Red Rosie is sexist and I will not elaborate.
Ok Fine. Red Rosie is what Cishet White Men think being progressive is. They has a girl pink train to go with their boy blue train, that's sterotyping and that's bad. let's make her a different colour and rework her incredibly fun and unique personality into something less coded for obsession over a boy because that's demeaning. When Rosie was one of the strongest and most unique girl engines the series HAD. Rosie loves getting messy, she's both tomboyish AND feminine! that's fantastic !!! She was multifaceted and distinct from the rest of the cast in ways no other character ever HAS been. Her being pink wasn't because she was a girl, it was because she was Rosie and she LIKES pink !! Which is ALLOWED. Girls are allowed to like pink ! Red Rosie is functionally an entirely different far worse, far less interesting or distinct character. They sanded her down to fit into their preconceived notions of what feminism looks like because they couldn't handle a girl with layers. Fuck Red Rosie.
Also the livery is ugly as fuck.
Do you have any IDEA the goldmine of "This young engine idolises Thomas and wants to be just like him" is for stories? Thomas? The "I'm the pride of the line and my branch is the most impotantest part of the whole railway" Thomas "I know all about danger boards and safety regulations are just a suggestion" Thomas "I consider the rails more of a guideline then a rule"
THERE IS AN UNLIMITED DEPTH OF POTENTIAL THERE ALONE AND THAT'S IGNORING EVERY OTHER ONE OF HER TRAITS. WHAT WERE YOU /DOING/ BRENNER.
She deserved six seasons and a movie as a lead character. And they're gonna give it to the hacked-up corporate sloppelganger they replaced her with.
Criminal.
Vivian you've hit the nail right on the head with this breakdown on why Red Rosie sucks. She loses so much of her character that she's practically a different engine.
Her love for getting messy? Gone. She doesn't get messy anymore. She becomes "focused" and "mature" (ew) and stands for no nonsense. God forbid she likes getting dirty while working.
Her tomboyishness? Gone. She doesn't show any interest in traits opposite her gender. In fact, for Red Rosie, it seems all she's interested in is her work.
Her femininity? Gone. Like the pink livery it represented. The contrast it provided in showing that girls could have other interests beyond the norm and still be considered "girly" is no longer there. She's just another canvas working in the background.
And that canvas? The new design they gave her? It's dogshit.
Seriously, this is not good character design.
This is a clunky ass livery with way too much going on. They made her red but didn't want to make her look too red otherwise it wouldn't really make it clear that she's still Rosie (though she isn't as you mentioned) and it'd also edge in on James being the Red Engine. So instead, they made her this washed out not-quite-pink-but-not-quite-red, fucked the rest of her colors all up, and then had the genius to add lettering.
I'm sorry, but from a character design stand point, having lettering on the engines sucks ass. It puts way too much text on the design. You're supposed to see the engines, not read them. Put a Big Number on their tanks/tenders or put Nothing on there.
This is the most "Fan Who Thinks They Know Better" ass design I swear. And it's official. O f f i c i a l .
