The Magic Roundabout (film)

The Magic Roundabout (also known as Sprung! The Magic Roundabout; French: Pollux – Le manège enchanté) is a 2005 animated comedy adventure fantasy film based on the television series of the same name. Unlike the show, which was presented with stop-motion animation, the film utilizes computer-generated animation. The story sees a group of unlikely heroes who go on a quest to stop a reawakened villain, who intends on freezing the world, from retrieving a set of powerful diamonds.
It was released in France with a French dub on 2 February 2005, and an English-language version was released two weeks later in the United Kingdom on 11 February. In the United States, the film was released as Doogal on 24 February 2006 with a new English cast, dub, and script. Only Ian McKellen's performance was retained, while Kylie Minogue redubbed her role from the UK release. Whilst the UK and French dub received mixed reviews, the US dub received overwhelmingly negative reviews.
== Plot ==
Zebedee, a jack-in-the-box-like wizard, has a nightmare about his evil counterpart, Zeebad. Dougal the well-meaning cheeky, slacker dog places a nail in the road to pop a sweet cart's tyre, planning to nibble on the sweets himself. After the driver goes for help, Dougal accidentally crashes the cart into the Magic Roundabout at the village. Zeebad emerges from the roof and flies away, followed by a Foot Guard animatronic thrown off the roundabout as it freezes over, trapping repairman Mr Rusty, Dougal's young owner Florence, and two other children named Coral and Basil within an icy cell.
Horrified, Dougal, Brian the cynical snail, Ermintrude the opera-singing cow and Dylan the hippie rabbit, call upon Zebedee for help. He explains that the roundabout was a mystical prison for Zeebad. With it damaged, Zeebad is free to work his magic on the world again as he once did before by starting the Ice Age. The only way to stop Zeebad from freezing the world is by retrieving three enchanted diamonds (one of which is supposed to be hidden on the roundabout, while the other two are hidden at separate locations far beyond the village). Slotting the diamonds onto the roundabout will re-imprison Zeebad and reverse his magic, but if Zeebad retrieves them first, he will use them to freeze the Sun. Zebedee dispatches Dougal and his friends onboard Train, a magic locomotive, to accomplish this mission. Meanwhile, Zeebad crash lands after escaping the roundabout, and animates the Foot Guard animatronic, Soldier Sam, to help him find the diamonds. That night after the gang makes camp in the mountains, Dougal, while being left outside as a guard dog, strays from the campsite and is abducted by Zeebad. A moose leads the gang to Zeebad's lair where Ermintrude rescues Dougal from his prison. Zebedee arrives to duel Zeebad but is defeated with Zeebad freezing him and collapsing the cliff on which he stands, causing him to fall into the abyss.
Mourning for Zebedee, Dougal and his friends embark to recover the diamonds respectively from a lava-bordered volcano and an ancient temple filled with evil skeleton guards, but Zeebad takes both diamonds, leaving the only hope of stopping Zeebad by getting back to the roundabout before Zeebad does. The gang onboard Train are pursued by Zeebad in a drill-like locomotive, but they crash into a buffer stop, sending them flying before crash-landing into the snow, injuring Train in the process, forcing them to leave Train behind and return to the village on foot through the snowy barren wasteland the world is now freezing into. Zeebad, after having abandoned Sam to die wounded in the snow, beats the gang to the now-frozen village, but cannot find the third diamond. Sam arrives on the moose, having realised that his true duty is to guard the roundabout from Zeebad, and attempts to battle Zeebad but is quickly defeated. Learning that Sam was part of the roundabout, Zeebad discovers that the third diamond is hidden inside Sam, and removes it from him, ending Sam's life.
Zeebad begins to freeze the Sun with all three diamonds. However, the gang finally reach the village, reclaim the diamonds, and slot them into their places on the roundabout until the third diamond remains. Though Zeebad steals it back and seemingly secures his victory, the timely arrival of a healed Train knocks the diamond out of Zeebad's reach, giving Dougal the chance to place it in the roundabout's final slot and simultaneously redeem himself. Zeebad is then re-imprisoned as the world, along with the Sun, is thawed back to normal. Zebedee is revealed to have survived and re-joins his friends.
As those who were trapped on the roundabout are freed, a comatose Florence is revived by Dougal. As everyone goes for a ride on the restored roundabout, they discover that it is still non-functional because Sam is lifeless. Zebedee restores Sam, reverting him to his inanimate form and returning him on the roundabout which functions once again. Dougal now realises the true value of his friends and the good qualities of selflessness, courage, and humility.