‘Thomas The Tank Engine’ Introduces Its First Autistic Character—Meet Bruno

Thomas the Tank Engine is welcoming its first autistic character to its fleet of trains in a bid to diversify and promote inclusivity among children. 

The new addition to the team, Bruno the Brake Car, will be voiced by Elliot Garcia, a nine-year-old autistic voice actor from Reading, UK. Across the pond, he will be voiced by 10-year-old autistic voice actor, Chuck Smith.

Bruno is being introduced as a train who enjoys making puns, schedules, timetables, and routines. Mattel, which bought over the Thomas the Tank Engine franchise in 2011, mentions that the character was created with careful consideration in order to portray an accurate representation of autistic children.

Mattel had help from the National Autistic Society UK and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to bring Bruno to life. The organizations also played a role in casting Garcia to voice the part.

In order to properly express his emotions, Bruno can flap his ladders to signify to his other train friends that he is feeling anxious. He also has ear mufflers he can wear to protect against the loud chugging of his other comrades, and there is a little lantern attached to him that displays his current emotional state.

The toy company understands that an individual character cannot capture the various shades of being neurodivergent and many may not totally connect with Bruno. However, it must be said that autistic representation is well-needed in the media, especially in kids’ entertainment, to not only introduce someone for them to associate themselves with but to normalize it with other children who are not autistic. And Thomas & Friends are on the right track to spreading the message. 

Catch Bruno in action on Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go on September 12 in the US and September 21 in the UK.

[via The Guardian and CNN, cover image via Mattel]