Verdict: Doesn't always stay on track.

Details: Starring the voices of John Bellis, Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda. Directed by Britt Allcroft. Rated G.

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Review: "It's just like big TV," said the tyke across the aisle from me at the screening of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Turns out he's dead right.

For anyone over 6 or unindoctrinated in the immensely successful British TV series created by filmmaker Britt Allcroft in the early '80s, Thomas, the tale of a plucky Tank Engine who talks and rolls his eyes, will come off as, well, The Little Engine That Couldn't.

But for tot-sized fans -- or, for that matter, anyone of any age who's just plain train-crazy -- Thomas may have something to offer.

The movie takes place on the Island of Sodor, a magical land of anthropomorphic trains that's somehow connected to an idyllic little village named Shining Time. A diminutive sprite known as Mr. Conductor (Alec Baldwin following in the footsteps of TV's Ringo Starr and George Carlin) travels between these two worlds, looking after both as best he can.

Things start to go wrong when Thomas and his loquacious locomotive pals are threatened by a bully known as Diesel 10. Next, Mr. Conductor starts losing his sparkle, i.e., the glittery golden power by which he can travel between Sodor and Shining Time Station.

OK, that much I got. But then this so-called kids' movie got more convoluted than Alain Resnais' psychologically twinged Last Year at Marienbad. There's something about a lonely widower (Peter Fonda, giving a lovely performance under difficult circumstances) and a train named Lady that he's kept hidden in a mountain for years. And something about Diesel 10's determination to find Lady and destroy her. And something about how Mr. Conductor and his surf's-up cousin (Michael E. Rodgers) desperately need to replenish their sparkle. And something about Fonda's spirited granddaughter (Mara Wilson) who dares to take the journey between Shining Time and Sodor. And something about Thomas' need to prove that little trains can "do big things."

Please keep in mind that my 3-year-old consultant, Charlie, who likes the series, had no trouble keeping up with the story, though he did think Diesel was a little scary. But frankly, I was as lost as most people are when dragged to a production of Timon of Athens. Then again, no one is planning to give me a Thomas train character for my birthday.

So, take the kids and take a chance. Or take off for a little mall-crawling while they enjoy themselves. Thomas and the Magic Railroad isn't a wreck, but you really don't want to be railroaded into seeing it, either, unless you've got no choice.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Cox News Service