The Magic Roundabout Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Things Are About To Get Hairy.
A shaggy, candy-loving puppy named Doogal along with a group of friends embarks on a dangerous journey in an effort to imprison their oppressor — the evil ice sorcerer ZeeBad (Zebedee's evil twin). As the world is placed in mortal danger Zeebad who wants to turn the world to ice. Doogal and his friends must recover 3 diamonds that are needed to stop him.
| Kylie Minogue | Florence (English version) |
| Tom Baker | Zeebad (English version) |
| Lee Evans | Train (English version) |
| Robbie Williams | Dougal (English version) |
| Vanessa Paradis | |
| Jim Broadbent | Brian (English version) |
| Joanna Lumley | Ermintrude (English version) |
| Ian McKellen | Zebedee (English version) |
| Bill Nighy | Dylan (English version) |
| Ray Winstone | Soldier Sam (English version) |
| Daniella Loftus | Coral (English version) |
| Ediz Mahmut | Basil |
| Jimmy Hibbert | Additional Voices (English version) |
| Michel Galabru | Zabadie (French version) |
| Dany Boon | Ambroise (French version) |
| Valérie Lemercier | Azalée (French version) |
| Dave Borthwick |
| Jean Duval |
| Frank Passingham |
5.40 out of 10 (809 votes)
Visitor Reviews
I'm gonna see it for the THIRD time!
posted on 19 Feb 2009When I went to see this movie (the first time) I wasn't expecting to be all that impressed. I'm a wee bit too young to remember a lot of the Magic Roundabout from the seventies, but I did recall it was a bit lacking in the plot department. That hasn't really changed much.However, the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny, the characters lovable (especially Dylan...See if you can keep a straight face when he catapults Brian into the air), and the soundtrack can get you jiving in your seat should the mood take you. (Note Dylan and Ermintrude's version of "You Really Got Me"...Class!) Okay, so maybe it's not the old stop-motion cartoon of yesteryear, and maybe the cast has had a makeover and a bunch of big names taking over their voices, but there is a lot to enjoy about this film. If you go with young kids, be ready for the funny looks when you're giggling away at the jokes that go right over their heads.
Hits the buttons for all ages
posted on 14 Jan 2009This production hits the buttons at all levels. For the younger kids who will enjoy it as they would any new animation; the tweenagers who will enjoy the story and the action; and the teens & twenty somethings for all the many references to movies over the last 10 - 15 years. And for the rest of us, the vague sense of nostalgia - don't rush out before the end of the credits, just for that famous phrase you are waiting to hear! Robbie is excellent as Dougal, with Baker, McKellen and Broadbent not far behind. The other "famous" artists were out of my realisation until I read the credits and thought - "so it was". It's not what you watched just before the BBC news, but still worth the ticket, with or without a pre-schooler in tow.
Nice!
posted on 17 Dec 2008My friends dragged me to see this with them for a joke. The cinema was full of kids and I was really embarrassed! But I definitely don't regret seeing it.The plot was, unfortunately, the weakest part of the movie. It was just so Saturday-morning-cartoonish (complete with evil twins, magic diamonds and walking skeletons) that anyone in the cinema over the age of nine is unlikely to be interested. But anyone under that age will be delighted from start to finish.It's the cast and music that really did it for me. Robbie Williams, despite his complete lack of experience as an actor, pulls off his role as Dougal with natural skill and emotion, which is pleasantly surprising. Jim Broadbent and Joanna Lumley seem to have great fun in their roles (as Brian the snail and Ermintrude the cow respectively) and Bill Nighy, well, lets just say there's no one else in the world who could've done Dylan the drug-addled bunny like he did ("no way man! I'm in, like, a higher state of unconsciousness..."). Kylie Minogue did well enough, but she only has about three lines. Tom Baker and Sir Ian Mackellen also seemed to enjoy giving very camp performances as the arch rival jack-in-the-boxes Zebedee and Zeebad (though Sir Ian sounded a little too much like Gandalf). The music, which seems to include vocal performances from Kylie and Robbie, is fantastic and well above average for a kids film today. If you've seen the film, I think you'll agree the soundtrack is a must-buy! But still, it's not all great. The plot is full of gaping holes, and while it mostly works with a very young audience in mind, the jokes aimed at adults are not laugh-out-loud funny, they just raise a knowing smile. There are some rather strange movie references too. It features references to Pulp Fiction, LoTR, and The Matrix (courtesy of some unexpected kung-fu fighting on Dylan's part) and I'll be damned if I saw a Dragon Ball Z reference in there! (Watch the scene where Zebad fights Zebedee for the first time - then again maybe it was just cheesy...) I never saw enough of the original 5 minute episodes to be a fan, but really, it seems very different from the original, so old-time fans may be disappointed, or maybe they'll appreciate seeing their old favourites in some new action-packed situations. It's up to them.Yes, it falls flat in MANY places, but it's also got a childish, endearing charm that may make you wish you were seven again.
