Alternate Character Interpretation: This image seems to bring to mind the idea that, in his own gruff way, Tower is keeping Tillie from pulling trains over the mountain because he doesn't want her doing something she might not come back from. Considering the dangers the mountain has and how she almost dies twice during the same trip, was he really aware of this possibility and trying to keep her from going so she didn't get buried or fell to her death? Or is his actions really just him being a Jerkass, who would rather let a train fall behind because he's that dead-set on proving that he's right?
Awesome Art: Lots of surprisingly fluid animation and appealing designs for a direct-to-video film, especially since trains are notoriously difficult to animate.
Ben Heneghan and Ian Lawson's entire soundtrack, which has enough sweeping strings and pretty piano melodies to rival Alan Silvestri and more than makes up for being played by a synthesized orchestra. Fans who grew up with the special cite it as the biggest reason they still remember it as adult.
Cult Classic: Was a staple of children's VHS collections in the early 90s, just as direct-to-video media was becoming a mainstay, and is fondly remembered for its surprisingly nuanced direction and beautiful music. Other than that, it's never been very popular and wouldn't see another release until it was unceremoniously added to Prime Video.
Fridge Logic: Considering the fact that a bridge that Tillie was on in the mountain collapsed, and we don't seem to see any other railways besides the one going through the mountain, how does Tillie intend to get back home?
It's entirely possible there's a long way around, or another railroad has a way back into the same yard she's based out of. Real-life railroads have different ways of getting into the same city (for example, Southern Pacific's route over Donner Pass and the Western Pacific's line over the Feather River Canyon both lead towards the Bay Area). So, the question is less about if Tillie can get home and more about what awaits her when she gets home. She did lose a single car on the way over, disobeyed orders (though rightfully so considering who was giving them), and essentially went AWOL on the job, so the Tower will no doubt be pissed at her.
Friendly Fandoms: With Thomas & Friends, unsurprisingly, as both are about cool trains and best known among Americans for being home video staples during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Tillie being given Georgia's full support when she decides to take the milk train out in Jebediah's place.
Tillie getting a hug from Chip when she wakes up from being buried alive and is able to jostle him awake. As an added bonus, her awakening is shown from inside the cab with her firebox glowing—said firebox having a heart-shaped door.
Iron Woobie: Tillie, moreso than the original story. She endures abuse from her superior and bullying from her peers, and nearly dies trying to prove her worth yet is cheerful all the while.
Tillie's entire journey through the mountain. It starts off eerily quiet, with no music and the only sound being her cautious chugging before a wolf tells her to turn back. As she chugs along, she has to fight he way through an oncoming storm and comes dangerously close to dying at least twice.
Tillie getting buried under an avalanche, complete with a Smash to Black. Then silence. Cut to Eric's bedroom where we hear the thunder and lighting of the storm quietly in the distance. Even creepier is how realistic it is: there's no music, the flashes of lightning come a few seconds before the thunder (resulting in split-seconds of Eric appearing featureless in the lightning). And when the music does come back, it's as a chilling choral version of Tillie's leitmotif, making it clear that something has gone terribly wrong.
Before that, the cave that Tillie has to pass through beforehand briefly takes the shape of a hideous creature, it's icicles looking like claws and teeth and the wind blowing through it sounding like a deep, ominous bellow of '"Toooooooooo litttleeeeeeee....."
Tillie passing over the rickety bridge, which crumbles just as she's about to reach the other side, resulting in the entire train almost getting pulled down into the rapids below. Notably, it's the one time she's not saved by her perseverance, as she pushes on as hard as she can and still can't move forward until two of her passengers uncouple the last car before it's too late, showing that there are some things she can't do no matter how much she thinks she can.
A milder example, but this film has a habit of uncomfortable closeups of characters yelling, namely Tower getting in Tillie's face when he refuses to let her pull a train and Pete's Tranquil Fury when Missy (the Russian ballerina doll) dares to ask him if he'll pull the birthday train for them. It's not as scary as the other, more overt examples, but for small children, who tend to get scared whenever adults yell at them, it's downright horrifying.
Retroactive Recognition: In the Japanese dub, Grumpella was voiced by Ikue Otani, who would go on to provide Pikachu's voice.
The Scrappy: Grumpella, while not outright hated it also one of the less popular characters due to the fact that she spends the entire film doing nothing but complaining in a grating voice.
Strawman Has a Point: While it was nothing short of cruel of the Tower to get Tillie’s hopes up about pulling the birthday train, then screaming Big "NO!"’s in her face, he was within his rights to deny this request for several reasons. Firstly, the journey over the mountain has proven to be mortally perilous for Tillie and the birthday train passengers, and they only just barely manage to survive the collapsing bridge and avalanche. Secondly, unlike the other engines, Tillie has apparently no experience with pulling any trains, so with this in mind, her wanting to pull a train over the mountain not only seems like an overly lofty goal, but a dangerous one as well.
Viewer Gender Confusion: Given her blue color scheme, overall lack of many gender identifying characteristics, and being voiced by Kath Soucie, you'd be forgiven for taking a bit to realize Tillie was a girl. True Blue Femininity may not be assumed when put next to the overtly female and red-pink Georgia, and the more rounded features are just as easily attributed to making her small design look "young".
The 2011 CGI film
Fan Nickname: Popularized by the webseries, The Railways of Crotoonia, The Little Engine in the 2011 film, who is called simply "Little Engine" is given the name Tracy by fans, which helps to set her apart from Tillie, the original Little Engine. The other engines in the 2011 film were also given names, Shiny Passenger Engine is called Minerva, The Nightmare Train is named Cerberus, Red Engine 35 is named Shelbert, Big Locomotive is named Rodrick, Freight Train is named Humphrey, and Girl Train is named Mary.
The Nightmare Train is voiced in this film by Ray Porter. A few years later, he would get to voice the ultimate nightmare of the DC Universe, Darkseid himself, for Zack Snyder's Justice League.
seems to bring to mind the idea that, in his own gruff way, Tower is keeping Tillie from pulling trains over the mountain because he doesn't want her doing something she might not come back from. Considering the dangers the mountain has and how she almost dies twice during the same trip, was he really aware of this possibility and trying to keep her from going so she didn't get buried or fell to her death? Or is his actions really just him being a Jerkass, who would rather let a train fall behind because he's that dead-set on proving that he's right?