Editing James the Red Engine (section)

==James in ''Thomas & Friends''==
Unlike the books, the TV episode "Thomas and the Breakdown Train" had James in his red colour from the beginning. For unknown reasons, James also appeared in all episodes before "Thomas and the Breakdown Train" even though this story established him as being a new engine.

Like in the books, James is very proud of his red paintwork and hates getting dirty,<ref name=S03E11>{{cite episode| title       = [[Thomas & Friends (series 3)|No Joke for James]]| series      = Thomas & Friends| series-link = Thomas & Friends| credits     = Andrew Brenner, [[Britt Allcroft]] (producer), [[David Mitton]] (director)| network     = [[ITV Network|ITV]]| airdate     = 11 November 1991| series-no   = 3| number      = 11}}</ref> which often gets him into trouble.

James is one of only four characters that appears in every ''Thomas & Friends'' film, but only has major roles in four of them.

He is one of the leads of the 2013 film ''[[Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway]]'', in which he, Thomas, and Percy assist in the restoration of Ulfstead Castle and the construction of the Earl of Sodor’s estate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2641678/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1|title=Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway|date=September 2, 2013|via=IMDb}}</ref>{{User-generated source|date=May 2025}}

James is the main antagonist of the 2014 film ''[[Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave]]''. He pulls a prank on Percy which leads the latter to think there is a monster on the island. They make amends after Percy saves James from a rockslide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3282174/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_4|title=Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave|date=September 1, 2014|via=IMDb}}{{user-generated source|date=December 2022}}</ref>

''[[Thomas & Friends: The Adventure Begins]]'' retells the first seven episodes of the show, with some alterations; most notably, James appears in his original black livery from the second book. In this version, James arrived on Sodor before Thomas and is the engine Annie and Clarabel originally belonged to. Thomas chases after the runaway James but fails to stop him and James crashes into a field. Thomas then gets the breakdown train, has James put back on the tracks, and takes him to the Steamworks. James comes back some time later, now painted in his familiar red, but finds that his two coaches have been assigned to Thomas's newly acquired branch line.

In the 2017 film ''[[Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor|Journey Beyond Sodor]]'', Henry is prevented from taking a freight train to [[Great Britain|the mainland]], so James is assigned to take his place. James has been teasing Thomas for being stuck on his branch line, so Thomas takes the train to spite him. James volunteers to go find the missing Thomas in the hope of being praised as a hero. After some investigation, he uncovers and is imprisoned in a large steelworks that Thomas had escaped from earlier and is forced to work there. He is eventually rescued by Thomas and a group of misfit experimental engines.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6145612/|title=Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor|date=August 22, 2017|via=IMDb}}{{user-generated source|date=December 2022}}</ref>

===James in ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad''===
In the 2000 film, ''[[Thomas and the Magic Railroad]]'', James was threatened by [[Diesel 10]] and almost got pushed back into a smelting pit before being [[Teleportation|teleport]]ed out by Mr. Conductor Jr. (portrayed by [[Michael E. Rodgers]]). In the beginning, the [[fly]] annoying James was a reference to the original Awdry story "Buzz, Buzz".

[[Susan Roman]] voiced James in the film. [[Michael Angelis]] provided James's voice in the [[workprint]], along with Percy before he was replaced.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205461/fullcredits "Full Cast and Crew for Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)"] ''imdb.com''. Retrieved May 22, 2005 {{user-generated source|date=December 2022}}</ref>

===James in ''All Engines Go''===
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In the [[Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go|2021 reboot]], James was brought back as a supporting character, rather than as part of the main cast as with the original series. Much like many of the other characters in the reboot, many of James' design elements and personality were altered to a more engaging dynamic towards the young engines. He does exhibit carelessness with his often-dropped cargo.

===Voice actors===
====English====
* [[Susan Roman]] (''[[Thomas and the Magic Railroad]]'')
* [[Michael Angelis]] (''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'', original workprint only)
* [[Keith Wickham]] (UK, ''[[Hero of the Rails]]'' – [[Thomas & Friends series 20|series 20]])
* [[Kerry Shale]] (US, ''Hero of the Rails'' – [[Thomas & Friends series 18|series 18]])
* [[Rob Rackstraw]] (US, ''[[Thomas & Friends: The Adventure Begins|The Adventure Begins]]'' – [[Thomas & Friends series 24|series 24]], UK; "Tit for Tat" – series 24)
* Luke Marty (US, ''[[Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go]]'')
* Tom Dussek (UK, ''Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go'')

====Others====
* [[Katsuji Mori]] (Japan, [[Thomas & Friends series 1|series 1]] – [[Thomas & Friends series 8|series 8]])
* [[Masashi Ebara]] (Japan, ''Calling All Engines!'' onwards)
* [[Um Sang-hyun]] (Korea, Series 18 – [[Thomas & Friends series 19|series 19]])