Thomas' Animal Ark

"Calm down, James. It's Christmas, remember? The season of goodwill to everyone." "Even ostriches!"

- The Fat Controller and Thomas

Thomas' Animal Ark is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-second series.

Plot
It is Christmas Eve on the Island of Sodor, and Thomas is busy taking a small goods train down the line while clearing the tracks with his snowplough when he approaches the Sodor Animal Park and finds Headkeeper Jack standing on the platform with one of the park's monkeys. When Thomas asks if everything is alright, Headkeeper Jack explains that the boiler for the animals' winter house has broken down, and without it, the animals that come from warm places like India and Africa will not be able to stay warm during the winter. After Thomas has a daydream about how they could keep the animals warm without the boiler, Headkeeper Jack explains that he sent Emily down to Brendam Docks to pick up the new boiler, but he has been waiting for hours. Seeing as he is on his way down to the docks with his goods train, Thomas offers to check for Headkeeper Jack and departs for the docks.

At the docks, Emily is with Carly, but the ship carrying the new boiler has not come into the port yet. When Emily argues about its whereabouts, Carly explains that the snowstorm is to blame as many ships are not able to reach their destinations because of it and worries that the boiler will not arrive until after Christmas. Overhearing this as he pulled into the docks next to Emily, Thomas realizes this is an emergency, and not waiting for his train to be uncoupled, rushes out of the docks, past the Animal Park, and heads straight to Knapford to tell the Fat Controller.

Startling the Fat Controller, as he was placing the Christmas star on the tree outside his office, Thomas is reprimanded for it, before explaining the situation about the Animal Park. Learning of the situation for the animals, the Fat Controller ponders on where they could be sent to stay warm until the new boiler arrives, before taking Henry's suggestion to have the animals taken to the Steamworks to stay warm as his own, and assigns Thomas the duty of gathering any empty trucks he can find and use them to transport the animals to the Steamworks. As Thomas departs to carry out his orders, Percy wishes that the animals could stay at Tidmouth Sheds with the engines as that would be the best Christmas gift he could ever have. Unbeknownst to him or Henry, the Christmas star that the Fat Controller was trying to put up glows as he makes his wish.

Back at the Animal Park, Thomas loads up the giraffes, elephants, monkeys, zebras, ostriches, and camels, and with Headkeeper Jack riding in the cab with his driver and fireman, Thomas sets off for the Steamworks. However, he soon finds a tunnel leading to the Steamworks blocked by a heavy snowdrift that he cannot punch through and opts for an alternate plan he thought of.

As Thomas heads for his alternate destination, he passes Rebecca, warning her of the blocked tunnel, while she warns him of heavy snowdrifts ahead. Thomas soon finds himself speeding down the hill, only to see a large snowdrift ahead that he hits dead-on, bringing him to a stop, but none of the animals, nor Headkeeper Jack and Thomas' crew, are hurt, but Thomas is unable to push through due to the icy rails. Luckily, remembering when he was derailed while working on the Indian Railway, Thomas has the elephants use their strength to help push him through the snowdrift, allowing them to continue on their way.

That evening, the rest of the Steam Team are back at Tidmouth Sheds, with Percy still upset about the animals, until he hears Thomas' whistle, and is immediately overjoyed by what he sees backing into Thomas' berth: Thomas, with his train full of the animals from the Animal Park, much to James and Gordon's disbelief and shock. Though Thomas explains the animals will be warm with them thanks to their boilers, Gordon and James are still against the very thought, but Percy is happy his Christmas wish came true.

The next morning, which is Christmas, the Fat Controller arrives at the sheds to wake up the Steam Team, wishing them a Merry Christmas, and that all the tracks are being cleared. When there is no response, the Fat Controller creaks open the doors of Thomas' berth to look inside and is stunned to see all the animals inside with the Steam Team. Thomas explains this was his backup plan when he could not reach the Steamworks, and all the engines were in agreement, though James still voices his discomfort with them, especially the ostrich resting on his front end. The Fat Controller assures him that the new boiler arrived earlier that morning, so the animals can return home to the Animal Park soon, but then Percy notices something under James' smokebox that Headkeeper Jack notices as well: The ostrich laid an egg, and Headkeeper Jack explains that it will have to stay there until it hatches, much to James' disbelief. However, the Fat Controller tells him to calm down, reminding him that it is Christmas, the season of goodwill to everyone, even animals, before another ostrich has some fun taking the Fat Controller's top hat to wear itself, much to his discomfort and the Steam Team's amusement.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Nia
 * Rebecca
 * Carly
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Headkeeper Jack
 * Cranky
 * Big Mickey

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Duck Pond
 * Sodor Animal Park
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Knapford
 * Crosby Tunnel
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * India
 * Africa

UK

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Henry, Gordon and the Fat Controller
 * Rob Rackstraw as James
 * Nigel Pilkington as Percy
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly
 * Kerry Shale as Headkeeper Jack

US and CAN

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon and Headkeeper Jack
 * Rob Rackstraw as James
 * Christopher Ragland as Percy
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly
 * Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the eleventh episode of the twenty-second series.
 * According to Ian McCue, this episode was originally written for the twenty-first series, but was later moved and reworked into the format of the twenty-second series after the twenty-first series was cut short. This would explain why Henry looks sad when Percy wishes that the animals would stay at Tidmouth Sheds, as he was to stay there prior to the development of Big World! Big Adventures!.
 * A reference to the episode Trusty Trunky is made.
 * Throughout the episode, the tune to "Deck the Halls" can be heard at various points.
 * This is the only episode of the twenty-second series to feature an extra scene within the life lesson, being a sequence of an open Tidmouth Sheds' berth at night and James adoring the newly hatched baby ostrich.
 * This episode marks the last time James appears without his twenty-third series details that he lacks.
 * The episode title is a reference to the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
 * The baby deer slipping on the ice at the beginning of the episode is most likely a reference to the Disney movie Bambi.
 * On the Nick Jr. US airing of this episode, it was paired with Kangaroo Christmas. Both episodes were released in the US exactly one year after The Christmas Coffeepot and Terence Breaks the Ice premiered on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. US.

Goofs

 * When Thomas rushes by Headkeeper Jack and says "Can't stop," the running board of the fourth truck in his train is missing.

UK/AUS

 * Monkey Trouble!

GER

 * Big World! Big Adventures! - News from Sodor