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For other uses, see Henry's Forest (disambiguation).
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“Listen. Can you hear a strange whistling sound?"
"It's the wind blowing outside our shed but I've never heard it like this before."
"Do you know, if Gordon wasn't here now, I'd say it was him thundering by with the express?”
― Thomas, Toby and James talking about the wind

Henry's Forest is the ninth episode of the third series. It is based on the magazine stories Clearing Up and the story of the same name written by Andrew Brenner.

Plot

Henry has lived on the Island of Sodor for many years and would not want to live anywhere else. He likes every part of it from the flowery fields to the beaches with white sand but there is one place that he enjoys visiting more than any other: the forest. Henry remembers the day long ago when he and Toby had brought some new trees to be planted and Terence and Trevor had helped to haul them into place.

One night, everything changes as an autumn storm rages across the island. All the engines in the sheds are talking about the wind blowing outside, except for Henry, who hopes that it will not harm the forest. By morning, the winds have gone but severe damage has been done to the forest. Henry is sent to help Donald clear the line of trees. The big green engine feels very devastated by all the damage done in his forest and now wonders what will happen to all the animals who have lived there.

Henry's trucks are loaded with logs to be taken to the timber mill, where they are recycled to become furniture and other things. Henry is pleased that the wood will be put to good use but he is still sad to lose a section of the place that meant so much to him. Thomas and Toby feel sorry for Henry and wish there is something they could do to make things better again. Later, at the yards, Toby meets the Fat Controller, who notices that the tram engine looks glum. Toby tells him that he and Henry are very sad about the trees, explaining that the forest was a special place to Henry and now whatever is left of it has been destroyed. The Fat Controller tells Toby that he will soon put things right and sends him to collect some trucks, loaded with small trees all ready for planting.

When Henry returns to the forest, he is surprised to see Terence and Trevor, busily helping workmen to plant the trees. Terence tells Henry that they are beginning again and that the hillside will look better than ever before. Now when Henry stops by his forest, not only can he see the new trees growing tall and strong but the animals are returning to their home. Whatever sounds these woods bring, he is always happy to be here.

Characters

Locations

Controversy

Wilbert Awdry is known for criticizing this episode for its lack of realism. The major flaws he found were Henry's driver letting him stop in the forest without alerting a signalman (Rule 55), paving the way for a severe crash with an unaware locomotive and the number of trees so close to the line that could catch fire from a spark from an engine's funnel. Britt Allcroft, who adapted the episode along with David Mitton, countered the second flaw by claiming to have seen many other railways do the same thing. Despite Allcroft countering what Awdry had said, his criticism may have inspired Henry's statement in the fifth series episode, James and the Trouble with Trees, about the Fat Controller having trees too close to the line removed in fear that they might cause trouble.

Trivia

  • The first draft of the dialogue script was completed on 19 March 1991.
  • According to the script and concept art, this was originally going to be the tenth episode in the series.
  • Extended stock footage from Donald's Duck is used.
  • From this episode onwards, Trevor is equipped with an eye mechanism.
  • This episode was re-run back to back with Percy's Promise on Storytime with Thomas.
  • The crawler tractor and the three berth garage from TUGS appear in the episode.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of Henry's surprised face since the first series episode, The Flying Kipper, as well as the only appearance of his sad face in the third series.
  • This episode marks the last of a few things:
  • Despite Henry being the titular character, he only has two lines throughout the whole episode.
  • This is one of the few episodes in the third series to be restored with all 35mm film; most of the episodes have shots where colour corrected 1-inch tape was used to replace scenes where the original negatives were missing.
  • In the restored version:
    • The close-up shots of Thomas and Henry in the sheds have different eye movements.
    • Henry's eye movements in the final shot of the episode are different.
  • On the week this episode and Diesel Does It Again made their television debut, TV Times held a competition with the deadline of 1 May 1992. Fans had to write the correct names of three engines as pictured in a scene from Woolly Bear and send in their answers. Seven winners would receive an array of various assorted Thomas goods as their prize.
  • A photograph from this episode was released as a Royal Mail stamp in 2011 to mark the Reverend Awdry's Centenary.
  • In Canada, this episode was released before Donald and Douglas and Saved from Scrap, meaning the Canadian audience would not know who Trevor and the Scottish twins are.
  • This episode was never released on home video in South Korea.

Goofs

  • Henry's tender is missing at the scenes inside the shed during the storm.
  • In the side view of Toby in the sheds, his face is crooked.
  • In the close-up of Henry in the sheds, his eyes and his brake pipe are crooked.
  • A nail can be seen in the first shot of Tidmouth Sheds' interior.
  • In the close-up of Henry's driver leaning out the cab, there are holes in his right shoulder.
  • In several scenes, Henry's firebox is crooked.

Quotes

Toby: [after the forest is damaged] Oh, dear. I wish there was something we could do to make things better again.
Thomas: Yes, indeed. But what? We can't mend broken trees.

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Albanian Pylli i Henrit
Brazilian Portuguese A floresta de Henry
Chinese Mandarin 亨利的森林
Czech Henryho les
Danish Henrys skov
Dutch Het bos van Henry
Finnish Henrin metsä
German Henrys Wald
Greek Το δάσος του Τσάρλι
Hungarian Henry erdeje
Italian La foresta
Japanese ヘンリーのもり
Korean 헨리의 숲
Latin American Spanish El bosque de Henry
Norwegian Skogen til Henry
Polish Las Henryka (Original)
Las Henia (Alternate)
Romanian Pădurea lui Henry
Russian Лес Генри
Serbian Henrijeva šuma
Slovenian Henrikov gozd
Swedish Henrys skog
Turkish Henry'nin Ormanı
Ukrainian Генрів Ліс
Welsh Coedwig Henry

Merchandise

Home Video Releases

UK

UK DVD Boxset

WAL

US

CAN

  • Trust Thomas and Other Stories
  • Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Favorite Stories

US/CAN DVD Packs

AUS

AUS DVD Packs

NZ

ZA

IND

MYS

ITA

NL

GER

GER DVD Boxset

NOR

DK

SWE

FIN

  • Thomas, Percy and the Dragon

SVN

SRP

GRC

GRC DVD Boxset

TUR

THA

JPN

JPN VHS/DVD Boxsets

CHN

HK

Episode

References



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