Dougal And The Blue Cat

If you like the TV series then please watch this truly wonderful film. This is the original feature length film containing the magic roundabout characters. The film can be enjoyed by young and old alike, dark at times for the young ones but not too much so, and there is plenty there for adults too. I have seen this film many times now and I enjoy it every time. It is funny, witty and there are sad moments too. One thing about the special edition is that you can get to see it with the original french diologue (and English subtitles) so you can see it presented as originally intended. It is not a patch on the English version though, proving how essential Eric Thompson was in creating the characters that we all know and have loved since childhood. You will see these wonderful characters in a very grave situation indeed as the darkness spreads over the magic garden. Be prepared to get nostalgic,laugh, and even shed a tear while you are watching this movie. Truly excellent stuff indeed!

I first saw this when VHS video tapes were in their infancy, and have been trying to get hold of a copy ever since. I'm glad I rented rather than bought, because it hasn't quite lived up to my memory of it.

To see Dougal and the gang after all these years did bring a welcome pang of nostalgia. The 2004 Twentieth Century Fox version had its moments, and it was a useful way of introducing the Magic Roundabout to my children so that they understand some of my cultural references, but with a voice for each character rather than Thomson's narration, it wasn't the same and further, it lacked Thompson's wonderful satire. It didn't push the childhood memory button the way 'The Blue Cat' does.

'The Blue Cat' has all of those benefits. The story is told rather than completely acted out which allows the imagination to work more than modern offerings allow. To hear Thompson's voice takes one back delightfully.The puppets looked the way I remembered them, rather than the way a computer animator has reinterpreted them.

However, 'The Blue Cat' is not in the same league as the wonderful shorts that were the feature's precursor, and nor has it stood up as robustly to the test of time as one might hope. In a sense, this is inevitable. The whole purpose of satire is to be contemporary and relevant to is day, not to generations to come; consequently it is no surprise that much of Thompson's wit has lost its bite.

To a generation of children brought up on Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, the production values are poor. Of course they are: this was made in 1970 before arcade computer games were invented. It is difficult to get the current generation of children to be interested in this kind of animation, but that should not prevent us oldies enjoying it.

To summarise, this is a film those brought up with 'The Magic Roundabout' will enjoy for its nostalgia value. A wise viewer will avoid approaching it with too high expectations and will therefore avoid being disappointed.

Worth watching, worth renting, but except for the real aficionado, not worth owning

The Magic Roundabout's feature length outing has a certain reputation for weirdness. The megalomaniac blue voice and evil blue cat Buxton are out to take over the garden and only Dougal can stop them. Instead of the rollercoaster ride of Pixar era children's animations this takes the adventure at a rambling pace. One bizarre set piece is followed by another, from creepy chattering masks to evil armies of blue mops, the plot rarely focused. The charming sense of surreal whimsy that made the series survives the extended format reasonably well. This is one of the stranger and more imaginative pieces of children's cinema ever made and well worth watching for the purposes of nostalgia and messing with the minds of available toddlers.

I saw this film when I was 7 years old and haven't come out from behind the sofa since. Not since The Monkeys made 'Head' has my little kiddie mind been pulled out from the rug with such cool aid wackiness.

Get the kids on the bus. x

The first time you see Dillon, he's sitting in a field of mushrooms and when asked what he's doing, 'I'm watching the mushrooms grow, man'. Top quality old time comedy.

Timeless and entertaining, this is a must for any fans of the TV version and not a let down for all the trippy nonsense into space.

At times dramatic and scary (for the youngest of children - mine are 4 and 7 and took it all in their stride), it none the less grips the imagination and makes a great effort to be imaginative.

Enjoy