The Railway Children Return Review

Legacy sequels are all the rage. In recent years films like The Shining, Blade Runner, Ghostbusters, and Scream have earned legacy sequels. Spider-man: No Way Home acted as a legacy sequel to the Sam Raimi Spider-man and Amazing Spider-man movies. One of the most surprising films to get a legacy sequel is the wholesome family film The Railway Children.

The year is 1944. The German launch a new wave of bombing raids on British cities and many parents send their children to the countryside for their safety. Three children that get evacuated from Salford to Oakworth are Lily (Beau Gadsden), Pattie (Eden Hamilton), and Ted (Zac Cudby).

In Oakworth the Watts children befriend Thomas (Austin Haynes). Whilst playing in the railyard the quadrate of children discover Abe (KJ Aikens), an American soldier hiding in a brake van who claims to be on a secret mission.

The Railway Children is a film beloved by generations. Parents and grandparents who grew up with the film would be as interested in the sequel as much as their children/grandchildren. The filmmakers had to perform double duty because they had to make a film that can please the old fans and entice new audiences who have not seen the original film.

The Railway Children Return was essentially an original film. It was set 39 years after the original film, it focused on a new set of characters, and Jenny Agutter’s Bobbie was the only returning character. The events of The Railway Children were referenced but new audiences could follow the sequel without prior knowledge. Older fans would have to make do with some references and nods to the original film.

The Railway Children Return was following Mary Poppins Returns’ example. Both were legacy sequels to a family favourite which in turn were based on classic children’s novels. Both films were made and set a long time after their predecessors and focused on a new generation of characters. Both sequels were following films that had a loose narrative.

The Railway Children Return had more narrative structure. The original Railway Children film was more a collection of mini-stories than tell an overarching story. The Railway Children Return was more like a Famous Five story or classic ‘80s family films because there was a big adventure. The children needed to help an American soldier get home and avoid the overbearing force of the American Military Police. This made The Railway Children Return more like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. A scene where Abe was hiding in a cupboard would feel familiar to fans of the Spielberg classic.

Due to The Railway Children Return having a different style of story it also meant a different presentation. The original Railway Children was a deliberately quaint, old-fashioned film, the sequel was more rebellious. The Wattses weres from a working-class background so they had a different outlook on life. Lily was willing to defy authority, whether it was pulling the emergency brake on the train so younger children can have a toilet break or running away from the Waterbury family home at night so she can help Abe. Lily was ready to use her street skills to take down a bully who was harassing her and her siblings.

Class was a major theme of the film. As stated the Watts, along with all the other evacuees were working-class kids from Manchester. Moving to rural Yorkshire was a culture shock for many of them because they went from a bombed-out city to the relative safety of the countryside. Lily tells Thomas that he had it easy compared to the Watts children.

The other major theme was racism. The American military was shown to be the bad guys because the military police attacked any black soldier seen fraternising with a white woman, and the military police tried to enforce segregationist policies in the village. However, this plot line was where the film was mostly false. It was showing the Americans in a bad light yet the citizens in Oakworth were welcoming. I find it hard to believe that the people in 1940s Yorkshire would be that enlightened about race relations.

In a landscape of energetic and maniac family entertainment, The Railway Children Return does offer an alternative approach. Older audience members may appreciate the call-backs and the old-fashioned adventure, but The Railway Children Return doesn’t match the classic its following.