breakdown Crane (not counting a mentioned appearance in Runaway Car), Angelique, Tony, the Other Rally Cars, Kobe, Carter, Ace's Driver and the Cowboys and Cowgirls.
 * The only film in which Samson, Bert, Rex and Mike do not appear since their introductions in the eighteenth series and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
 * The only film where Connor appears without Caitlin.
 * Nia and Carly's only appearances in the original series special.
 * Big Mickey's only speaking role in a special.
 * Sam, Shankar and the Male Chinese Breakdown Crane's only appearances in a special.
 * The only film to have Micaela Winter as producer, as well as the last special written by Andrew Brenner, prior to their departures from Mattel in 2018.
 * The only film to not have any narration.
 * The only special to have Baek Kyung-hoon and Lee Je-in as part of the voice cast in South Korea. While being the only production not to do so until the reboot, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!
 * This special marks the last of many things:
 * Donald, Douglas, Timothy, Sam, Vinnie, Mavis, Stafford, the Sodor Brass Band, the Fat Clergyman, the Male Puppet Show Entertainer, the Ffarquhar Stationmaster and his Family and Sailor John's last appearances, although Stafford is only mentioned in the twenty-fourth series episode, Kenji on the Rails Again and Timothy was only indirectly mentioned in the twenty-second series episode, Hunt the Truck.
 * Edward, Toby, Duck, Donald, Douglas, Oliver, Bill, Ben, Flying Scotsman, Rosie, Stanley, Charlie, Porter, Connor, Timothy, Marion, Vinnie, Carlos, Rajiv, Yong Bao, Daisy, Mavis, 'Arry, Bert, Salty, Sidney, Paxton, Norman, Philip, Stafford, Winston, Henrietta Bertie, Captain, Big Mickey and Sailor John's last appearances in a special to date.
 * Thomas, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Diesel, the Troublesome Trucks, Annie, Clarabel, Harold, Cranky, Carly, and Sir Topham Hatt's last appearances in an original series special.
 * Emily's last speaking role in a special until The Mystery of Lookout Mountain in All Engines Go.
 * Henry, James, Annie, Clarabel, and Harold's last speaking roles in a special.
 * Connor's last appearance until the twenty-fourth series episode, Thomas and the Royal Engine.
 * Mr. Percival, the Small Controller, and Oliver's last appearances until the twenty-fourth series episode, The Great Little Railway Show, as well as Oliver's last speaking role to date.
 * The last appearance of the Sodor China Clay Company to date, not counting a mention in the twenty-second series episode, Hunt the Truck.
 * The final Thomas film and feature-length special in the CGI era, as for the next 2 years, the specials are double length episodes until feature-length specials were re-introduced in the reboot, All Engines Go.
 * The final original series DVD release and therefore the final original series physical home media release in the US.
 * The final special made using CGI animation.
 * This special aired on TV:
 * On Nickelodeon US on 7th September 2018 and on Treehouse TV on 13th October 2018. The special later re-aired on Nick Jr. in the US on 13th September 2018 and on 19th April 2019.
 * On ABC Kids in Australia on Christmas Eve 2018 and 12 January 2020.
 * On Milkshake! in the UK on New Year's Day 2019.
 * On Disney Channel in India, the Where in the World is Thomas? song and Dakar Docks scene are removed, because it heard the song in the end credits.
 * On the RTÉ Jr block on RTÉ 2 in Ireland, the special aired on Saturday 17 August 2019 from 8:25am-10:00am.
 * A CGI recreation of a scene of the second series episode, Thomas Comes to Breakfast is used during the song, "Where in the World is Thomas?" as references to said episode, the first series episodes, Thomas and the Trucks, The Sad Story of Henry and Down the Mine, the second series episode, Percy Takes the Plunge, the third series episode, Toby's Tightrope, the fourth series episode, Bulldog, the seventh series episode Percy Gets it Right, the seventeenth series episode, Thomas' Shortcut, and the specials, Hero of the Rails, Misty Island Rescue, and Journey Beyond Sodor are made.
 * A reference to the special, The Great Race is made.
 * A reused voice clip of Rob Rackstraw from the Meet the Contenders videos is used for the Senegal Race Announcer.
 * Pictures of the Suddery Coastal Village from the third series and of Donald and Douglas with the pirate ship from Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, along with an edited picture of Skiff and Sailor John from the latter, with John made to look like another sailor and Skiff being recoloured red with his face removed, appear inside the Sailor's Cafe in San Francisco. Another reference to Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure is made during the song "Where In the World is Thomas?" when Percy is thinking that he fell into the ocean due to passing a danger sign.
