Western Animation / The Magic Roundabout (2005)

The Magic Roundabout is a 2005 British computer animated film based on the British dub of the French Stop Motion cartoon The Magic Roundabout. While the original series is famous for how quirky and nonsensical it is, the film takes a more ambitious route and puts the characters on an epic adventure.

The plot follows the dog Dougal (Robbie Williams) as he enjoys his life in the village with his friends and his owner Florence (Kylie Minogue). One day, he accidentally crashes his cart into the titular magic roundabout in the center of town. This causes the evil Zeebad (Tom Baker) to escape and threatens to usher the world into a new Ice Age with his powers. With the threat looming, wizard Zebedee (Ian McKellen) sends Dougal and his friends off to a wide-spanning quest to find three diamonds that, once collected, can imprison Zeebad back in his place.

The film also stars Joanna Lumley, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy and Ray Winstone.

However, this isn't the version of the movie you probably know about.

Shortly before the film's release, the newly-formed The Weinstein Company acquired the North American rights. Poised to release it in a market unfamiliar with the original show, the studio took an unusual route and did a Same Language Dub of the film. The plot was entirely the same, but now it featured an American All-Star Cast, with only Kylie Minogue and Ian McKellen retaining their roles. What changed most dramatically is the dialogue, courtesy of a rewritten script by Butch Hartman (and then further rewritten with Hartman's name kept on it). Not only was a narration from Judi Dench added and all British slang removed, but almost all of the jokes were rewritten, with most of them centering around American-centric pop culture references. This dub, renamed to Doogal, was harshly panned by critics and audiences and was a financial failure.

The modest success of the original version of the film lead to a CG revival of the original series based on the characters from this version, which lasted two seasons.

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The Magic Roundabout and Doogal contain examples of:

• Achievements in Ignorance: Brian volunteers to take the lead to go in the temple when the gang are hesitant to go in. As he goes in at a literal snail's pace and gives his spiel, he somehow triggers the booby traps and avoids them, while just ignoring what's going on, even when a boulder seemingly lands on him, but it landed in front of him.
• Advertising by Association: The trailer for the American dub has "From the creator of The Fairly OddParents!" in reference to Butch Hartman's part in rewriting the script.
• Alternative Foreign Theme Song: Most of the music used in the French dub is unique in several scenes, since the English dubs (as well as other foreign-language versions of the film) used more insert pop songs. For example:
  • A different lyrical song is used during a dream sequence, as opposed to the Electric Light Orchestra song "Mr. Blue Sky" used in the English versions.
  • The title song performed at the end of the film and through the end credits in the English versions, is moved to the opening credits in the French dub, while another different lyrical song is performed at the end of the film (the opening credits in the English dubs use the Pilot song "Magic").
  • The American dub has "Simply Wonderful" which is actually background music from the original with lyrics added in.
• Beam-O-War: The battle between Zebedee and Zeebad features this where they respectively fire beams of heat and cold towards each other. It ends with Zebedee being overpowered and trapped in ice by Zeebad.
• Big Damn Movie: The film is about the characters trying to stop Zeebad, Zebedee's Evil Twin, from creating a new ice age - a complete 180 from the Random Events Plot the series prided itself on.
• Big Damn Heroes: Just as when Dylan's attempt to use Zebedee's magic box to summon Train fails and when Zeebad is about to secure his victory, Train shows up out of nowhere just in time to run Zeebad over and knocking the diamond free from his grasp, giving Dougal the chance to knock the diamond in its slot on the roundabout in order to reverse everything that he caused at the start of the film.
• Big "NO!": Dougal does this when Zebedee falls into the abyss after being defeated by Zeebad. Zeebad as well, during the climax when he gets pulled back into the Magic Roundabout by its magic after Dougal placed the third diamond in its slot.