Oops. Another triumph for marketing over substance
posted on 04 Sep 2008I thought about giving everyone the long version but, to be frank, The Magic Roundabout is not worth it.This has a formulaic plot that involves the characters performing some very unlikely moves.Instantly forgettable.It is a sad day when one has to say that the only reason this doesn't get a '1' is that the voice ensemble is, generally, very very good. After all, a film is all about visual entertainment - something sadly lacking here.But the class of the voices doesn't make up for the film's serious shortcomings in plot and sheer audience involvement. It is very, very hard to care whether the goodies win or not, indeed, as Tom Baker magnificently voices the villain, it is pretty easy to start rooting for the rotter's.Children seem to like it, but in that fleeting 'so what' fashion that is concomitant with a throwaway society.The production ethics of this film seems to have followed the formula of the Star Wars prequels - don't worry about the film, the name will sell the t-shirts.
They don't know who they made this film for !
posted on 26 Jun 2008This seemed to me like the perfect example of marketing gone wrong ! It's a pre-school property, but they want to get as many viewers as humanely possible, so they age it up to try and get 9 year olds, and add in jokes tailored for adults et al. But without the scriptwriting abilities of a Pixar or even a Dreamworks. Result : my 3 yr-old jumped out of his seat into my lap from the intro - too fast, too loud. I didn't even laugh politely at the jokes BUT I saw the original french version, there is yet some hope that it might have gained in the translation - that would be a first ! And visually, too bright too colorful, ends up being downright ugly !I attended the Paris launch event, and after the viewing, few and far between were those who went to congratulate the team. Kinda heartbreaking actually as they had put together a really nice event.
Entertaining modern treatment of a classic children's TV show
posted on 12 Jun 2008This is a very clever and innovative animation based on the characters of the old TV show. So if you are expecting a rehash of the old TV show then you will not see one. This is a family film but not for infants or very young children, like the old TV show. Adults like my wife (45) and me (48) laughed continually. Many of the jokes will go over the heads of young children but will not cause offence. There is quite a bit of fighting and "mild peril" which is not at all like the TV show which is why it is not suitable for infants. The plot is really good with Tom Baker playing an evil version of the Zebadee called Zeebad who wants to take over the world. Dillon the Hippy Rabit, played by Bill Nighy, who with Dougal and the rest of the cast have to save the day. This is a really good film and will have you splitting your sides.
The Great Adventure for Children
posted on 26 Oct 2007Let's get clear with two things first: 1. I have not seen anything of the original show so my childhood could not be ruined by this movie. 2. This is a movie for children and children only. Parents may not enjoy the jokes and the plot as much as the children accompanying them, but I say at least we see a movie that is not too "grown-up" for those some-year-old. And with the lively characters they can emotionally connect to, surprisingly nice CGI graphics and enjoyable music it's sure they will not be bored for a second; rather be fully entertained by the big adventure story that playfully steals scenes from other adventure movies - but from the greatest ones, namely Indiana Jones and The Lord of the Rings (okay, and from other movies too). If I was a kid, I would have loved this movie. As an adult I see it's a great and spectacular children's movie.
