YMMV / Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure

• Broken Base:
  • Sir Topham Hatt's attitude towards Thomas in this special. Some fans hated Sir Topham due to how harsh he was to Thomas, especially in the controversial dynamite scene due to Thomas not getting any praise from Sir Topham for saving everybody's lives. Others felt that Topham's attitude was entirely justified, since Thomas was quite reckless, petty and dishonest, viewing the tank engine as Unintentionally Unsympathetic as a result. And then there are some viewers who see both characters' points, pointing out that Sir Topham was doing his job but still blamed Thomas even though he managed to save everyone from getting blown up.
  • Thomas' own revved up attitude in this special. Some enjoyed it since it was closer to the characterisation in the books (particularly Wilbert Awdry's, who up to even his last instalment conveyed Thomas as having an arrogant, vindictive side). Others felt it was taken a few notches too far even by Awdry's standard and ignored the Character Development he had gained throughout the show. It didn't help that, in spite of his Adaptational Heroism, the show's Thomas had already done the "jealous and antagonistic to new engine" plot line many times over, leaning it into Aesop Amnesia and making an otherwise more ambitious film fall into Strictly Formula (especially after The Great Race and Big World Big Adventures used it again).
• Character Rerailment:
  • Despite the complaints about Sir Topham Hatt being too harsh on Thomas as seen below, this is actually the closest the show has ever gotten in recent years in portraying his original personality. The Fat Controller of the books was known to be quite harsh whenever his engines stepped out of line, and was a very busy man as well, preventing him from discovering any deeper reasons behind several incidents (i.e., Donald and Douglas' situation in The Twin Engines or when Gordon was blamed for dropping ashes on him in Gordon the High-Speed Engine). And finally, whenever his engines have ever done something truly worthy of praise, he always makes sure to congratulate them.
  • Thomas might have been a bit of a jerk in this special's start, but like with Sir Topham Hatt, this is much closer to his personality from the books, where even with his Character Development, Thomas is a Deadpan Snarker and still a bit of a rough individual, a far cry from his Adaptational Nice Guy image that started all the way back in Season 3 to put him in roles that his original personality would never fit. The film itself can be seen as a microism of said development from the books, in which while Thomas is cheeky and can let that aspect get the better of him, he is a hard-worker at his core and is quite capable of saving the day and learning his lesson.
• Designated Hero: Sir Topham Hatt of all characters. While he is doing his job calling out Thomas on his mistakes, he just crossed the line after the dynamite incident where he was extremely harsh and unfair towards Thomas, not letting him explain that he was trying to save everyone, or even bothering to ask what happened, and cruelly sent poor Thomas to his shed in disgrace. Making it worse is that no one else sticks up for Thomas, likely out of fear of getting punished as well. One even gets the feeling that Sir Topham Hatt seems ready to sell Thomas, believing he has become nothing but a liability to the railway.
• Evil Is Cool: Sailor John is by far one of the most popular Thomas villains. In part due to his insanity, surprisingly dark nature, and being the last voice acting performance for the late, great John Hurt. Heck! You could say he’s the closest thing we will get to the scrapped P.T. Boomer, and with the workprint out, one might even say he surpasses Boomer in the coolness department, since unlike Boomer, he's a rather personal enemy of the main character, and his plan is less convoluted.
• Jerkass Woobie: Despite his above-mentioned Character Rerailment to a less sympathetic character, Thomas really does go through far more than he bargained for. Not only does he spend the story in fear that Ryan will replace him, but his attempt to save Ryan's life, while successful, causes the Fat Controller to think he was really trying to hurt Ryan. Add on Sailor John revealing himself to be a False Friend to rub salt into the wound.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Sailor John is lauded for his cunning and menace as a villain (and being an Expy of P.T. Boomer didn't hurt, either), and his horrendous deeds include trying to destroy Thomas using dynamite. The Fat Controller, meanwhile, is disliked in this movie for his callous disregard for Thomas, mainly in not getting his side of the story regarding the incident where it looked like he was chasing Ryan with lit dynamite.
• Moral Event Horizon: Sailor John already demonstrated he wasn't a particularly pleasant fellow, with his mistreatment (abuse, really) of Skiff and his theft of the treasure. But he crosses the line when he outright tries to kill Thomas during their chase sequence with a stick of dynamite.
• Spiritual Adaptation: This could be considered the closest thing we’ll get to the director’s cut of Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
• Tough Act to Follow: Despite some issues like Thomas's and Sir Topham Hatt's characterization, this is largely considered to be one of, if not the best, Thomas specials. Its successors, The Great Race and Journey Beyond Sodor, are highly divisive.
• Unexpected Character: Fans were very pleasantly surprised to find out that Mike, Rex and Bert were making their debut in this film, given how the show stopped adapting The Railway Series after its fourth season.

---