• Body Wipe: Done with Dougal from Soldier Sam's POV when the gang are fleeing from Zeebad as he battles Zebedee.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Zebedee in the second post-credits scene of the film (that was only seen in the British version and the US Dub)
  Zebedee: Oh? Oh, you're still there. Didn't I tell you? Time for bed. (he laughs before he magically disappears)
• Briar Patching: When Zeebad captures Dougal and has his henchman Soldier Sam to torture him. Sam asks Dougal of how he should torture him for information since he's new to all this. Dougal tells him never to feed him sugar cubes because that's the worst thing they could do.
• Brick Joke: Dougal volunteers to "fix" the puncture of the tire of Mr. Grimsdale's sugar cart while he goes to get the things Dougal requested. Mr. Grimsdale does return at the end of the film with all the things Dougal requested, only to find Dougal on the Magic Roundabout who is hiding awkwardly from him.
• Cats Have Nine Lives: In the US redub of the film, when the team is discussing who would obtain the first gem, Ermintrude brings this trope up when discussing Dylan:
  Ermintrude: What about Dylan? He's got nine lives.
  Dylan: That's a cat, genius.
• Chekhov's Hobby: When the gang stops in a cave for camp for the night before beginning their quest to travel to find the two diamonds, Ermintrude thinks that people would flock for an open-air Verdi festival and even does some opera singing to accommodate that. However, her high note is so loud that it causes icicles to fall and almost impale Brian, but one gigantic icicle crushes Dougal's bag of gobstoppers. Towards the climax, when Zeebad tries to zap Dylan, but he zaps Ermintrude's tail, causing her to scream in pain, resulting in a crack on the frozen carousel to form, giving Dougal an idea on how to free the children who are trapped in there. Dougal tells Ermintrude to sing; she does so and when she reaches the high note, most of the ice on the frozen carousel breaks apart.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: When Dougal sees Florence unconscious in the frozen roundabout near the end of the film, he begins to blames himself by saying "If only I weren't so stupid and greedy."
• Cultural Translation: In addition to its plethora of pop culture references, the American dub also swaps out the names of Dougal's treats for others more familiar to American audiences, such as jawbreakers and bubble gum in place of gobstoppers.
• Crystal Ball: Zeebad makes one out of a snowball where he sees Zebedee informing Dougal and his friends all about Zeebad.
• Deadpan Snarker: Dylan, Brian and Ermintrude show shades of this. Zeebad became a comical, yet wisecracking one in the American dub.
• Death Glare:
  • Ermintrude, Dylan and Brian all give Dougal one after they immediately realize he let slip the information about the map to Zeebad when he demands the map after taking the first diamond.
  • When Soldier Sam meekly joins in with Zeebad's laughter, he gets one from Zeebad who says to him that he is ruining the moment.
  • In the climax of the film, Dougal, Ermintrude, Dylan and Brian all shoot Zeebad one. It even has the close-ups shots of Dougal and Ermintrude's scowled eyes before it cuts to Dylan cracking his knuckles and then it cuts to Brian when Dylan picks him up to put him on Ermintrude's back.
• Dem Bones: All the temple skeletons in the 2005 film are completely animate with glowing purple eyes and having the ability to pull themselves back together when they get smashed up by Dylan until they are reduced into piles of scattered bones where they merge into one gigantic skeleton who menaces on the gang until Dougal gets rid of him by activating the trapdoor underneath. He does reappear in the mines to try and attack the gang once more as they were on their way back to the Magic Roundabout before he gets smacked off Train's carriage by a low hanging support plank.
• Demoted to Extra: Florence's role in the film was reduced from being a deuteragonist to being a supporting character as she spends less screen time in the film due to being trapped in the frozen roundabout. Mr. Rusty was also reduced to being a supporting character as he was too being trapped in the frozen roundabout along with two other children Basil and Coral. The 2007 revival series has Florence resuming her role as the deuteragonist of the franchise.