 * Re-textures of Edward, Henry, Oliver, Ryan, Raul, Dart, Ivan, the Mainland Diesels, Frankie, Bert, Judy/Jerome, Beresford, Carly and Big Mickey appear.
 * Bertie is heard singing Somebody Has to be the Favourite before Ace races past him.
 * The scrap engine that Beau was talking about was reused from Bert's model.
 * Ace breaks the fourth wall at the beginning of the film by winking at the camera and saying "G'day!" to the audience.
 * Sailor John's model is reused for one of the patrons in the Sailor's Cafe at San Francisco.
 * The special was nominated by the 2019 Kidscreen Awards for the Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie.
 * This special aired in a private cinema on the NSW/VIC border of Australia.
 * A deleted scene shows that Carlos mistook Ace for a sun worshipper and shows him what their faces look like once he deploys the Aztec calendar around his face. The view made Ace wait anxiously for the green signal. It is unknown why it was cut. However, it was possibly cut due to being offensive to some viewers.
 * According to The Fan Carpet, the film took twenty-one months to produce, nine months to animate and took over 9,500 hours of animation to complete. As such, this production took the longest time out of any Thomas & Friends production to date, to which possibly started in mid-2016 and ended in February 2018.
 * The US DVD is the last DVD of two things
 * The last US DVD released under the name of Mattel Creations before being renamed to Mattel Television.
 * The last US home media release until Time for Teamwork!
 * During "Wake Up", Thomas could be seen with grey smoke forming a cloud above him, a reference to the gloom cloud in many cartoons.
 * Ajim's Owner can be heard singing a verse of "This is the Way the Ladies Ride" during the Sahara Desert scene.
 * In prototype biographies of Beau, it is said that Thomas saved him after he was abandoned. However, this is sort of swapped, as Beau saves Thomas after his crash.
 * An official Thomas & Friends magazine incorrectly states that Thomas meets Rebecca on the Mainland in the film. This idea was most likely dropped during production.
 * In the Korean version of this special:
 * "'The Great Railway Show" was not translated while The Great Race translated it as "기차 선발 대회." (gicha seonbal daehoe).
 * Was initially intended to be shown in theaters but instead was released on VOD.
 * The title was just a transcription to Hangul of the "Big World Adventure."
 * All seven songs that can be heard in the middle of the movie were not dubbed in Korean, but its English dubbing as it was. The reason for this is because the production team said that it does not tamper the original song that touches the characteristics of each continent, but it is to deliver it to the domestic children's audience.
 * It was the last special imported, produced and dubbed in Korean by KBS Media in South Korea as well as the last special to have Korean subtitles.
 * The engines and the crowd of people cheering welcoming Thomas home could possibly have similarities to the Railway Series book and story Thomas Comes Home.
 * The Turkish version deleted some of the scenes from Where in the World is Thomas?
 * According to Henning Stegelmann, the German dub of this film was commissioned by Super RTL back in 2018 and Stegelmann wrote the dubbing script, but the project was cancelled due to being too expensive. Months later, Justbridge Entertainment acquired the rights and decided to release the film in theatres, starting in January 2020.
 * In an early test trailer, several scenes were different and some footage is omitted from the final film, such as:
 * Thomas meets Nia near a signal box and a water tower in Kenya.
 * Thomas pulls the goods train through Africa whilst passing a herd of giraffes and a fence.
 * When Thomas and his goods train are pushed up the Kenyan hill, several other trucks are included.
 * Thomas and Nia passing through the carnival in Brazil.
 * In The United States, Thomas passes by the Golden Gate Bridge.
 * In China, Thomas escapes from an avalanche instead of Nia being trapped in one.
 * Stock footage from Tale of the Brave and Blue Mountain Mystery is used.
 * The lighting looks more realistic and a bit more like the lighting in Journey Beyond Sodor.
 * Bertie can be heard singing "Somebody Has to be the Favourite" briefly before Ace almost collides with him.

