22x11 - School of Duck

[bunniefuu]

[whistle toots]

children: ♪ James, Percy ♪

♪ Mia and Gordon ♪

♪ Rebecca and Emily ♪

♪ And Thomas, number ♪

man: ♪ Let's go, go, go ♪

♪ On a big-world adventure ♪

♪ Let's go, go, go explore ♪

♪ With Thomas

and his friends ♪

♪ Let's go, go, go ♪

♪ And meet

new friendly faces ♪

♪ The world's

just a train ride away ♪

all: ♪ Big world,

big, big adventures ♪

♪ "Thomas & Friends

Big World! Big Adventures!" ♪

[laughter]

[upbeat rock music]

♪ ♪

- Whoo-hoo!

♪ ♪

I've seen a lot of different

animals on the island of Sodor,

but I saw something

completely different

on the Chinese Railway--

and maybe you'll get to

see it too!

[whistle toots]

All aboard for a big adventure!

♪ ♪

[Thomas narrating]

[whistle toots]

- You must be very excited,

Thomas.

- Oh, I am, Yong Bao!

I can't wait to take

the film crew to the--

wait, uh, where am I

taking them?

- To the nature reserve.

- Oh, yes!

The nature reserve.

- It's a special place

where animals and plants

are looked after and protected

by the local community.

[whistle blows]

They are very proud of it.

- Must be very special

if people want to make a film

there.

- Oh, it is! Come on, Thomas.

[whistle toots]

You don't want to be late!

[metal clanging]

[whistle toots]

[upbeat music]

- What are they gonna film

at the nature reserve?

- Giant pandas!

both: Whoo-hoo!

- [chuckles]

You see, the giant panda

is the national animal

of China.

- A giant panda?

I've never seen one of those

before.

- That's not surprising because

giant pandas are very rare.

There aren't many

out in the wild.

- And they are super cute!

- [chuckles]

They are a bit like

big black and white

teddy bears.

- [chuckling]

Aw!

They sound amazing!

[whistle toots]

Rare, giant, cute...

- And the national animal

of China!

- Of course!

- Hello, there!

Are you the train taking us

to film the giant pandas

at the nature reserve?

- Yes, I am!

And I can't wait to see them.

- Sorry, Thomas, the pandas

are inside the reserve,

and trains can't go in there.

- Well, then I'll see one in

the forest on the way there!

- I don't think

that's going to happen, Thomas.

- We've worked on this railway

a very long time

and even we've never seen

a wild giant panda

in the bamboo forests.

- Well, I'm gonna look

for one anyway!

[whistle blows]

[whistle toots]

[cheery music]

♪ ♪

As I made my way

to the nature reserve,

I kept looking

for giant pandas.

♪ ♪

- Why have we... Stopped?

- Shh!

I can see something up ahead.

An animal.

- We told you, Thomas,

you'll never see a giant panda

in the wild.

- Quick, roll camera.

[lens whirs]

[dramatic music]

- Is that a giant panda?

- No, Thomas.

It's a panda, for sure,

but it's a red panda.

They're quite rare too, but not

as rare and hard to spot

as a giant panda.

- Oh.

[whistle toots]

The crew was happy to film

the red panda,

but I really wanted to see

a giant panda.

♪ ♪

- You're not going to see one,

Thomas.

- Well, I might!

What do they look like?

- Their fur is white like snow

and black like shadows.

- Everything An-An

and Yin-Long said

just made me more determined

than ever

to spot a giant panda.

And if they really were giant,

how hard could they be

to find in the wild?

♪ ♪

[rumbling]

[brakes screeching]

Look! A giant footprint.

[rumbling]

♪ ♪

[gasps]

- Ooh, uh, hi.

Uh, hello!

- [gasps]

- [laughing]

[squeak]

[laughing]

[horn toots]

Choo-choo!

[laughs]

Bye-bye, Thomas!

[laughs]

♪ ♪

- So I kept looking

everywhere

for a black and white animal.

[brakes screech]

- Come on, Thomas!

- Shh!

I can see something!

A black and white animal,

up ahead!

- But we've got to hurry up,

or we won't get to the nature

reserve before nightfall.

- And then we won't see

anything!

- What's that? Over there!

- Is that a giant panda?

- No, Thomas.

It's an Asian black bear.

- We are very lucky

to see one of those.

They are also quite rare.

- But it's not a giant panda.

- No, it's not.

[whistle toots]

[solemn music]

Hurry up, Thomas!

[low squeak]

[brakes screech]

- Hey!

- Now what's the problem?

- Shh!

[low squeaking]

[both gasping]

- Wow!

- Whoa!

[wondrous music]

♪ ♪

- Are those...

- They are!

Keep quiet, Thomas.

- We don't want to disturb

them.

Wow.

- They're not quite as big

as I'd imagined.

- No, Thomas,

those are panda cubs!

Oh, look!

There's the mother.

♪ ♪

- We stayed to watch the

giant pandas in the wild,

until they disappeared

back into the forest.

- Come on, Thomas, let's go

to the nature reserve now.

[whistle toots]

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- We're here!

[gasps]

And look, more giant pandas!

♪ ♪

[gasps]

What--that--what?

[laughter]

- They're not real giant pandas

They're people dressed

like giant pandas

so the baby panda cubs won't

get used to seeing people.

- Those people

will look after

the giant pandas

until they're big enough

to look after themselves,

and then they can be released

back into the bamboo forest.

- So that there will be more

giant pandas in the wild

and they won't disappear

forever.

- I can't believe we saw

a giant panda in the wild!

And all because of you, Thomas.

- That's right.

You didn't give up

until we'd seen one.

- The film crew were thrilled

to have seen so much

of China's amazing wildlife,

and so was I.

[bell tolling]

[whistle toots]

Have you ever looked

really carefully,

hoping to see something?

Sometimes,

while looking for one thing,

you spot a whole lot

of other things

you didn't expect to see!

Stephen was looking for

a way out of Ulfstead Mine

when he found something else.

Treasure!

And when I was in China,

I tried to spot a rare

giant panda in the wild.

I kept seeing other animals,

but I'm glad I didn't

give up looking,

because eventually

I spotted some giant pandas.

♪ ♪

Some animals need our help

so they can live happy lives,

even in the wild.

There are many things

you can do to help,

but the easiest

and best thing you can do

is find out all about them.

[whistle blows]

- Come on, Thomas!

- It's time to go!

- See you next time!

[whistle toots]

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

[whistle blows]

[man singing]

- Come on!

[man singing]

- Yeah!

[man singing]

- Let's go!

[man singing]

- Yeah!

[man singing]

- Come on!

[man singing]

[upbeat music]

man: ♪ Let's go, go, go ♪

♪ On a big-world adventure ♪

♪ The world's

just a train ride away ♪

all: ♪ Big world,

big, big adventures ♪

♪ "Thomas & Friends

Big World! Big Adventures!" ♪

[laughter]

[whistle toots]