For all its undeniable promise, this take on The Magic Roundabout is just plain disastrous in its execution.
Doogal (2006)
Runtime: 85 mins
Synopsis: The origins of the characters in DOOGAL stretch back to 1964 and a TV program called THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT (or "Le Manège Enchanté" as its French creator Serge Danot called it). The show became a popular staple on British television, and this full-length movie is the first attempt to acquaint... The origins of the characters in DOOGAL stretch back to 1964 and a TV program called THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT (or "Le Manège Enchanté" as its French creator Serge Danot called it). The show became a popular staple on British television, and this full-length movie is the first attempt to acquaint American audiences with Danot's magical world. Zeebad (voiced by THE DAILY SHOW's Jon Stewart) is a recently escaped convict whose powers as a sorcerer are known throughout the land. While fleeing from prison, the embittered Zeebad decides to capture some mystical diamonds with the power to freeze the sun. Zeebad's devious dream is to freeze the entire globe as an act of revenge on those who imprisoned him. But he doesn't bank on the resilient forces of heroic canine Doogal (Daniel Tay) and his friends, a snail named Brian (William H. Macy), a hippie-ish rabbit called Dylan (Jimmy Fallon), and a loveable pink cow by the name of Ermintrude (Whoopi Goldberg). Together, they venture across the world in a desperate bid to find the ancient stones before the dastardly Zeebad gets his hands on them. Doogal and his friends scatter a few amusing references to popular culture into the plot as the story unfolds, and the animation is rendered in a style instantly familiar to fans of movies such as FINDING NEMO and HOODWINKED. Fans of the original television show who are looking for a fond, nostalgic experience won't find much to remind them of Danot's creation in DOOGAL, which is a fast-paced action romp aimed at a young audience. But for a new generation of fans this is a great way to get acquainted with a bunch of loveable characters who passed their 40th birthday on completion of the film. [More]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Ian McKellen, Tom Baker, Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley, Kylie Minogue
Screenwriter: Paul Bassett Davis
Producer: Laurent Rodon
Composer: Mark Thomas
DVD Info
Release:
Apr 5, 2007
DVD Features:
- Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
- Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
- Closed Caption - English
Additional Release Material:
- Bonus Featurette - 1. The Making of DOOGAL, 22-minutes
- Trailer - 1. Theatrical Trailer
Reviews
In short, Doogal (The Magic Roundabout) is an enjoyable family film that will delight young audiences and is liable to send nostalgic 30-somethings on a (sadly, futile) quest to find the original series on DVD.
It's a shame more effort wasn't made to come up with a storyline as bracingly original and anarchic as the TV series was.
A delight for very young children and any parent who'll get the Attorney General joke of "Geneva Convention? I don't care if it's a Star Trek convention!"
A jumble of bad movie cliches strung together into an overly simplistic tale of a pooch who gets in trouble over candy.
For U.S. audiences the voices have been dubbed by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Stewart, Chevy Chase and Jimmy Fallon, who add nothing; in fact, the movie drags them down with it.
I can only assume that half the movie got lost in translation, and that's how we ended up with the bald mess we have today.
The characters (a snail, a cow, a rock-n-roll rabbit, a train, a wooden soldier) and voice actors (Whoopi Goldberg, Judi Dench, Chevy Chase) seem chosen at random...
The laziest, most disheartening kind of animated children's film.
Unoriginal and only sometimes cute, DOOGAL is mostly harmless, but dull.
Where is it written that 4-year-olds don't deserve a good story, decent characters, and a modicum of coherence?
Hungering for more references to the 'Wassup' commercials, Dr. Phil, 'Bling Bling,' The Lord Of The Rings, MC Hammer, or The Matrix? Don't worry, Doogal contains nods to all of these.
Doogal tries to be part of the hip CGI-animated club, with all the pop-culture references and feel-good messages. But unfortunately, it fails on all levels.
It's a movie that scrounges so desperately for laughs, it features both a flatulent moose and a flatulent train.
It's easily the worst kid's movie since Spy Kids 3-D, a confusing blur of a magical quest based on an ancient British stop-motion animation TV show.
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