Goofs

 * In both dubs, Joe Mills is not credited for voicing Douglas and Oliver.
 * At the start of the movie, Thomas was trying to push five tankers, including one that was a different colour from the others. Yet when Thomas crashes them, there are only three, and they are all the same colour. Thomas then has four when Gordon states that Sodor is his world.
 * In the high-angle shot of Ace performing road doughnuts, the signals in the upper right-hand corner are transparent and floating.
 * When Ace jumps over the fence near Flying Scotsman, his front bumper clips through the rails as he lands. When he lands, his wheels stop moving.
 * Sidney switches tracks between shots. He should have almost crashed into the Flying Scotsman, not Ace.
 * When Thomas derails the tankers, his side rod does not move, resulting in both it and his wheels being out of place.
 * In one shot at Knapford, the brake van behind Gordon's fish trucks disappears.
 * A workman uncouples Thomas from the tankers when they are derailed, but in the next scene, he is still coupled to them.
 * When at Knapford Station, the fish trucks are shown to have no faces, but at Vicarstown Station, they have gained faces.
 * At Vicarstown Station, Connor does not have pupils.
 * When Thomas enters Knapford Station, the town's road is lopsided.
 * "Where in the World is Thomas?" has a few animation errors:
 * When Percy enters the yard at the beginning of the song, a loading bay can be seen beside him but in the next shot, it is gone.
 * In the overhead shot of Knapford Yards, Norman, Stanley and Stafford's eyes are not animated and appear closed.
 * During Toby's line in the song, Henrietta is grey instead of brown-orange.
 * Although Bill was voiced by Tim Whitnall, Bill's voice sounds much deeper than it does in later instances.
 * Ben's body has been raised noticeably higher compared to his chassis so his buffers are touching the ones on the truck he was pushing.
 * After Nia says "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Thomas' train disappears before the scene changes. Thomas' very long train in this scene has a brake van at the end of the train, but for the rest of the time it is on screen, it is absent.
 * In one of the ending scenes of the song, "Wake Up!" visibly, an oil/diesel tanker's wheel clips through its own buffer beam when Nia gets a close-up.
 * When Kwaku speaks to Thomas, the paint on Thomas' right tank is chipped.
 * In the wide shot of Guanabara Bay upon Thomas and Nia's arrival, the train pulled by the grey tender engine has a narrow gauge brake van.
 * In the wide shot of Thomas looking at all the coffee trucks, a lamp in the background is floating.
 * Ace clips through a bush when he is racing in the Amazon.
 * When Carlos whistles, no steam emits.
 * Kobe tells Sir Topham Hatt that he loaded Thomas onto the ship to Brazil, when earlier in the special, the faceless grey crane near him was shown to actually be the one loading the engines.
 * In some scenes in Colombia in "Free and Easy," Thomas' footplate is blue instead of white.
 * In the wide shot of Sir Topham Hatt talking to Fernando at Guanabara Bay, Cassia and the pink hammerhead crane are missing.
 * When Beau arrives to rescue Thomas and Ace, his flatbed is in front of him. But when Thomas is preparing to leave, Beau's flatbed now is behind his tender.
 * When Beau says "Happy trails," there is no whistle sound despite his whistle having animated steam.
 * When Thomas crashes into Beau's train, it shows a brake van at the end, but Beau is an American engine, so there should be none.
 * When Nia first hears Thomas calling her name in the Himalayas, her snowplough is clipping through her buffers.
 * When Nia falls off the cliff, she simply closes her eyes, but the sound designers seemingly mistook this as her whistling and added her whistle sound effect. As a result, no steam emits when she "whistles."
 * When Yong Bao saves Thomas and Nia, the chain between the latter two clips through his snowplough.
 * In the UK dub, when James and Emily say, "Welcome to Sodor!" they have their US voices.
 * The audio for the US DVD is in a lower pitch.
 * The US DVD subtitles credit the line "He wouldn't last an hour!" to Annie as opposed to Dowager Hatt.
 * In the German audiobook, the narrator refers to the Flying Scotsman as "the Flying Kipper" and Tidmouth Sheds is called a "garage."
 * When Thomas returns to Knapford with Nia, he passes the switching tracks repeatedly.
 * A line of trucks in a siding directly besides Thomas disappears in the shot after the trucks say "We're home."
 * The wheels on a flatbed on the train of coffee was moving backwards during the "We're Friends" song. It is most noticeable right before the trucks start singing. Sometimes the wheels on the trucks are moving either way too slowly or not moving at all.
 * Thomas' wheels were moving backwards after he says "Good luck in the rally, Ace."

Books

 * Big World! Big Adventures!
 * Thomas in Africa/Friends Around the World
 * Big World! Big Adventures! Movie Storybook

Wood

 * Nia
 * Yong Bao
 * Beau
 * Ace

Adventures

 * Thomas and Ace the Racer
 * Nia

TrackMaster

 * Thomas and Ace the Racer
 * Nia and the Elephant
 * Yong Bao the Hero
 * Boat and Sea Set
 * Turbo Jungle Set
 * Around the World 3-Pack

Motor Road and Rail

 * Yong Bao
 * Thomas and Nia and Ace Go! Go! Adventure Set

Minis

 * Nia
 * Yong Bao

Motorized Railway

 * Nia
 * Raul
 * Railway Rainbow Mountain Set
 * Raul's Busy Day

Railway Pals

 * Nia
 * Yong Bao

Mega Bloks

 * Nia
 * Travel Sticker Thomas

Tomica

 * Nia
 * Ace

Capsule Plarail

 * Leaf Funnel Thomas
 * Nia
 * Yong Bao
 * Racing Thomas
 * Grass Painting Thomas
 * Ace
 * Coffee Bean Truck

US

 * 10-Movie Birthday Collection

Australia

 * 75th Anniversary Collection