Hat-Loving Gamer

What really helps sell this thing is the narration, which is handled by actor Mark Moraghan, who is best known as the last narrator of the Thomas & Friends show from 2013 until its cancellation in 2019. (Ringo Starr used to narrate the show when it first aired in 1984.)

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Between that authentic narration and the toy-like look of the trains and people, this parody feels like the weirdest episode of Thomas & Friends ever made.

Hat-Loving Gamer told Kotaku that it took about three to four months to create the parody, and that it was an “old idea” he’d been thinking about for a while as a fan of Thomas & Friends. The infamous train mission in GTA: San Andreas seemed like the perfect fit.

As for how Moraghan got involved, it’s pretty simple: Hat-Loving Gamer reached out to the actor via his personal website. He explained that the Thomas narrator was “great” to work with and that Moraghan ended up recording more audio with the content creator after this initial video appearance. That audio will appear in future videos similar to this GTA parody but based on famous movie scenes featuring trains, with Moraghan narrating in a similar fashion. I love it when a plan comes together.

Update 5/01/2023 6:02 p.m. ET: Added details about how the collaboration came to be.