Current Events > Thomas the Tank Engine and Peppa Pig welcome friends with autism and 2 mommies

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https://www.npr.org/2022/09/07/1121476913/thomas-and-friends-tank-engine-peppa-autistic-same-sex

Two beloved children's TV shows are adding diverse new characters that reflect real people more fully: Thomas & Friends will have its first autistic train character, and Peppa Pig included a same-sex couple in an episode that aired in the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

Bruno the Brake Car a new character voiced by a child actor with autism is about to roam the rails on the Island of Sodor, joining Thomas the Tank Engine in the long-running Thomas & Friends.

Bruno is set to debut in his first episode on Monday, Sept. 12, in the U.S., and later this month in Canada and the U.K. The U.S. version of Bruno is voiced by Chuck Smith, a 10-year-old from Toronto, Canada. In the U.K., the role went to Elliott Garcia, a 9-year-old from Reading, in southeast England.

"Bruno is a Brake Car, and he is a new friend for Thomas and his friends, and he's also autistic, like me," Garcia said in a news release sent to NPR. "He is funny, smart, and he's a very relaxed character. He can get really overwhelmed, he can get worried, and he uses comedy to get past situations."

Peppa Pig's friend says she has two mothers

While Bruno's arrival was hailed in joint press releases on both sides of the Atlantic, the producers of Peppa Pig, another U.K. export, took a more low-key approach to adding diversity, with a subtle mention of a same-sex couple.

In an episode titled "Families" that aired on Britain's Channel 5, Peppa's friend Penny Polar Bear is part of a playgroup where young animals such as Suzy Sheep and Freddy Fox share drawings of their families.

"I'm Penny Polar Bear. I live with my mummy and my other mummy," Penny said as she showed off a drawing of herself in the kitchen with her parents, according to Cambridgeshire Live. "One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti, I love spaghetti."

As the U.K.'s Pink News site notes, an online petition has been urging the show's producers to include same-sex parents for some two years.

"Well what do you know? My kids saw the first same-sex couple on Peppa Pig and the world didn't end," one British commenter said via Twitter.

On 'Thomas,' Bruno will show his emotions

Thomas & Friends is produced by Mattel Television, which says the Bruno character was developed with the input of autistic writers and advocacy groups, including the Autism Self Advocacy Network, Easterseals Southern California, and the U.K.'s National Autistic Society.

The TV show's train engines often cope with setbacks as they keep up with Sodor's passenger and freight schedule. The show's producers say nuances in how Bruno faces those situations might help autistic kids see themselves in the character, from his sense of humor and attention to detail to his dislike of loud noises.

"He can flap his ladders to tell you if he's upset or if he's really excited, so he can use his items to show you how he's feeling," Garcia said. "His ear defenders, I do relate to, because if there's a really loud noise, I can't cope. I can get quite worried about things, I have to think of new strategies, same as Bruno."

"Bruno is a joyful, pun-making brake car" who helps other trains keep heavy cargo loads stable and likes to stick to schedules, Mattel said as it announced the character.

It's the latest move to add diversity and representation to stories about Thomas the Tank Engine, the plucky train that the Rev. W. Awdry created for his son in 1945. Looking to modernize the show, its producers have in recent years worked toward gender balance and included characters from Asia, Africa and Australia.

K

Nice

No pics?

The right is gonna seeth, Thomas and Peppa Pig lore is suddenly gonna be super important to them now.

Ok, nothing wrong with this, live and let live, no reason people cant be tolerant.

I legit thought Thomas the choo choo was like a 90s show. I had no clue they were still making new episodes.

BurmesePenguin posted...

I legit thought Thomas the choo choo was like a 90s show. I had no clue they were still making new episodes.

Yes the show is still going and it needs to, children learn a lot from this one and it does NOT talk down to them.

An autistic character who is a train is unintentionally hilarious.

He's gonna be obsessed with himself.

Thomas & Friends will have its first autistic train character

I understand the sentiment but this comes off as so incomprehensibly tone deaf it's like satire.

you know those whiney sweaty neckbeards gonna be like "dont make my kid TV shows more political yo!"

CRON posted...

I understand the sentiment but this comes off as so incomprehensibly tone deaf it's like satire.

Yeah like, how the fuck are you going to make a character who is a train autistic and have it not be awkward as hell in-universe? Is the train going to not like people boarding it or loading it up with cargo?

Nice, good on both shows.

now that i think about it, Peppa Pig did become political at some point:

https://youtu.be/8zHURhs0DbM

BurmesePenguin posted...

I legit thought Thomas the choo choo was like a 90s show. I had no clue they were still making new episodes.

Pretty sure it started in the 70s bro

MabusIncarnate posted...

The right is gonna seeth, Thomas and Peppa Pig lore is suddenly gonna be super important to them now.

"Peppa Pig's friend only says they have two mums in a non-canon bad ending! People supporting this clearly don't actually appreciate the Peppa Pig franchise!"

Fucking awesome!!

I_is_smart posted...

Yeah like, how the fuck are you going to make a character who is a train autistic and have it not be awkward as hell in-universe? Is the train going to not like people boarding it or loading it up with cargo?

Depends on where he is on the spectrum and how it's handled , but I can see a good learning experience made from making him have difficulty reading facial expressions since that's most trains main form of getting their tone across

It's unfortunate not even that polar bear's two moms will be safe from Peppa's archnemesis, Lucina.

on a side note, i didnt know Thomas The Train ("Tank Engine" my ass) was still around.

does it still involve train models or is it all CGI now? lol

ZevLoveDOOM posted...

does it still involve train models or is it all CGI now? lol

Neither. They went full CGI for a while, now it's all shitty flash animation.

pics of the moms? >_>

Didn't know Thomas the Tank Engine was still around.

Anyway cool. No problem here.

BurmesePenguin posted...

I legit thought Thomas the choo choo was like a 90s show. I had no clue they were still making new episodes.

The books started in the 40s and the show in the 80s.

ZevLoveDOOM posted...

on a side note, i didnt know Thomas The Train ("Tank Engine" my ass) was still around.

does it still involve train models or is it all CGI now? lol

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_locomotive

What are you on about? @ZevLoveDoom