Surprisingly dark film that i haven't seen since my child hood.As a child i would only ever watch this and star wars and now looking back both these films are still amongst the best I've seen. A lot better than the new one. Even though this is a children's film it is viewable by adults just as much and should be remembered as a cult classic Would love to see a DVD release of this film as should top any collection of animated films and it is hilarious in parts. Take the weirdness of Donnie darko the characters from mighty boosh and the animation and humour of Wallace and gromit and your part of the Way there. This film is simply the most imaginative film of all time and has to be seen.
11 Reviews
A Children's Film with Subtle Adult Messages
hammondjh-0047925 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I was 17 when I was fascinated how a children's favourite cartoon could make it on to the big screen so had to go and see why. What I did not expect was to have to queue up to get in! This was in 1972, in Romford, Essex. Plenty of other entertainment other than the cinema. After only ten minutes, I was taken the same way as adults are with Disney cartoons. I wanted to see what happened next. We were finally introduced to 'Buxton', a blue cat with a facial expression which could easily have killed rodents with a glance, behind which lay an evil any Bond villain would be honoured to bestow. As the story unfolds, Buxton's evil gets worse and whenever a villain such as he stalks the screen, there's always a hero to save the day - enter Dougal, every child's favourite screen dog! He not only makes sure of a happy ending, but an ending showing Buxton's true, contrite self. He even changes colour to show how sorry he is. Pass the paper hankies, please!
Very solid movie and adaptation
taylynnshepard11 November 2020
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.
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.
Dougal gets a rival
stuart_poore9 May 2002
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 !
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 !
A movie that brings childhood flooding back!
PrinceKheldar26 April 2005
Warning: Spoilers
As a young kid I had the movie soundtrack on LP of 'Dougal and the Blue Cat'. That record was played to death. Now, some 25 years later, I've just watched the movie and felt like I was six again! Everything about this film is wonderful. If you remember the Magic Roundabout from the late 60s - early 70s then you'll instantly be taken back to those happy years. All the characters are there: Ermintrude the posh cow, Brian the dopey snail, Dylan the not-permanently-stoned rabbit, Zebedee with his magic moustache, Florence and of course the irrepressible Dougal.
Dougal of course is terrific, but the show is almost stolen by Buxton the blue cat, who for some reason has the broadest Yorkshire accent since Geoff Boycott. There's plenty here for young and old alike, and the narration/voices of Eric Thompson are a delight. The musical numbers are all good fun, and there are some great one-liners thrown in for older viewers. A classic of 70s children's entertainment.
Dougal of course is terrific, but the show is almost stolen by Buxton the blue cat, who for some reason has the broadest Yorkshire accent since Geoff Boycott. There's plenty here for young and old alike, and the narration/voices of Eric Thompson are a delight. The musical numbers are all good fun, and there are some great one-liners thrown in for older viewers. A classic of 70s children's entertainment.
Forget the 2005 Magic Roundabout movie - this is the Real Thing!
michaeljacobs30 October 2005
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...
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...
Aye lad, that's the name - Buxton!
christopherjanethardiman9 May 2007
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!
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!
Great "Magic Roundabout" film
Tweekums20 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I never thought I'd hear the words "take him to the torture chamber" in a U rated film but they were uttered in this Magic Roundabout film. As a child in the '70s I watched the television series but as far as I'm aware I never saw this film. Having heard UK film critic Mark Kermode frequently rave about how great this film is I decided to seek it out and must say he was right it is a great film, the eighty minutes just flew past.
Things in the Magic Garden are a little strange, Dougal is having strange dreams about something going on in a disused factory and shortly after Buxton, a blue cat, appears and is instantly popular with everybody except Dougal. Buxton isn't as friendly as he appears and plans to become king with the help of the mysterious Madam Blue in the factory. In order to carry out his plans he captures everybody except Dougal who is forced to dye his hair blue and call himself Blue Peter in order to try to rescue them.
All of the regular characters are here although the new Buxton steals the show with his evil plotting and diabolically sweet torture of Dougal. The animation may look dated next to today's shiny CGI but it is good enough and the great story and fun characters more than make up for that. It is a shame that this great animation doesn't have a DVD release as it is an utter delight and belongs in the collection of any animation fan.
