I also find the original story to be somewhat disturbing with its colonialist imagery. We should really be concerned about the man with the yellow hat who literally abducts George and smuggles him back to New York. He is the really criminal in this tale!
ITA. This is actually a reason I avoid the Thomas series: the running ownership of the anthropormphic trains through a colonialist dominion. Well, that and the emphasis that the trains have value only if they do Sir Topham Hatt's bidding. What kind of a message is that for children--"accept authority unquestioningly, no matter how pointless or plain wrong your instructions are" or, in more Trekky terms, "resistance is futile"? *Shudder*
I spent a bit of time while pregnant reading through children's books at the bookstore to get a sense of which series I liked. It was surprising to me how many books contained what I consider damaging themes--colonialism, class warfare, social Darwinism, blindly following authority, relying on others' judgment to form a self-concept...the list goes on. Even innocuous books considerd classics, like the "Little Bear" series (illustrated by Maurice Sendack), can have horrible messages. I recall one in which the mother bear delivers to her child in response to his imaginary play at being an astronaut, "You're just a fat little bear. You can't fly."'(I paraphrase.) Talk about unsupportive parenting. Take a hike, Mother Bear, you dog in the manger.
Ametrine, please excuse my rant! I may be young chronologically, but I've got the fuddy-duddiness of an octogenarian.
