Having not seen the phenomenon that was original stop-motion series, "The Magic Roundabout", I really had no idea what to expect coming into this film, (this review of for the US version titled 'Doogal'). The series looked like something for young children, so it was kind of surprising to realize that the film was aimed squarely at adults.

More accurately, the fluffy dog and bright colours play well for the kids... virtually all the dialogue is thickly laden with references that only the adults in the room are likely to get... unlike most pop culture rich films however, there's genuine wit here. The story is a little unclear in places--I think the setup of their adventure was a bit rushed and some important details kinda flew by--but overall, there are no major faults.

Next up... why did they re-dub it? It seemed bizarre to me since the English version... was, well... in ENGLISH... why bother creating a US dub? Let's just say the minute that I heard Jon Stewart (of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show") as the villain Zeebad, I was sold. I'd say if you're a serious Jon Stewart fan, the movie is worth seeing just to catch him in a priceless piece of casting. And given the actor calibre in the rest of the cast, it's no big shock that the voices are generally well done all around.

Animation? Impressive. It's not going to blow your mind, but it services the story very well.

All in all... not a bad little movie.