Pollux et le chat bleu

If you never saw the five minutes long children's program "The Magic Roundabout" from the late sixties and early seventies, which appeared on TV every night just before the news, this will be completely lost on you.

If you know and love the characters, then you'll love this longer, darker movie. When Buxton the Blue Cat arrives in the magic garden, Dougal is no longer the centre of attention. Suspicious, Dougal does some investigating and is horrified by what he finds.

Full of topical (for the seventies) references, sarcasm and subtle drug references, no wonder this is a cult classic amongst students. It's great to hear the original voices from Eric Thompson (none of that disappointing 1980's remake stuff). Fenella Fielding is wonderfully cast as ....., well that would be telling !

Here's the review i have of dougal and the blue cat:

it's a really good adaptation of the show that keeps the charm of the original despite its obvious and drastic tone change from cheery and whimsical to very grim and dark, at it emphasizes its characters, writing and world very well and changes them to fit the huge shift in tone in a way that doesn't derail them.

buxton is such a compelling villain and has an interesting arc that he has throughout the whole movie, on whether or not he should keep supporting this cult like cause under the control of the the blue voice, who may be the most horrifying things to come out of the property.

and this movie has some of the trippiest visuals in any kids film, the cinematography is really pretty and some scenes are breath taking.

the beginning drags a bit and it takes a bit to get into the good stuff but overall a very well done movie. if you're a fan of the original series please give this a watch.

Magic Roundabout characters in movie length story - action for kids - script for adults.

In this film, you can see how skillful Eric Thompson was in adapting the French (was it French?) scripts to suit both categories of his English audience.

The story itself is great, and on Magic Roundabout standards just a little dark, but the marvellous humour never lets up, from Dougall's belligerent cuckoo clock, Brian Snail racing, and beating the train, to the appearance of the superb Buxton, the Blue Cat (Hiss!).

All your favourite characters appear, plus a scarecrow who has been in the Guards, and a rather strange Owl.

An excellent little film - release it on DVD, please!

It doesn't get better. This is one of the classics that everyone should be watching right now!

Why is this so much better than the recent offering? I'd like to say it's because it looks, feels, sounds, tastes, and smells like the original, but not all of those senses apply to a movie.

Eric Thompson was involved, so it is the same humour and wit. Dougal is the hero whom nobody believes when a real threat to peace in the garden arrives. Sounds just like the times we live in now (2005)! The garden is still the garden, but the new settings (including the Moon!) still look like they belong in the same universe. My favourite part is Fenella Fielding, but then she's related to me, so I admit to bias. I liked the Blue Cat too - he behaves as you would expect of him (without wishing to say what he does...), and it's interesting that there was no need to add new characters aside from the Blue Cat and the Blue Voice. No change of visual style. That's what I call a Real movie adaptation - it really is just like the TV series, but longer. My junior critics (aged 3 and 5) love both the Blue Cat and the 2005 Magic Roundabout movies, but when offered, they still watch the Blue Cat and old TV series...