Things in the Magic Garden are a little strange, Dougal is having strange dreams about something going on in a disused factory and shortly after Buxton, a blue cat, appears and is instantly popular with everybody except Dougal. Buxton isn't as friendly as he appears and plans to become king with the help of the mysterious Madam Blue in the factory. In order to carry out his plans he captures everybody except Dougal who is forced to dye his hair blue and call himself Blue Peter in order to try to rescue them.
All of the regular characters are here although the new Buxton steals the show with his evil plotting and diabolically sweet torture of Dougal. The animation may look dated next to today's shiny CGI but it is good enough and the great story and fun characters more than make up for that. It is a shame that this great animation doesn't have a DVD release as it is an utter delight and belongs in the collection of any animation fan.
The greatest animated film ever made
igobymanynamesbutyoumayc20 September 2011
This is a review of the English dub.
Few films have had as much of an impact upon my life as Dougal and the Blue Cat, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't find an occasion quote one of it's innumerable classic lines and smile to myself amongst bemused company. The feature length edition of the classic French children's show, famously completely re-scripted by Eric Thompson upon it's exportation to Britain as the BBC were unwilling to pay extra for the original scripts, it tells the story of Dougal the talking dog and the trouble he and his friends get into when a mysterious blue cat named Buxton shows up with a hidden agenda.
The script is brimming with wit and invention, making reference to niche British places and concerns of the time (listen out for Brian the snail's quip about the train for one of the biggest laughs of the film). Voiced almost totally by the aforementioned Eric Thompson, he brings an array of voices packed with charm to each uniquely designed character, his voice seems made for storytelling, having a strangely absorbing affect that leaves the viewer hanging onto his every word resulting in endless howls of laughter but of course there is another voice to address. The eternally beautiful, queen of the sultry voice Fenella Fielding provides her vocal talents for the disembodied character of Madam Blue, Fielding is at once luscious and incredibly menacing, almost stealing the film out from under Thompson's nose for the scenes she's a part of... almost.
While the writing and voice work contribute much to it's irresistible charms the same must be said for the visuals. Each character is beautifully made and animated and placed into a world that I struggle to describe. I imagine surreal would be the best word to use, when I say surreal I mean it in the most magical sense, you find yourself racking your brain trying to imagine what ingenious mind could come up with such characters and backgrounds and such a stunning colour palette and to throw them all together with such success is another thing altogether.
This is a prime example of how to do a TV show as a film, it overcomes such a popularly problematic formula with pitch perfect pacing and at a nippy 85 minutes it's the exactly the right length. For me it really is the best animated film ever made and firmly in my top 5 films of all time, everything about it is spot on, if you haven't seen it do go and check it out, you won't be sorry.
I hope you enjoyed this review, thanks for taking the time to read it.
Few films have had as much of an impact upon my life as Dougal and the Blue Cat, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't find an occasion quote one of it's innumerable classic lines and smile to myself amongst bemused company. The feature length edition of the classic French children's show, famously completely re-scripted by Eric Thompson upon it's exportation to Britain as the BBC were unwilling to pay extra for the original scripts, it tells the story of Dougal the talking dog and the trouble he and his friends get into when a mysterious blue cat named Buxton shows up with a hidden agenda.
The script is brimming with wit and invention, making reference to niche British places and concerns of the time (listen out for Brian the snail's quip about the train for one of the biggest laughs of the film). Voiced almost totally by the aforementioned Eric Thompson, he brings an array of voices packed with charm to each uniquely designed character, his voice seems made for storytelling, having a strangely absorbing affect that leaves the viewer hanging onto his every word resulting in endless howls of laughter but of course there is another voice to address. The eternally beautiful, queen of the sultry voice Fenella Fielding provides her vocal talents for the disembodied character of Madam Blue, Fielding is at once luscious and incredibly menacing, almost stealing the film out from under Thompson's nose for the scenes she's a part of... almost.