• Deus ex Machina: Dylan tries to invoke this on Zeebad, but using Zebedee's magic box on him. But it seemingly fails on him, and just as it seems Zeebad is going to win, Train (who is now healed after the crash landing from the chase earlier) suddenly arrives right behind Zeebad and runs him over, knocking the diamond out of his grasp and it allows Dougal to slot it in its place on the roundabout, thus undoing Zeebad's icy magic and re-imprisoning him.
• Disney Death: Zebedee upon battling Zeebad, and later Florence, after being trapped in the frozen roundabout. Luckily, Zebedee is revealed to be alive near the end, and Dougal manages to revive Florence with kisses.
• Dream Intro: The film begins with Zebedee chased by Zeebad in a snowy wasteland until he gets to a cliff. Then, he is blasted off the cliff by Zeebad and left hanging for dear life from the ledge of Zeebad's lair. Zeebad blasts Zebedee off the ledge, sending him falling into the abyss right before Zebedee suddenly wakes up, revealing that it was only a bad dream.
• Erudite Stoner: Though Dylan was coded this in the original show, it got a lot more blatant in the film, including Brian chiding him that they "don't have time to indulge in recreational activities" when Dylan states he has something stashed that might help as he is referring to Zebedee's magic box.
• Endless Winter: Zeebad's Evil Plan was to freeze the sun and bring about a new Ice Age.
• Evil Overlooker: The British posters and other promotional material as well as the DVD cover have Zeebad's face projected in the sky background just behind the main characters.
• Extremely Short Timespan: The majority of the film takes place around the course of four days and three nights.
• Facepalm: Mr. Rusty does this in the daydream sequence when listening to Ermintrude singing the lyrics of "Mr. Blue Sky" from one of the sails of the windmill.
• Finger Wag: During the daydream sequence, Florence gives Dougal a "no-no" finger wag when she catches him messily scoffing down a trifle in a picnic.
• Flanderization: With the exception of Florence, Zebedee, Mr. Rusty, Mr. Grimsdale and the children, the characters fell in this in the American dub of the 2005 film where they have different and unfitting character personalities than in the original British and French versions of the film or the original series itself. For example, Dougal was flanderized as a fat, cowardly idiot. Fortunately, the 2007 revival series kept the characters in their original character personalities from the original series, albeit with a few modifications.
• Foreshadowing: When Sam corners Dougal and his friends, Zebedee intervenes and says, "You may wear a soldier's uniform, Sam, but it's what's inside that counts" as he gestures to his own chest. Later, near the climax, the third diamond is revealed to be hidden inside Sam, as he is part of the Magic Roundabout, when Zeebad fatally wounds him.
• Gasshole: In the American dub, the moose constantly breaks wind.
• Gilligan Cut: Happens when the gang are traveling to the volcano to get the first diamond.
  Dougal: That's the spirit, Brian! Nothing short of a sea of boiling lava will keep me from that diamond now.
  [Cut to a sea of boiling lava in the volcano]
  Dougal: Oh, sugar.
• Heel–Face Turn: Soldier Sam does one when Zeebad left him for dead and rides an elk to the village to battle his former boss.
• Hypocritical Humor: When Brian tries to communicate with the moose, Ermintrude (a talking cow) asks if anyone heard of a talking moose before? Train lampshades this.
• An Ice Person: Zeebad has ice powers that he uses to attempt to bring the world into another Ice Age.
• Interrupted Declaration of Love: Brian, who has a crush on Ermintrude, is a bit too shy to confess his love for her. When he tries to do this twice, he is interrupted on both occasions.
• It's All My Fault: Subverted where Dougal doesn't take responsibility for accidentally releasing Zeebad who imprisons Florence along with Mr. Rusty and the children, until near the end.
• Laser Hallway: The laser beams in the room in the temple activate once Dougal pushes a button on the throne that reveals the second diamond. Though no one would go through the laser beam without tripping them, Ermintrude volunteers to make her way to the diamond where she narrowly avoids tripping one of them. Unfortunately, Dougal was having his last gobstopper at the time, begins to praise Ermintrude and accidentally spits the gobstopper out, causing it to bounce off the throne and tripping one of the laser beams, setting off the alarm to which the skeletons burst in the room from the ground and advance on the gang.
