Looks like a tank engine, is a tank engine

It was with horror that I passed Hamleys yesterday and noticed that Thomas The Tank Engine has been rebranded Thomas & Friends.

I was not, er, chuffed.

Why is there a need to fiddle with brands that are well loved, have global recognition and are highly unlikely to merge with anything that would necessitate a name swap? OK, the crunch is here so Bob The Builder might get drafted in to torque Thomas' finer parts in a cost-saving maintenance outsourcing drive, but even so surely he could do so in a special guest capacity, like in The Simpsons?

New life must always be breathed into brands, but meddling with a childhood institution just to align it with a broader brand portfolio does nothing but dilute things. And Thomas always had mates anyway. And look, be honest, he absolutely is, without doubt, a tank engine.