While the writing and voice work contribute much to it's irresistible charms the same must be said for the visuals. Each character is beautifully made and animated and placed into a world that I struggle to describe. I imagine surreal would be the best word to use, when I say surreal I mean it in the most magical sense, you find yourself racking your brain trying to imagine what ingenious mind could come up with such characters and backgrounds and such a stunning colour palette and to throw them all together with such success is another thing altogether.
This is a prime example of how to do a TV show as a film, it overcomes such a popularly problematic formula with pitch perfect pacing and at a nippy 85 minutes it's the exactly the right length. For me it really is the best animated film ever made and firmly in my top 5 films of all time, everything about it is spot on, if you haven't seen it do go and check it out, you won't be sorry.
I hope you enjoyed this review, thanks for taking the time to read it.
Fantastic.
carlovondertann16 June 2021
The Big H Allegory
Alfabeta15 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This unique stop motion cartoon based on the French children's show of the same name (later dubbed into English for the UK and international market) that gained huge popularity in Europe (especially England and France) in the 1970s is sadly forgotten today, primarily because it never reached the US market, and today's pop culture memory is heavily influenced by whatever it is that the Americans remember.
A lot of adults who grew up watching this on TV do remember it however, but most of them had not seen the movie since and can't quite put their finger on why this movie, much more than the cartoon itself, was so weird and scary.
I've seen it recently and I'd say there are two reasons for this, one of them being the unique combination of stop motion puppetry and idyllic rustic setting where talking animals live in harmony (a more rural and European take on Winnie the Pooh's 100 Acre Wood in a way) contrasted by the evil cat and its plan to destroy everything and everyone in the world not fortunate enough to be born blue like him.
The other reason is that the movie includes elements of occultism (the haunted factory of the evil blue essence) as well as some plot aspects that seem to imply that the story is a loose allegory where the cat represents somewhat of a "child-friendly" version of Hitler. The cat is basically a racial (or "colorial") supremacist that takes command of a ruthless like-minded army to purge the world of all life and things that are not supreme and pure like him color-wise (i.e. blue). It hardly gets more "Hitlery" than that. For the creators of the show WWII was not some distant memory but a very real event that happened to them or just before their time, so it's not that big of a stretch to consider the possibility that it did influence their writing for this movie, just like it inspired the works of so many others from the era.
Anyway, here's the point - not only should you show this to your kids (it's scary in a good way) but you should also see it again for yourselves and realize from a grown up viewpoint how deep this silly little cartoon actually is. If only someone in America could spotlight this film today, I'm sure it'd quickly find its place among other (un)intentional children horror classics of the 20th century out there.
By the way, that rabbit is totally stoned off his rocker!
A lot of adults who grew up watching this on TV do remember it however, but most of them had not seen the movie since and can't quite put their finger on why this movie, much more than the cartoon itself, was so weird and scary.
I've seen it recently and I'd say there are two reasons for this, one of them being the unique combination of stop motion puppetry and idyllic rustic setting where talking animals live in harmony (a more rural and European take on Winnie the Pooh's 100 Acre Wood in a way) contrasted by the evil cat and its plan to destroy everything and everyone in the world not fortunate enough to be born blue like him.
The other reason is that the movie includes elements of occultism (the haunted factory of the evil blue essence) as well as some plot aspects that seem to imply that the story is a loose allegory where the cat represents somewhat of a "child-friendly" version of Hitler. The cat is basically a racial (or "colorial") supremacist that takes command of a ruthless like-minded army to purge the world of all life and things that are not supreme and pure like him color-wise (i.e. blue). It hardly gets more "Hitlery" than that. For the creators of the show WWII was not some distant memory but a very real event that happened to them or just before their time, so it's not that big of a stretch to consider the possibility that it did influence their writing for this movie, just like it inspired the works of so many others from the era.
Anyway, here's the point - not only should you show this to your kids (it's scary in a good way) but you should also see it again for yourselves and realize from a grown up viewpoint how deep this silly little cartoon actually is. If only someone in America could spotlight this film today, I'm sure it'd quickly find its place among other (un)intentional children horror classics of the 20th century out there.
By the way, that rabbit is totally stoned off his rocker!
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