• Lava Pit: The first diamond is located in a lava-bordered volcano where the gang has to cross a narrow and crumbling bridge where they suffered a near-death experience. The bridge is later destroyed by Zeebad and Sam after taking the first diamond and the map from the gang. Also, the post-credits scene reveals Zeebad's prison to be nothing more but a lava-filled cavern underground and way underneath the Magic Roundabout.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Dougal, Ermintrude, Dylan, and Brian prepare themselves to battle Zeebad in the climax. Even Dylan cracks his knuckles before he picks up Brian and loads him on Ermintrude's back.
  Dylan: Shell-loaded!
• Loose Lips: Dougal unwittingly lets slip the information about the map when being interrogated by Zeebad who would later demand the group the map after taking the first diamond. Brian is also another one when he unintentionally gives away the third diamond's location as a result of being blindfolded by his scarf after landing on the driller train.
• Match Cut: Used many times throughout the film.
• Meaningful Echo: When Zebedee tries to get Sam to reconsider his actions of following Zeebad's orders, he tells him while he may wears a soldier's uniform but "it's what inside that counts." Later, when Sam confronts his former boss, he recalls Zebedee's words "It's what inside that counts" before he launches into battle.
• Mineral Macguffin: Dougal, Brian, Dylan, Train, and Ermintrude are tasked with retrieving and gathering three individually-colored magic diamonds^note The first diamond is blue, the second is yellow, and the last is red: if all three diamonds are placed in their individual slots in the Magic Roundabout, Zeebad's magic will come undone and the Roundabout will banish him back to his prison. Zeebad meanwhile seeks the diamonds so he can use them to freeze the sun itself.
• "Mission: Impossible" Cable Drop: Ermintrude is lowered this way by Train, with the assistance of Dylan and Brian, in order to rescue Dougal from his prison while Zeebad is distracted by monologuing to himself about his evil plans.
• Mood Whiplash: When the gang gets the first diamond, Dougal sees a vision of Florence and the children inside the diamond and he keeps calling for her until the vision fades away. Then, the gang's sad moment was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Zeebad who takes both the diamond and the map.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Dougal accidentally crashing the sugar cart into the titular Magic Roundabout allowing Zeebad to escape from his prison and freeze the roundabout which traps Florence, Mr. Rusty, Basil and Coral is what sets the plot in motion. If that wasn't enough, his foolish mistake of spilling the beans about the map allows Zeebad to not only steal the map from the gang but to take the two diamonds that the gang was looking for. Dylan lampshades this after Zeebad took the second diamond in the temple. Also in the temple, Dougal accidentally tripping one of the alarm beams with his gobstoppers causing skeletons to burst out from underneath to try and attack him and the gang allows Zeebad the opportunity to take the second diamond while they are busy defeating the skeletons.
  • Brian also causes Zeebad to go ahead of the gang further by accidentally letting slip the location of the third diamond which falls onto Zeebad's ears, where he openly gloats about where he'll get the third diamond from. When Brian reveals his mistake to everyone, they are none too pleased.
• No Animals Were Harmed: Defied in the American redub, when Zeebad learns of Doogal and his friends:
  Zeebad: Animals will be harmed in the making of this film.
• Off with His Head!: Zeebad tells Soldier Sam to execute Brian this way after overhearing the third diamond's location due to being blindfolded by his scarf after landing on the roof of the driller train. This didn't happen anyway because Brian manages to get back on board Train, but also because, as Sam pointed out, disposing of a prisoner is against the Geneva Convention. Later, Zeebad calls the injured Sam out for sparing him after the driller train exploded.
• Oh, Crap!: Happens a lot:
  • Zebedee, in his nightmare, before his nemesis Zeebad blasts him off into the abyss.
