Doogal (2006)

Very well executed

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

So the creators of the Fairly Odd Parents were behind this American version - that explains EVERYTHING.Pros: the animation and graphics are quality standard. (British version, too)Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE! -First of all, the title "Doogal" - the British version was titled "The Magic Roundabout" and that title was just fine! Also the dog's name was originally spelled "Dougal" but then the American version had the spelling changed to "Doogal." STUPID, RIGHT?! Why???????-Story is terribly clichéd, and full of unexplained plot elements. Why are people STILL using the carousel when there's an evil being locked inside it? How did the main characters befriend Zebedee in the first place to be able to call him down from the sky whenever they want? Also the whole action plot seems to be just forced into the story and it just doesn't match the essence of the original French stop-motion series this movie was based on. (This goes for the British version, too.)-The American re-dubbing: Why why WHY in the world did they even bother re-dubbing over the original British version?? I'm sure we Americans would be able to understand the British version just fine! (And if not, there's always closed captions, right?) This wouldn't be such a big problem if the casting wasn't so screwed up! Whoopi Goldberg voicing the cow for instance - her speaking voice does NOT match the cow's opera-singing voice at all! So obviously mismatched it hurts!! And the kid voicing Doogal is just annoying and it's a Completely different voice from the one in the trailers. (Even though that voice didn't fit Doogal so well.) There's even a moose in the American version that TALKS (voiced by Kevin Smith) when the moose in the British version was SILENT. Unnecessary acting, right?? Everyone else in the cast is talented and/or at least trying, but alas, their efforts are wasted. Poor Ian McKellen and Judi Dench.-Soundtrack: Yes, there are pointless pop songs in this that come right out of nowhere and don't match the essence of the story at all. Yuck. (British version is guilty of this too.)-"Captain Obvious" narration - Judi Dench as narrator (this version and British version) does a good job at first, but then after the main group of characters set out to gather three crystals to trap Zeebad back into the carousel (I know, just go with it), she goes overboard and starts describing things the audience can CLEARLY see for themselves. At one point in the volcanic region, she says "The path was very, var far. The path was very very narrow. The lava was very very hot." When we clearly SEE the train going on that long, narrow path over hot boiling lava! So yeah most of the narration gets pointless and just terribly annoying after that.-References: Yes, this movie either references or outright RIPS OFF other movies like in a quote from Pulp Fiction (in a kid's movie???), Pirates of the Caribbean (skeletons attacking), Halo, Harry Potter, that "It's Hammer Time!" thing wherever that came from, and CSI - and it's so forced and painful it's not even funny. When the group is in the cave or something and gets attacked by skeletons, one of them says "Pirates of the Caribbean!" and then somebody else actually says "Hey, I thought we said no Disney jokes!" Then why did you PUT this joke in, you idiots!?! Most of all, Lord of the Rings gets ripped off the most - yeah, with that whole "My precious!" blue crystal part, Zeebad saying he's the "Lord of the Springs," and the part with Zebedee falling to his death (Zebedee being voiced by GANDALF who met the same fate in Fellowship of the Ring, no less!) Good God, this movie sucks sucks SUCKS so much it cant even come up with it's own original story without ripping off every other BETTER movie out there!!-Characters: The characters just aren't interesting. They're flat and undeveloped, and Doogal is a terribly unlikable mutt who started this entire thing by trying to STEAL candy! Then he goes and takes EVERYONE with him and lets THEM do all the work to solve the problem while he just lazes around! Worst of all, this is never resolved. Great opportunity for character development LOST.Some people say the British version is better, but I disagree - it's the same lame quality. Neither version is really worth your time.Overall rating: 3/10 (only because of the quality animation)

Okay, I'm not even all the way through watching this and I still feel I'm not going to miss anything while writing this. (Shows how lame this movie is.) My niece loves this movie and after looking at the case and seeing how many big-name stars are in it, I thought I'd give it a chance. Ugh... To start of with, the jokes are lame. I know Sir Ian McKellan is in it, but seriously, we don't need so many Lord of the Rings references! And Jimmy Fallon is one of my favorite comedy actors, but his voicing a hippie-ish rabbit is horrible. Second, that dog is just a brat! He acts as if they all owe him something, when he's the one who got them all in trouble by being naughty. He doesn't help out, he's lazy and he doesn't listen. I could go on and on about this movie, but I'll end with this: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! By the way, I stopped watching halfway through writing this.

I made the mistake of watching the British and American versions back to back. The 2005 film of The Magic Roundabout was flawed but perfectly decent, and certainly seems like an Oscar winner compared to this dog of an animated movie. Doogal is simply terrible, with none of the wit and charm that made the 1960s show so enjoyable and made the Magic Roundabout decent viewing. It is worse than the animated version of King and I, worse than Pokemon:The First Movie and worse than Secret of NIMH 2:Timmy To the Rescue. In fact, Doogal could very well be the worst animated movie I have ever seen, though I will some credit it isn't quite the worst movie ever, this dishonour goes to either Disaster Movie, Home Alone 4 or Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.Okay, Doogal does have minor redeeming qualities. One is that the animation, while not quite as colourful or as striking as the animation in Magic Roundabout, is at least okay if a little choppy and forced to look at. The other is that there are two members of the voice cast that are visibly trying to give the film some energy and verve. They are Judi Dench as the narrator and Ian McKellan as Zebedee, then again these two are exceptional actors and rarely disappoint. But to be fair, both deserved much better than this.The other members of the voice cast lack energy or don't appear to be trying. First off, I thought Daniel Tay did a horrible job as the voice of Doogal. Doogal wasn't the cheeky and charming dog he was in the 1960s show or the Magic Roundabout, instead he was whiny and very unlikeable with one of the most irritating voices I have heard ever in an animation. Kylie Minnogue is merely wasted in a small role, and Whoopi Goldberg's warbling as Ermintrude eventually started to grate as the film wore on. Jimmy Fallon and William H Macy do their best but just can't get past the weak material. Finally the casting directors I felt should have kept Tom Baker as ZeeBad, in comparison Jon Stewart, a very talented actor, just wasn't malevolent or believable enough in a role that Baker made his own. Conseuquently due to lack of character development and poor characterisation, the characters completely lacked the simple charm and likability that made them so endearing.Another major problem was the script, a vast majority of it was little more than corny jokes and lame pop culture references that went well overboard and suffered from sub par comic timing. Not even Kevin Smith's Moose's digs at personal hygiene raised a laugh. As a matter of fact, the humour in general was so lame, I found myself groaning. Not to mention the fact that it is riddled with clichés. The plot wasn't necessarily a strong point in Magic Roundabout, but at least that movie went along at a more skippy pace and maintained interest. Not only did Doogal take a while to get going, and never got over how predictable and contrived it all was but I actually felt bored at the halfway mark. Also the film teaches some very negative lessons.All in all, awful and quite frankly a bastardisation of a timeless 1960s show and a decent animated film. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Now I'm probably slightly biased towards the British version but 'Doogal'..... just made me angry. They re-dub voices that (in my opinion) were charming and crammed it with a boring, bland cast with no emotion or enthusiasm and then packed the film full of cultural reference's and fart jokes. Boring as hell. Should have never been released in the US if they planned for this jallopy pile of s***. I'm SURE the people in US could have understood the accents fine. But I'm sure this was just another money grabber than an entertaining charming film.Avoid raping your ears with this at all costs.