Consumer products behemoth Thomas the Tank Engine rode a whole new track into China at the weekend, opening CGI animated Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure on 5,000 screens and tooting his horn for Mattel’s theatrical ambitions in the world’s fastest growing licensing market.

Hong Kong’s Trade Development Council’s latest figures, released in July last year, put the value of China’s licensed goods market at US$5.5 billion in 2013.

Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure builds on Hit Entertainment’s Thomas & Friends’ already strong presence in China, including streaming platforms iQiyi, Youku, QQ, Sohu, Le.com (LeTV), TMall Box and BesTV.

The film is the most ambitious Thomas & Friends tale ever on various levels, including storyline and production quality. This is also the first time a Mattel-owned brand has been released theatrically in China, prompting Mattel Asia Pacific managing director Peter Broegger to call the release “a historic and unprecedented moment in the development of the Thomas & Friends franchise in China”.

The film, produced to mark Thomas the Tank Engine’s 70th anniversary, involves a whole new part of the mythical island of Sodor on a quest for treasure with a story line that revolves around themes of friendship, loyalty, integrity and taking the high road.

“At the heart of Thomas there are always life lessons where we see Thomas facing challenging decisions that in the short term may not be comfortable but in the long term will serve the greater good,” says Christopher Keenan, Hit Entertainment’s vice president of global content and executive producer.

In addition to boosting story-telling and visual components, Hit has used its big screen debut to introduce new musical elements as well as characters alongside classics such as The Fat Controller, Percy, James and Gordon.

“We are paving the way towards making it much more of a musical franchise,” Keenan says.

Meanwhile, the new characters will make their way into the TV shows, broadening their exposure and creating whole new consumer products opportunities.

A first for Thomas in the film is the introduction of a non-engine character – a small boat that functions on water and on land.

“This opens the scope a bit,” Keenan says, adding that moving beyond engines for the first time in 70 years was low-risk. “We have so many engine-based characters and we will continue to add those,” he says.

The other significant creative decision for the film was to venture into larger-than-life elements beneath Sodor, which Keenan says “ups the ante in terms of adventure”.

The film also uses more night scenes, designed to add excitement and mystery. “Generally Thomas is very light and bright. For dramatic purposes, we set a large portion of the film at night,” Keenan says.

He also says filmmakers maximised the feature-length format opportunities to delve more deeply into emotional elements. For instance, while the series commonly deals with teamwork and friendship, elements of betrayal emerge in the film.

Ultimately, Keenan says, “we can take the time to explore some of the nuances and tell a stronger story”.Hopes are that the film will expand family/co-viewing in China and create an experience for the whole family as well as opportunities to talk about friendship, loyalty and other themes.

“With all Thomas stories we are trying to promptfurther conversation,” Keenan says. A second feature film is in the pipeline. Details remain under wraps.

Hit Entertainment’s ongoing globalisation of the brand is having an inevitable impact on the stories being told.

On the eve of the blue carpet premiere in Shanghai, Keenan said the company was “very much aware that we have a presence in China and are making sure we have specific characters and content that will resonate”.

“As our audience grows and expands, so does the scope of our story telling and the specifics of each story. We’re not just limited to engines on Sodor moving forward,” he adds.