When I first rented this movie, I expected my kids to enjoy it, but I didn’t realize I would too.
Doogal (voiced by Daniel Tay) is a cute furry dog who belongs to a girl named Florence. One day, while pursuing his ever-consuming quest for candy, Doogal accidentally breaks the town’s carousel, which has for years been the magic prison of a bad guy named Zeebad (Jon Stewart.) Zeebad is the twin brother of the town’s sorcerer Zebedee (Ian McKlellan) and he wants to take over the world by turning it into ice. He begins by freezing the carousel and taking a toy soldier from its top. The bad news – Florence was on the carousel when he froze it, and she’s now trapped behind walls of ice.
Zeebad wastes no time. He brings the toy soldier to life, names him Sam, and sets him to work as his sidekick. They are in search of the three magic diamonds which will give Zeebad the power to control the earth. When Zebedee shows up to comfort Doogal and tell him how to rescue Florence, he gives him a map of where to find the diamonds.
Doogal feels terrible for breaking the carousel and knows he must find the diamonds and set everything straight. He takes with him his friends, a singing cow named Ermintrude (Whoopi Goldberg) a mild-mannered snail named Brian (William H. Macy) a hip guitar-playing rabbit named Dylan (Jimmy Fallon) Riding off on a train voiced by Chevy Chase, their adventures are narrated by Dame Judi Dench. (Wow, that’s a whole lot of celebrity name power!)
Madness and mayhem ensue as they try to stay a step ahead of Zeebad and reach the diamonds first. The dialogue is punctuated by one-liners that will have parents laughing. At one point, they are being chased by skeletons. One says to the other, “Look! We’re Pirates of the Caribbean!” to which the other replies, “I thought we agreed no Disney jokes.” It’s these little touches that take an otherwise silly movie and make it memorable.
In the end, the friends learn that loyalty to each other is the secret to their success, and that having a friend is something that evil can never conquer.
My children offered the following thoughts – from Caryn, age 10: “It was smart and funny!” Ammon, age 8: “It was great!” And Joseph, age 5: “It was really cool.” So don’t just take my word for it – rent it today and see what your own children think.
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