Frankie (Thomas & Friends)

"We helped you, so you have to help us."

- Frankie to Thomas, Journey Beyond Sodor

Frankie is the main antagonist of Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor.

She is voiced by Sophie Colquhoun.

Journey Beyond Sodor
In her debut, Frankie was accompanied by a big tank engine named Hurricane. The two of them worked together at the Steelworks on the Mainland, but the workload soon became too much for just the two of them.

When Thomas the Tank Engine arrives at the Steelworks, looking for Bridlington Goods Yard to deliver his cars, Frankie meets him and thinks he's a very important and clever little tank engine. She and her friend Hurricane tell Thomas to just leave them and see inside the Steelworks. They begin singing about how exciting the Steelworks is and how right it is for Thomas to stay there. Their singing makes Thomas feel excited about being there, and they even get him to agree to stay there.

The following morning, Frankie and Hurricane soon put Thomas by convincing him that because they helped him, he should help them in return. Thomas sets to work carrying molten slag out of the building and to a pit. Frankie agrees that he's very good at it, and says that he's his favorite new engine.

Eventually, Thomas starts to feel tired, but Frankie is pleased that Thomas is there because now she and Hurricane can do more delivery jobs. But by now Thomas wants to go home, so Frankie again convinces him that because he helped them, he must stay and continue to help them out, and they leave him all alone in the Steelworks.

Thomas finds what he thinks is a way out, but he ends up derailing on some old and unused track. Soon, Frankie and Hurricane come to his rescue, both disappointed that he tried such a stunt. Frankie scolds him about what would happen if he were to leave the two of them to do his work when they have other jobs to do, and Thomas is brought back to the Steelworks. But later that same night, Thomas again tries breaking out of the Steelworks, and he rams some flatbeds into the gate. The sounds wake Frankie and Hurricane up, and they immediately tell him to stop. But Thomas breaks through the gates and rushes away, and she and Hurricane chase after him. Thomas escapes onto an old, overgrown siding, and he evades them.

Thomas is finally on his way home when he encounters a large, intimidating rolling gantry crane named Beresford, and then he sees Frankie and Hurricane approaching him again. Thomas manages to get Beresford to hide him, but he then overhears Frankie and Hurricane talking with Thomas's friend, James. Thomas realizes that James will be held prisoner by them just like he was, and he realizes he must help his friend.

Back at the Steelworks, Frankie and Hurricane try to convince James that this is the place for him with their singing, but James isn't convinced and demands to know where Thomas is. They pretend they don't know him until James points out that Hurricane had delivered his cars. They realize that James has seen through their fib, and admit they don't know where he went, but when James says he must go find him, Frankie again lies that he was coming straight back, and they make him stay and get to work.

When Thomas returns to the Steelworks with three experimental engines named Lexi, Theo, and Merlin, Theo and Lexi provide a distraction to draw Frankie and Hurricane out of the Steelworks, and this allows Thomas to slip inside unnoticed. However, Frankie and Hurricane aren't taken by the distraction, and then they notice Merlin trying to sneak inside the Steelworks to help Thomas. They follow him inside, and they then see Thomas trying to convince James to leave with him.

Seeing their two "friends" betrayed them, Frankie and Hurricane begin forcefully attempting to make Thomas and James stay. Frankie runs straight up behind James in an attempt to derail him, but James narrowly avoids the impact. Frankie and Hurricane follow James inside and repeatedly try to stop him, but James keeps dodging their attempts. Thomas and Theo clear James's track while Lexi and Merlin block Hurricane and Frankie inside, and James manages to escape the building, but the cars Theo was pushing hit a control panel and a magnet picks Thomas up, suspending him over a vat of molten slag. Theo tries to get Thomas down, but Thomas is dropped towards the molten slag, only to be knocked away by another bucket at the last minute. Thomas hits some more slag cars, and the slag pours onto the floor, dangerously close to Thomas. Hurricane rockets to Thomas's rescue, shoving him out of the way of the slag, but his wheels are caught and begin to melt. Frankie is horrified as she doesn't know what to do, but thankfully, Merlin shoves Hurricane out of the slag, saving his life.

Frankie is now very unhappy, as now Hurricane is out of commission and she is left alone. James and Lexi scold her for all that she and Hurricane have caused, and Frankie begins to cry. Thomas sees Frankie's sadness and asks her what the problem is, and Frankie admits that she only wanted someone to help her and Hurricane, as there was too much work for just the two of them, and no other engines were available or even wanted to help them. Thomas gets her to stop crying by saying that he knows some engines who are free to help: the experimental engines. Although reluctant at first, Theo and Lexi, with some encouragement from Thomas and Merlin, agree to stay and help out, as does Merlin.

At the end of the movie, while Hurricane is having his wheels replaced, Lexi, Theo, and Merlin are all settling in with their new lives at the Steelworks, and when Hurricane is fully repaired, he and Frankie join in once again.

Persona
At first glance, Frankie appears to be a friendly, helpful diesel shunter. But underneath her friendly, charming outside, she is a devious diesel engine. She is very controlling and manipulative, and can act rude to others. Several times throughout the movie, she tries to convince Thomas that he must stay and help her because she and Hurricane helped him.

When Frankie is pushed to the limit, she acts very aggressive and recklessly. When she found that Thomas and James were attempting to escape the Steelworks, she began forcefully attempting to trap them by any means necessary, whether by chasing or derailing them.

However, underneath that apathetic and crafty exterior, it is revealed that she only acts the way she does because she just wants help from the other engines due to the busy work schedule that she and Hurricane currently have.

Basis
Frankie is based on a Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 diesel shunter which worked at the Manchester Ship Canal. No. 4002 Arundel Castle, affectionately known as "Billy", is preserved in working order by the East Lancashire Railway Diesel Group. Sister locomotive No. 4001 Alnwick Castle is also preserved as a static non-operational exhibit at the Winfields Store site at Rising Bridge.

Livery
Frankie is painted teal and black with gold lining. She has red and gold nameplates on either sides and "M.S.C." written above her face. The number "4002" is written in yellow on her front bufferbeam.

Trivia

 * Frankie is the first Thomas & Friends villain to be female, as well as the first antagonist whose intentions are not meant to be cruel or evil.