  • Dougal, after he accidentally starts up the sugar cart and makes it zoom around the village. Florence, Basil and Coral all have one before they run onto the roundabout for safety. Everyone has one each when the roundabout spins out of control after the sugar cart exploded upon crashing into it. Even Mr. Rusty has one as the look on his face says it all before he quickly hops onboard the roundabout to try and shut it down.
  • Dougal has one before Zeebad captures him in the night.
  • The gang, when Zeebad corners them at the cliff of his own lair.
  • The gang again, especially Dylan, when Zeebad suddenly arrives at the volcano to take the first diamond.
  • Sam, when he realizes that he is causing the bridge to crumble very quickly and instantly dives to the ledge when Zeebad saves him.
  • The gang all have one after Dougal accidentally caused one of his gobstoppers to trip one of the alarm beams guarding the second diamond where the skeletons burst out to try and attack them.
  • The gang, when the skeleton overlord begins to chase after them. They have the same reaction again when the skeleton overload suddenly appears at the back of Train's carriage.
  • The gang all have one when Zeebad tries to drill into Train's carriage. Sam begins to have one when he sees that this causes the pressure in the driller train's boiler to reach critical and eventually blow up.
  Sam: Sir! The pressure! It's too much!
  Zeebad: I know, I know. Sometimes, I feel like I'm going quite insane!
  Sam: No, sir, it's the boiler! It's... (driller train blows up)
  • When the gang returns to the frozen village, they all have one as Zeebad is using three diamonds to freeze the sun.
  • Zeebad has one when he sees that his icy magic is being undone after all three diamonds were placed in their slots on the roundabout and tries to escape the village before the magic from the roundabout drag him back to his prison.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Dylan is usually laid-back and relaxed where he rarely gets upset, but in the climax of the film when Zeebad is freezing the sun with the three diamonds, Dylan finally snaps and hurls a snowball at Zeebad which provokes him. Ermintrude and Brian are visibly shocked and surprised when Dylan snaps.
  Dylan: This guy... is seriously... messing... with my... KARMA! Eat THIS, you jumped-up jack-in-the-box!
• Pig Latin: In the US dub, Doogal attempts to prevent Zeebad from finding the diamonds by stating that the map leading to them is in Pig Latin. This backfires when Zeebad counters with "icenay ytray".
• Product Placement: In the US redub, Dylan mentions two chocolate bars in one scene—Snickers and Three Musketeers. Later in the same redub, Zeebad fantasizes getting a Humvee after taking over the world.
• Reference Overdosed: The American dub of the film is infamous for this, with dozens of pop-culture references being added to the script.
• The Reveal: The third diamond is actually hidden inside Soldier Sam as he is part of the Magic Roundabout.
• Rule of Three: The three diamonds that are needed to re-imprison Zeebad with the blue one located at the volcano, the yellow one located in the temple, and the red one supposedly hidden somewhere on the roundabout.
• Sassy Black Woman: Ermintrude is retooled to be this in the American dub of the film, thanks to her more sarcastic attitude and her voice actress.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Near the end of the film, Zeebad attempts this after Dougal placed the third diamond in its slot on the Magic Roundabout, but the magic from the diamonds and the roundabout grabs him and drag him back inside the roundabout.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: The titular roundabout is revealed to be the Can for Zebedee's evil twin Zeebad once the roundabout ends up severely damaged and spinning out of control as a result of the sugar cart exploding after Dougal accidentally made it crash right on top of the roundabout, it gives Zeebad the opportunity to escape and freeze the roundabout over. At the climax of the film, Zeebad ends up re-imprisoned back inside the roundabout after Dougal placed the third diamond in its slot on the roundabout.
• Shout-Out: Thanks to how many are contained in the American dub specifically, they are located in their own page.
• Slow "NO!": Brian, Ermintrude, and Dylan all do this when Dougal's gobstopper is about to trip a laser beam in the temple.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: In the American dub, when Doogal's friends happen upon the moose for the first time while searching for him, Brian reveals that he can speak Moose. This allows the moose to lead them to where Doogal is.
