Le manège enchanté

I remember this children's television programme. I used to watch it when I was younger and it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1990s. I heard it was shown on the BBC in between 1965 and 1977. I thought I found it very entertaining.

Eric Thompson did a great job for narrating this series.

Back in summer 2005, I watched some extras in the DVD of The Magic Roundabout when I was fifteen years old and I revealed the classic children's television programme of the same name was originally made in France. I did not even know that The Magic Roundabout was French. I thought it was made in the UK.

Anyway I still like The Magic Roundabout. My favourite characters are Dougal, Zebedee, Dylan and Florence.

I got to confess I was way too young to enjoy this TV show in any meaningful way. Still, in some weird way, some of these characters are part of my happy subconscious, my dreamscapes.

A series where a clothed rabbit lives side by side with a naked cow, a giant snail, an out-of-the-box jack-in-the-box, and an assortment of quirky characters has to assuredly be memorable. Even to 4-year-old me.

I am old enough to remember coming home from kindergarten to be sat down in front of Dougal, Florence et-al, whilst my mother made lunch. I never quite understood why Zebedee was such a killjoy, "Time for bed" is not something any young child, excited by life wants to hear!. I also never got that Dylan was a hippie (and as we later surmised in college,permanently stoned!), I thought he was cool! I can still sing (or at least hum) the theme tune, and have gratefully introduced it years ago to my own two children as something that had enough inherent wit and charm (all kudos to Eric Thompson)to entertain both children and adults. Nothing terribly momentous usually happened to the characters. But there was a story with a beginning,a middle and an end, however strange! It portrayed an innocence sadly lacking in a lot of today's children's programming. Life was just fun. No agenda. No political correctness. Things just happened. Because they do. And Dougal's sugar addiction never sent him to Rehab! The animation was simple and charming, as were Eric Thompson's portrayal of the characters. Even when I, in later life, discovered that there was a French original, I was never inclined to watch it in French to find out what they were actually saying (despite speaking passable French and having enough French friends to find out what I couldn't understand). The Magic Roundabout stands for me with such charming child classics as Bagpuss, Trumpton Town,(see who remembers that British classic!)and Mr. Ben. All the colours of my childhood. Not shaded with cynicism. Enjoy!

It's great the way Eric Thompson added his own witty commentary to a French children's programme. That's what made it so good. He watched it with the sound turned off and devised his own narration in a manner similar to Woody Allen in "What's Up Tiger Lily". A lot of the humour was a bit too advanced for kids and a most of the jokes would have been lost on them but Mums and Dads enjoyed it and this is the reason for the programme's enduring popularity.

In the areas around a magic roundabout live Dougal, a sugar loving, rather pompous dog; Florence, his owner; Brian, a snail; Ermintrude, a cow; Dylan, a lazy and trippy rabbit and Zeebedee, a, well, "thing" with a spring instead of legs. Each episode this group have all manner of things happen around them – perhaps too small and unimportant to call them "adventures" but they are definitely interesting nonetheless.

Having spent my money and time watching the CGI film version, I thought I should just write some thoughts on the original. Like many people, it is hard to be concise about the original series because I never saw it when it first came out in the late sixties and instead joined it in the 1980's when it had already gained cult status; also now I have to watch it through the fog of childhood memories. However, watching it now it is clear why it engaged so many and why it continues to be a wonderful little curiosity that so many adults continue to enjoy when they chance upon it. The animation is part of it; it feels consistently otherworldly and Wood has created a simple but interesting set of characters and an environment that matches the strangely witty tone given to the material.

I refer to the tone but it should be remembered that the stories us in the UK see bare little in common with those in France as Eric Thompson chose to deliver his own stories, based on what he could see happening on the screen. It is he who deserves credit for creating this lasting cult appeal because not only are his stories nicely askew and out of the ordinary but he also has such a dry and humorous delivery that it is a pleasure to listen to. Modern kids will likely prefer the bright colours, loud noises and action of the 2005 film but for me, and many other adults, the simple animation, Thompson narration and strange otherworldly feel to the original series will always be preferred viewing.