The Magic Roundabout Movie Review:


Britain's cult classic 1960s children's series gets the feature film treatment, and boy does it. Not content with reproducing the surreal style of the original series (a French show dubbed into English), the filmmakers merely put the characters into the standard kiddie movie cliche.

In a mythical enchanted village, sugar-loving dog Dougal (voiced by Williams) provokes a battle between arch-nemesis Jacks-in-the-box Zebedee and Zeebad (McKellen and Baker). To rescue his master Florence (Minogue) and foil Zeebad's nefarious plan to freeze the sun (!), Dougal joins with his oddball gang of pals: opera-singing cow Ermintrude (Lumley), stoner-rocker bunny Dylan (Nighy) and perky snail Brian (Broadbent).

The extremely random characters make this film so bizarre that you can't take your eyes off it. And the animation is inventive in a minimalist sort of way (it seems like only five people actually live in this enchanted village). The script is also full of clever dialog, from sharp interaction to witty plays on the TV series' supposed druggy subtext. So it's a shame that the plot lacks even a shred of originality.

Not that it isn't entertaining. Even the bog standard set pieces are enjoyable--crossing a churning lava lake on a rickety stone bridge, an Ice Age glacial slip-n-slide, an Indiana Jones booby-trapped temple, a climactic train rollercoaster ride. And the cast is good too. Williams is energetic and endearing, Lumley is a hilarious drama queen, and Nighy delivers all the best lines with sheer perfection. Baker is snarly and spitty, sounding intriguingly like an evil McKellen, who's often a bit too Gandolf-like. But that's hardly a liability.

There's a lot of obvious affection for both the characters and the phenomenon, so 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. If there was ever a chance to shatter the overused Hollywood formula, this was it! But clearly, the investors were afraid to rock the boat. They may do all right at the box office as a result, but they've missed the chance to make a film that does justice to their source material.



Rich Cline

Dougal (Williams) loves sugar but it is about to get him and his friends into serious trouble. Accidentally crashing a sweet trolley into the roundabout, Dougal releases the evil Zeebad (Baker) who had been trapped for 10,000 years. Now that he is free, Zeebad wants to continue his diabolical scheme to freeze the world and even Zebedee (McKellen) can’t stop him. Its up to Dougal, Brian (Broadbent), Ermintrude (Lumley) and Dylan (Nighy) to find the three diamonds that will trap Zeebad again and save the world.

Anyone from the UK or France, over the age of twenty-five will remember a stop-motion animated show about the adventures of a floppy haired dog and his friends but can this computer animated update recapture the elements that made this such a children’s classic?

The adventures of Dougal, Zebedee, Brian, Ermintrude, Florence and Dylan mean so much to a generation and now they can introduce their favourites to the next generation. All their favourite characters are back and beautifully realised using the latest computer graphics. The character design is absolutely first rate, with each one capturing the essence of the original and taking it to the next level. The world they inhabit is also a visual feast, filled with exuberant colours and beautiful designs. It is just a shame that the story doesn’t really match the care and attention that has gone into the design.

Like many big screen adaptations of small screen animated hits, extending the storylines to eighty plus minutes can be very difficult. While there are some very entertaining set pieces, amusing dialogue and good character development, the central plot is far too over the top and not very well realised. Zeebad makes a good screen villain and nemesis to the Roundabout gang but we never really find out his true motivation for turning the world into ice. This might not be the biggest problem for the film’s target audience but for the adults and old fans that are watching it with them, this is slightly confusing.

It is the characters that draw you into the film and the vocal performances that bring them to life. Unlike many animated movies (with the exception of those produced by Pixar), the celebrity vocal cast actually give a performance and not just use their normal voices. Robbie Williams is fantastic as Dougal. You would never guess that this is the extravagant UK pop star. Tom Baker revs it up as the evil Zeebad and really has fun with the character. Joanna Lumley and Jim Broadbent bring warm and humour to Ermintrude and Brian. Bill Nighy is hilarious as hippy rabbit Dylan and Kylie Minogue is good as Florence.

‘The Magic Roundabout’ captures the essence of the characters for the cult children’s TV show extremely well. While the story might be slightly too over the top for adult audiences, kids will love the adventures of Dougal, Zebedee, Brian, Ermintrude, Florence and Dylan and they will treasure the characters as much as you did, all those years ago.

Jamie Kelwick

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