Time for bed for a new generation
posted on 21 Apr 2007All is quiet, it's teatime and before you know it Zebedee says those immortal words: "Time for bed children." But 'Boing'… Suddenly, as if by magic… Kylie Minogue is telling you that they're "coming to get ya" – a talking sugar addict dog, an opera singing cow, a stoned bunny and a wacky wizard with a spring instead of legs, man I think I've been eating too much sugar myself… It's true though – just when you thought it was safe to take a trip back 30 years to a place of innocence and fun – here comes the super slick all singing, all dancing, all action CGI Magic Roundabout. Yes, some brave filmmakers have taken on the daunting task of updating the British teatime favourite (originally from France) which was once the 2nd most popular show on the BBC – behind the news!! How on earth could this work? And who invited the lovely Kylie to not only voice Florence but also knock out a catchy Magic Roundabout single for the soundtrack? A genius team of Dave Borthwic, Jean Duval and Frank Passingham actually – and they've pulled off a minor miracle here. Aided by the superb voice cast of Tom Baker (Zeebadee), Jim Broadbent (Brian the snail), Lee Evans (Train), Joanna Lumley (Ermintrude), Ian McKellen (Zebedee), Bill Nighy (Dylan) and Robbie Williams (Dougal). And there's even a plot of sorts: the Magic Roundabout lies in ruin after an evil ice sorcerer Zebadee has escaped to freeze the world. Step up some unlikely heroes, Brian, Ermintrude, Dylan and Dougal to challenge the chill by recovering three magic diamonds. Okay, so the plot might as well have been from a computer game and it is all a bit far removed from the genteel original but it's just mad to see Dougal and crew trekking over fiery volcanoes, jungle temples and snow-capped mountains. Plus McKellen manages to instill the spirit of Gandalf into Zebedee and even gets a heroic 'fall from a high pass' scene after battling his icy nemesis Zeebadee. This leads to Dylan almost quoting Pulp Fiction with "Zeb's dead babe, Zeb's dead"; this and some of the original's trippy substance references will keep adults of a certain age smiling. What can I say? I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this slight bit of nonsense, maybe it was sheer nostalgia but then my son Luke loved it too which I wasn't expecting.
Very little in common with the original but will be OK for under-sevens (but no-one else)
posted on 05 Apr 2007When Dougal tries to steal a cartload of sweets, he accidentally crashes into the roundabout, releasing the evil ZeBadDee and scattering three diamonds across the land. Free after thousands of years, ZeBadDee plans to not only free the area but capture the diamonds and use them to freeze the sun. With Florence and her friends trapped in the frozen roundabout, Dougal, Brian, Ermintrude and Dylan set out to uncover the diamonds first and return things to normal.First of all let me get rid of the "what have they done to the original" argument because, in my mind, this film bares so little in common with the original 5 minute TV show that it is unfair to really make this complaint. The characters may be the same in name and in visual presence but the film is totally different to the original series in terms of plot structure, intelligence, humour, animation and tone. So to me it is like a whole new film without any baggage and I tried to view it as such. As a colourful computer animated children's film it just about works and it did please the children that were in the audience who were mostly younger than seven. The plot is nothing more than a series of colourful adventures but they are noisy enough and funny enough to please this target audience even if it is hardly that good.Adults who do manage to get over the fact that this is trampling on their memories will find little to keep them amused. The adult jokes are spread pretty thin and really aren't that clever – drug references are lazy, poorly delivered and just smack of a script trying to push the easy buttons – worse is that they are not funny. The film references include The Matrix Revolutions, Lord Of The Rings, Pulp Fiction and a few others but they are only amusing, not funny. A few lines here and there did make me laugh but they were the exception not the norm. The animation was of course going to be different from the original but I had hoped it would avoid the soulless sort of stuff that is kicked out for the Saturday morning schedules and in fairness it does look quite good but I would have preferred a bit more personality behind those computer-generated eyes than I could see. The voice talent is mixed and is sadly better in the smaller roles than in the main ones.Robbie Williams is so different from the character of Dougal that I expected that I was sorely disappointed. He is just a cheeky chappy voice and he had no emotional range at all. Minogue is the same but luckily is in a very small role. Nighy is OK but I couldn't be sure if he sounded lazy because he had chose to be or if it was just because he wasn't putting much effort into it. Broadbent is better and suits Brian the snail and Lumley is pretty good as Ermintrude. Minor roles are must better (maybe for that very reason); Ray Winstone is expressive as Sam, Baker is great fun (and has plenty of good lines) as ZeBadDee, Lee Evans is funnier than he has been for a few years and McKellen was always going to be good with his voice.Overall this is an OK film for kids under seven because it is noisy, a bit creepy, funny and colourful. However the jokes for adults mostly fall flat and I only laughed a couple of times. Those looking to compare it with the original series should just avoid it totally because there is no connection other than the name and vague appearance of the characters; as a version of the original it is a terrible travesty, but what did you expect? As a film in itself it is still not that good but will do for young children.
