All of the specials of the last 15 years have had an underlying thematic link - King Of The Railway was knights and castles, Tale of the Brave was dinosaurs, Legend of the Lost Treasure was pirates, Great Race was racing and the Olympics... the list goes on.
Many Thomas fans forget that IPs like this must be not only marketable but accessible to new audiences to thrive and survive.
Some of the specials mentioned have given us our best storytelling opportunities Thomas has seen, so I remain open to what we're about to see.
Hot take(?) I don’t think this animal theme is the best theme to bring back CGI Thomas
This is one of those gimmicks that all the other IPs are doing, like when the Jurassic Park movies came out a few years ago Paw Patrol, Transformers etc had dinosaurs themed toys.