Big Tim is an animated Short Film by Wilding Pictures Production Inc., and United Productions of America, for the purpose of promoting Timken brand roller bearings.
Tim is a brand-new locomotive, fresh out of the workshop, with an innovative new feature: roller bearings. These are axels fitted on the inside with a series of spinning cylinders meant to help the axle spin more easily and reduce the wear and tear on the axle and the fillings. He's come to the yard where his Uncle Smedley works, and soon learns of Kid Friction: every train's worst enemy. He loves nothing more than to grab hold of axles and grind metal against metal to make it tough for trains to get moving—or worse, bring them to a railway line-clogging stop by causing a "hotbox" or overheated bearing, resulting in delays and stoppages that causes trouble for not only the railroad companies and their locomotives, but the customers and clients they provide services to.
On Tim's first train, he runs afoul of Kid Friction, who brings his roller bearing-less train to a crashing halt. This gets him sent to the sheds for a long while. As Kid Friction brings more trains to a halt, however, it soon comes time for Tim and his roller bearings to put that bully in his place.
The short was released on June 23rd, 1949.
Big Tim contains examples of:
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Kid Friction is obviously meant to represent the friction caused by axle bearings that aren't lines with rollers, like Tim's.
- By the Lights of Their Eyes: When Tim has been sent to the sheds, only his eyes are visible in the darkness. Same for the other engines in the shed with him.
- Character Development: At first, Mr. Kelly wasn't on good terms with Big Tim due to him bumping into his caboose by accident, but Mr. Kelly was shown to be on good terms with him at the end.
- Character Narrator: The short is narrated by a voiceover of Tim.
- Cool Old Guy: Smedley, Tim's uncle, warns him about Kid Friction and later cheers his nephew on when he is pulling a train of new cars.
- Cool Train: Big Tim, who else?
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After getting his train on time thanks to the new roller bearings, lots of people respected Big Tim.
- Green and Mean: Kid Friction is a man whose whole entire body is solid green, clothes included.
- How We Got Here: At the beginning, Big Tim was roaring past a station and getting his trains on time and the animation tells us how Big Tim got this way.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After the caboose was placed on new rail wheels, Kid Friction was not having it and Mr. Kelly kicked him and ordered the crane to hold on to Kid Friction and the green guy was stuck on the crane's hook as Big Tim left the station.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After causing an accident with a freight train, Big Tim cost the railroad lots of money, though technically, the incident WASN'T entirely his fault since Kid Friction burned the bearings:Big Tim (narrator): Kid Friction has burned up all our schedules and given me a bad name, (The words "Big Jerk" appears on Tim) especially with the vice presidents, (a word "disgust" appears), and the treasurer. That one ol' hot box tied up the shipper's money, stall those perishables until they perished, and delayed the goods that should've been at market. (The camera cuts to the roundhouse) Not to mention the half million-dollar locomotive doghouse, and I was costing the railroad a lot of money, not doing any good.Locomotive 1: Don't worry, Tim, we've all been through it.Locomotive 2: What's the use of us locomotives having roller bearings?Locomotive 3: With Kid Friction holding back a hundred cars!
- Protagonist Title: The titular Big Tim.
- Running Gag: Two words: "Roller Freight".
- Sentient Vehicle: Tim and all the other locomotives in the yard.
- You Are Number 6: When pulling a train with cars fitted with roller bearings, Tim passes plenty of trains who left before he did, like Numbers 66, 77, 88, and 99.