If you can push the original out of your mind, you'll love it.
posted on 01 Apr 2007On entering the cinema, I did have my doubts. I'd watched the original Magic Roundabout from a very young age, and one false step could have ruined both versions for good.However, the filmmakers managed to make a perfect balance of "old" and "new" to bring out a whole new film, featuring characters that reminded me of the originals, but didn't try to take their places.The storyline was fun, bearing in mind that it was aimed at young children, and included the token jokes (aimed at both children and adults), teary moments and interesting yet predictable twists. The graphics were excellent, and most of the older viewers were "Ahhh"ing throughout at the sight of the big, sweet eyes. Looking around, I could tell that the young 'uns were enjoying it too, and that's what really matters in a film like this.Overall, a brilliant transition from a simple, sweet television show to an enormous, exciting movie.
Fun if your 6, not enough if your 35!
posted on 18 Mar 2007Having grown up with The Magic Roundabout I couldn't wait to see this new version but I was rather disappointed unfortunately. The vocal talents are good with Tom Baker excelling as ZeBadDee and Robbie Williams as Dougal has a future in this sort of thing but there wasn't enough to keep this 35 year old fixed on the screen as say Skrek could. Sir Ian McKellen gave a great version of Gandalf as Zeberdee and Lee Evens was good as the voice of the train. Kylie Minogue seemed to have a small part as Florence and was hardly noticeable, Jim Broadbent probably had the best lines as Brian and Bill Nighy as Dylan just seemed to be the same character as in Love Actually! Joanna Lumley was good as Ermintrude, the opera singing cow.OK, so I have been kind with the vocal talents but where this magic of the original was put into 5 minute episodes this falls down with trying to stretch that 5 minutes worth of fun into 80 minutes.It is for the children and my 6 year old loved it...
Round and Round it goes. Please Make it Stop
posted on 04 Feb 2007Well I came in with few expectations hoping to be surprised but in the end unfortunately I was not. What we essentially have here is a CG movie that I suspect did not have great CG when it was released in 2005 and now after I have watched it in 2008 looks even worse, and to make matters worse we have a great British voice cast wasted by a mainly terrible script holding together a weak story line.The premise of the move is that new character Zeebad is accidentally released from the imprisonment that Zebedee has had him trapped in and preceded to try and take his revenge by turning the world into permanent winter (was that not done by CS Lewis), So Dougal and his pals have to try and stop him.The movie as is often the case for family orientated animated movies where essentially you have a movie containing three or four set pieces linked together by a pot and in this case a very thin one. All bases are tried to be covered as is the way of these films by trying to throw in jokes for the adults too, unfortunately this is not done successfully and I can only remember laughing once at one of Dillon's lines.The movie will run out as you expect and if like me you will find yourself wondering why the cast and characters where wasted. I will not be watching this again.
Pleasant animation
posted on 20 Nov 2006This film is about a group of friends trying to stop an evil Zeebad from turning the world into ice.This film is for the very young kids to enjoy. The animation is quite pleasant. The soft colours, simple & clean animation, and colourful scenes make it quite visually appealing to watch. Dialogs are easy to understand, and there are quite a few lines that got me laughing. My favourite line is "This guy is seriously messing with my karma", which is something I totally did not expect in a kids' film! The music is quite good, the ending theme song is a Kylie Minogue song that I have never heard of! Putting the intended young audience into context, I think this film deserves more than the current rating on IMDb.
What really makes it so enjoyable are the lovable characters
posted on 23 Jul 2006'The Magic Roundabout' is a cute and fun family-flick. What really makes it so enjoyable are the lovable characters brilliantly 'played' by the voice artists that include numerous British talents (such as Bill Nighy, Sir Ian Mckellan, Ray Winstone and Joanna Lumley) and Australian beauty Kylie Minogue (what a beautiful voice!). Robbie Williams as Dougal is a little too whiny at times. The various vivacious characters include a gentle-snail, a shaggy dog, a singing cow, a guitarist rabbit, a small train and a half-spring character who are all on a quest in search of three diamonds to rescue the land from freezing over. The plot may not be seen as anything new and the CGI may not be of Pixar animation quality but that didn't hinder my liking for the film. I found it to be very adventurous and there were several funny and endearing moments. I also liked the creative use of different colours and the soundtrack is brilliant. My memory of the classic (from which the film was inspired) remains very blur. Hence, I cannot comment on how true it stayed to the original but as a film itself, it's good family entertainment.