• Spoonerism: In the American dub, when listing the martial arts he claims to know, Dylan flubs saying "tai chi" and says "chai tea" instead.
• Star Killing: The threat is presented in a more Artistic License – Physics light than would be realistic, but Zeebad's plan is to use the magic diamonds to freeze the sun itself. He almost succeeds.
• The Stinger: The film has two of them (only one in the US dub). The first one (shown in the British and French version) before the scrolling credits start show Zeebad back in his prison which is, to his dismay, a lava-filled cavern. The second one happens halfway through the scrolling credits (this is retained in the US dub, but only moved near the end of the credits) with Zebedee appearing and says his signature "Time for Bed" catchphrase to the audience before he magically disappears.
• Suddenly Voiced: The moose and the temple skeletons in the American dub. Also in the 2005 film (if you don't count the original series), the Train in both English dubs (and all other foreign dubs) as he had no dialogue only in the French version. (The Train was also silent in all dubs of the CGI reboot series.)
• Sympathetic Villain, Despicable Villain: The two antagonists are the evil ice wizard Zeebad, and his Noble Top Enforcer Soldier Sam. Sam isn't inherently malicious, balks when ordered to do some particularly reprehensible things, and he's been manipulated by Zeebad into believing the MacGuffins which he's helping Zeebad claim are the latter's property. Zeebad on the other hand is a Card-Carrying Villain who revels in hurting others at every opportunity, he wants to engulf the Earth in eternal winter by freezing the sun and cares for absolutely no one but himself at the day's end. Ultimately, Zeebad cruelly leaves an injured Sam to die alone in a frozen waste (rubbing the fact in Sam's face just before he departs), and when Sam later attempts to amend his previous misguided deeds by challenging Zeebad, Zeebad strikes him down and temporarily "kills" him in cold blood.
• Today, X. Tomorrow, the World!: After escaping from his prison and finding the inanimate Solider Sam figurine that was catapulted off by the encasing ice on the roundabout, Zeebad says this: "Today, one soldier. Tommorow, the world! And then, perhaps... three more soldiers!"
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Ermintrude is a tough opera singer cow and Florence is a sweet kind girl.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Whilst being chased by Zeebad in a driller train, Dylan accidentally ejects Brian from Train by pressing a button that activates the ejector seat. This causes Brian to land on the roof of the driller train and ends up spilling the beans about the third diamond, due to being blindfolded by his scarf which lets Zeebad know where the heroes are going.
• What Does This Button Do?:
  • While looking around the room in the temple, Dougal spots a throne and climbs onto it where he finds two buttons on each armrest. He assumes the one on the right is the recline button and presses it, this causes the podium to rise revealing the second diamond and activating the alarm beams. Later when the giant skeleton is attacking the gang, Dougal retreats to the throne where he sees another button on the left armrest and pushes it to see what will happen to the skeleton. The button activates the trapdoor underneath the skeleton which he soon falls into the mines. Shortly afterwards when Zeebad took the second diamond and was cornering the gang, Dougal, under Ermintrude's command, pushes the said button again, sending both Zeebad and Sam into the mines.
  • When Train and the heroes are being chased by Zeebad:
  Dylan: (notices a green button in Train's controls) Hey, this must be some kinda anti-spring device. This'll slow Zeebad down! (pushes the button)
  Brian: Really? (gets ejected) AAAAAAAAAAH!
  Dylan: Or it could be an ejector seat.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Whilst on the journey to the mountains where they will make camp for the night before starting their quest to find the two diamonds, Brian, Ermintrude and Dylan give Dougal one in shades for causing the escape of Zeebad.
• Wipe: Used for two scene transitions in the film.
• You Are Too Late: The gang make their way back to the frozen village, but they arrive too late to stop Zeebad from getting his hands on the third diamond and freezing the sun with them to fully freeze the world. But they do eventually manage to steal back the diamonds and place them on the roundabout where it reverses everything Zeebad did and re-imprisons him.

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