Sorry...not very good :-(
posted on 23 Jul 2006I am old enough to remember the series and I thought that the film may be better... but it wasn't :-( I know it's meant for kids but even so, these days you expect a good laugh don't you? The first 30-40 mins were really bad..boring..awful! It did pick up though after that. Robbie Williams should stick to singing, and I wasn't overly impressed by Joanna Lumley either. The plot was weak and the script was quite bland. In it's favour though, I can say... thank goodness for the rabbit - Dylan - who was utterly fantastic!! Probably worth a watch just to see Dylan I reckon! My 4 year old seemed to like, although she found it a little scary here and there...ah bless :-)
if this is what they're like when not on drugs, then it's the ultimate narcotics advert
posted on 19 Jul 2006SPOILERS In the 1970s, the parents of future main screen English actress Emma Thompson, discovered a little French cartoon which they brought across the English Channel. Called 'The Magic Roundabout' this animation was a favourite of many people over the years it was shown. Entertaining and light on plot with audiences constantly joking about characters being on drugs, it became a mainstay of British children's entertainment. As a result of it's success, if you skip forward to 2005 and low and behold, we finally have a film version. Featuring major British actors plus two famous singers, this modern day version is a CGI extravaganza which suffers from one fatal flaw. It's awful. Weak and unimaginative, it contains multiple film, music and drug references without ever actually making us laugh. It could be argued that children will love it, and that's entirely possible, but there are just so many lines involved which children wouldn't understand that questions have to be raised about the chosen market audience. All in all, 'The Magic Roundabout' is a turgid affair.Dougal the Dog (Robbie Williams) is attempting to steal candy when he accidentally releases the evil ZeeBad (Tom Baker). Turning the world to ice, ZeeBad requires three crystals to turn the Sun to ice. With Dougal and friends also after the crystals however, this soon becomes a race against time.It's hard to know where to start when chastising this abomination of modern cinema. Whether you choose to condemn the mediocre unimaginative vocal acting (only Bill Nighy as Dylan deserves any sort of acceptable for his role here), the terrible jokes which are hideously unfunny, or the horrendously bad soundtrack (rescued only briefly by 'Mr Blue Sky') there is enough to be able to criticise for hours.The film is just so twee too. In cartoons aimed at young children, you do have a degree of this sweet natured garbage, but 'The Magic Roundabout' just surpasses all acceptable levels. It's cheap, it's nasty and it really is so sickening that you find yourself wanting to vomit for the full eighty minutes.Drug references are consistent too. In the original series, the characters were not actually meant to be on drugs. These constant speculations came afterwards and were forever denied by the English writers. In the film though, it's like the writers know about this gossip and intentionally put in references. Whether it's Dylan wanting to save the grass or Dougal's sugar addiction, the presence of drugs never seem particularly far away. These links, whilst in a way slightly impressive in a tribute sort of way, are far too overplayed and would pass over anyones head who had no idea about the original series. Ironically despite the constant references, nobody ever really shows signs of being high (except the forever stoned Dylan of course). Whilst this is obviously a good thing since this is a children's film, it does serve as an interesting dilemma. In the 1970s when the characters were all drugged up, they were fun to watch, now after the Millennium, they've cleaned up their act and are remarkably boring. If anything, this film serves as the ultimate advert for drug usage. You certainly wish they'd take something to make them more entertaining.Broadcast in the 1970s, the original 'Magic Roundabout' was a cornerstone of children's entertainment. It stands there proudly to this day. Updated to the 2000s though, the entire premise fails to hold water in the modern world. Awkward and unfunny, badly written and badly acted, this film is really not worth your effort. A horrible waste of eighty minutes, it should never have been made and it is an abomination of the genre of animation. Avoid.
Great stuff
posted on 26 Apr 2006Though I'm not too happy with Robbie Williams as Dougal, I find the rest of the voice cast wonderfully suited. Bill Nighy IS Dylan the rabbit. Yes, this is indeed a far stretch from the original, but the old show had very short story lines, this required a longer plot. There was I, a 21 year old woman, watching this movie on my own...and I loved it! There were even the old subtle drug hints that made the old show such a cult icon (such as Dylan having issues about the grass never growing). They could be seen either as innocent (Dylan is a rabbit, rabbits eat grass) or, to those used to the old show, a hint at once was (Dylan being considered constantly stoned). So, yeah, I enjoyed it, a nice, simple movie to look back on old times on.
i love it
posted on 03 Feb 2006This film is absolutely amazing. i have been forced to watch it over 15 times by my younger brother and i must admit i now cannot get enough of it. i may sound childish but it is just such a wonderful film. the casting is excellent i think the voice of Dylan maybe the best in the whole film. i particularly enjoyed the scene in which Dylan and Urmintrude sang together, i have never laughed so much in my whole life. nobody would look at the front cover and want to buy it as it is quite plain but once you are into the film you are INTO IT!!! the storyline is moving as well as funny. there is love, romance, comedy, action AND adventure. but beware one viewing of this film is not enough. but it now i promise you this is not a waste of money. this is a film for all the family not just the children.
Check your memories at the door.
posted on 25 Aug 2005When I was a kid (in the 1960s) the Magic Roundabout was a charming 5-minute puppet show. Zebedee came on at the end and said "Boing! Time for Bed". And we did. This 2005 movie is a bombastic CGI spectacle that contains many of the same characters (sort of), a weak script, average jokes, and a plot that manages to be predictable as well as incoherent.It is a measure of how tired this is that the character of Zebedee is very much like that of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films -- and that he's played by the selfsame Ian McKellen. The starry cast does what it can with a weak and cliché'd script -- Joanna Lumley as posh cow Ermintrude, Jim Broadbent as the charmingly fogeyish snail, Brian, with top honors going to Bill Nighy as stoner Dylan the Rabbit (using what sounded like out-takes from his role in Love Actually.) Kylie Minogue (there as a draw for the tweenagers) is passable as Florence, and Robbie Williams (ditto) is a surprisingly good Dougal the dog.OK, it wasn't helped by the fact that the family behind us kicked our chairs and rustled their candies all the way through, but I give it 1/10. So why mark it as 5/10? Well, my kids (aged 6 and 4) loved it -- but they'd never seen the original. Are children these days so inured to spectacle that they can't watch a film without extreme fantasy landscapes, fx and explosions? Then again, how do you expand a 5-minute kids' programme into a feature? It has been done before, of course -- 'Dougal and the Blue Cat' was pretty weird, too. But this doesn't really make the grade.
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Charming, for children of all ages!
posted on 09 Jun 2009I was part of the 40% adult demographic that was was addicted to the Eric Thompson version, that went out on TV in the UK years ago, and I have a DVD of the Nigel Planer ones too. I was therefore looking forward to this for another fix, especially Tom Baker's Zeebad and Bill Nighy's Dylan. It is visually delightful, the main part of the story where the Zebadee rules over a wintry ice kingdom is even prettier than the summery scenes at the beginning and end! The characters are more animated and better able to sustain your attention for the length of a feature film though I was surprised initially at the changes, not having seen any trailers beforehand. The plot is fairly simple but they always were, and so beautifully depicted that I can't see it matters. The love interest is as unexpected as it is sweet! The dialogue is as funny as you would expect from previous versions and the characters are as we always knew them. I loved Dylan's sudden concern when it was pointed out that grass was under threat! I had forgotten how I had to get used to Nigel Planer's voice after being used to Eric Thompson's and this happened again. Once I had adjusted though it was delightful. The songs are nothing special and not as catchy or charming as the original tune but they fitted in just fine. I LOVED Ermintrude's opera singing! I had forgotten that attribute of her character! Probably one I will enjoy more on dark winter nights when I need cheering up, accompanied by a mug of hot chocolate, sugar almonds and marrons glacés rather than popcorn, much more than than in warm weather. A film you can happily watch with children too. Just keep die hards and cynics at bay!The DVD is excellent with a lot of extras and a an interactive two level quiz for youngsters when they have seen the film a few times and want a bit more involvement. All in all, I recommend this to children of all ages.